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The Blade

Original title: Dao
  • 19951995
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
The Blade (1995)
Action
After the master of the Sharp Manufacturer saber factory abdicates and appoints On, his least popular worker, as his successor, On, unwilling to lead his surly colleagues, embarks on a quest... Read allAfter the master of the Sharp Manufacturer saber factory abdicates and appoints On, his least popular worker, as his successor, On, unwilling to lead his surly colleagues, embarks on a quest of revenge to kill the evil, flying, tattooed kung fu master who killed his father.After the master of the Sharp Manufacturer saber factory abdicates and appoints On, his least popular worker, as his successor, On, unwilling to lead his surly colleagues, embarks on a quest of revenge to kill the evil, flying, tattooed kung fu master who killed his father.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
    • Hark Tsui
    • Koan Hui
    • Hark Tsui
  • Stars
    • Wenzhuo Zhao
    • Xin Xin Xiong
    • Sonny Su
    • Hark Tsui
    • Koan Hui
    • Hark Tsui
  • Stars
    • Wenzhuo Zhao
    • Xin Xin Xiong
    • Sonny Su
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 40User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos9

    The Blade (1995)
    The Blade (1995)
    The Blade (1995)
    Wenzhuo Zhao in The Blade (1995)
    Wenzhuo Zhao in The Blade (1995)
    Xin Xin Xiong in The Blade (1995)
    The Blade (1995)
    The Blade (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Wenzhuo Zhao
    Wenzhuo Zhao
    • Ding On
    Xin Xin Xiong
    Xin Xin Xiong
    • Fei Lung
    Sonny Su
    Sonny Su
    • Siu Ling
    • (as Nei Song)
    Valerie Chow
    Valerie Chow
    • Courtesan (Guest star)
    Collin Chou
    Collin Chou
    • Fast Sabre (Guest star)
    • (as Sing Ngai)
    Chi-Fai Chan
    Chi-Fai Chan
    Moses Chan
    Moses Chan
    • Iron Head
    Ray Chang
    Ray Chang
    Szu-Ying Chien
    Szu-Ying Chien
    • Grandmother
    • (as Tsi-Ang Chin)
    Kin-sang Chow
      Jason Chu
      Jason Chu
      Bik-Ha Chung
      Wing-Chan 'Emily' Chung
      Ka-Kui Ho
      Ka-Kui Ho
      Ricky Ho
      Chan Ka-Kui
      Wai-Kai Law
      Wai-Kai Law
      Do-Yu Lee
      Do-Yu Lee
        • Hark Tsui
        • Koan Hui
        • Hark Tsui
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        One of Quentin Tarantino's 20 Favourite Movies from 1992 to 2009.
      • Goofs
        The tattoos on Fei Lung's chest disappear when Ding On throws the blade at his throat in the finale.
      • Connections
        Featured in Video Buck: TOP 13: Las mejores películas de artes marciales (2017)

      User reviews40

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      Out of control, but magnificent with it
      The great thing about this film (and the sort of thing that upsets people who like seeing martial arts fights where you can see every kick and every punch) is that most of the fighting is just blurs of motion punctuated by shouting and clashing blades. This is what I love in HK fantasies: fight scenes that are so incomprehensible you're left going: huh?

      Tsui Hark's best example is Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, where the viewer has to actually fill in the blanks for themselves. It's edited in such a way that that the film we see feels like only a portion of the story. In some contexts this technique would be stupid, but in fantasy it's wonderful. It's the inverse of the computer graphics bare-all approach, and it's lucky that we had the HK film industry to provide an alternative to Hollywood in this regard. (I say had, because, since Storm Riders, cg in HK is more prevalent than before.)

      This approach to fight scenes is impressionistic, and with the final fightscene in Dao it's almost operatic. At no stage do you get a feeling that the fight is actually rational. The use of sound and music in the film is also wonderful, especially in the menacing flashback scene. It's hard to think of a more effective way of setting up a backstory, and gives new life to that tired old cliche, the revenge story.

      So that's all good. Sometimes, however, the impressionism gets a bit out of hand. Things take on a Wong Kar Wai pretentiousness, like the horrible Ashes of time, where Leslie Cheung sits around feeling sorry for himself for no appreciable reason. In Dao, the voiceover of the female character gets really annoying. Her mutterings only really serve to remind us she is there, as she has only one pivotal scene in the film (where tells the hero his origin story).

      The film is also a bit over-bloody for my taste, but it certainly leaves one with no illusions about the brutalness of the world in which the film is set.

      Dao is one of those films that is so strange and vivid it leaves a strong resonance with the viewer long after it is over. It has faults by the barrel, but I'd rather have it and Tsui Hark with us than a legion of James Camerons and Roland Emmerichs.
      helpful•4
      1
      • stuartmcd
      • Feb 6, 2003

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • December 21, 1995 (Hong Kong)
        • Hong Kong
        • Cantonese
      • Also known as
      • Production companies
        • Film Workshop
        • Golden Harvest Company
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

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      • 1 hour 45 minutes
        • Color
        • Mono

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