Wow, if only all Asian martial arts movies were this good, the genre would sure get a lot more respect in the West. All too often, the movies I've found at video stores are the horribly dubbed and occasionally quite stupid martial arts films--you know, the ones where the action is so fake that they films are better for their laugh value than for their excitement! However, there are several amazing films (this one included) who set high standards for the genre, such as many of the films of Sonny Chiba, the Bruce Lee films (few as they are) and the Zatoichi series. Remember folks, not all martial arts films are created equal!!
While I could harp on a few flaws that are noticeable in the film (such as the scene at midnight that goes from day to night like an Ed Wood film), the perfection of most of the film greatly outweighs the few mistakes--plus for the time it was made, it was about as good as you can find. And while I am very, very hesitant to give scores of 10, this one deserves it because it is the epitome of a great Chinese martial arts film.
There are two main reasons to love this film. First, being the premier episode of the One Armed Swordsman series, there is much more to the movie than a "boss battle". Instead, you learn the devious and complicated reason for Fang Gang losing his arm as well as the steps he took to learn to fight left-handed. Second, and probably more importantly, you see the best sword fighting and martial arts action...period. Gone are the obvious misses as they pull their swings, gone is the grunting and silly dialog (provided you watch it with the optional Chinese language and English subtitles) and there is plenty of realistic looking blood--though not so much to make it a disgusting or gratuitous movie.
If you like this film (and only an idiot wouldn't), then try watching the other films in the series. Also try the films of the others I mentioned above. Not every Kung Fu or Karate movie involves (uggh!) martial arts fighting gorillas, men with arms that grow to 12 feet in length and the other silly touches you see in lesser films. Now I still watch and enjoy these other films (when I need a laugh), but they just can't come close to class products like this one.
While I could harp on a few flaws that are noticeable in the film (such as the scene at midnight that goes from day to night like an Ed Wood film), the perfection of most of the film greatly outweighs the few mistakes--plus for the time it was made, it was about as good as you can find. And while I am very, very hesitant to give scores of 10, this one deserves it because it is the epitome of a great Chinese martial arts film.
There are two main reasons to love this film. First, being the premier episode of the One Armed Swordsman series, there is much more to the movie than a "boss battle". Instead, you learn the devious and complicated reason for Fang Gang losing his arm as well as the steps he took to learn to fight left-handed. Second, and probably more importantly, you see the best sword fighting and martial arts action...period. Gone are the obvious misses as they pull their swings, gone is the grunting and silly dialog (provided you watch it with the optional Chinese language and English subtitles) and there is plenty of realistic looking blood--though not so much to make it a disgusting or gratuitous movie.
If you like this film (and only an idiot wouldn't), then try watching the other films in the series. Also try the films of the others I mentioned above. Not every Kung Fu or Karate movie involves (uggh!) martial arts fighting gorillas, men with arms that grow to 12 feet in length and the other silly touches you see in lesser films. Now I still watch and enjoy these other films (when I need a laugh), but they just can't come close to class products like this one.