THE FLYING DAGGER is an early Chang Cheh film from the Shaw Brothers studio. It features femme fatale Cheng Pei-Pei, star of the hugely successful COME DRINK WITH ME, playing another top swordswoman fighting off the overwhelming forces of evil. However, this time around the focus of the story is not on Pei-Pei but rather Lo Lieh in one of his early heroic performances from the studio. Lieh plays the classic wandering swordsman hero who ends up getting involved in the thrust of the story.
And what a powerful and impactful film this is. These early Shaw Brothers movies always remind me of classic Chinese literature, they're so vibrant and classical in their approach. The swordplay and action scenes are graceful and stylish while the dialogue scenes are equally enjoyable thanks to strong acting and excellent set and costume design.
The villain of this piece is an extremely powerful one, an aged but expert knife thrower who shows no mercy in the film's shocking early scenes. Later on the film becomes a little more episodic but the action always ebbs and flows along nicely. Cheh's martial arts scenes are brilliantly bloody and once again he proves himself a superior director of such material. Lieh is on top form, full of charisma and heroics, and I always find it a shame that he was later typecast as a stock bad guy. Watch out for David Chiang and Wu Ma in early roles.
And what a powerful and impactful film this is. These early Shaw Brothers movies always remind me of classic Chinese literature, they're so vibrant and classical in their approach. The swordplay and action scenes are graceful and stylish while the dialogue scenes are equally enjoyable thanks to strong acting and excellent set and costume design.
The villain of this piece is an extremely powerful one, an aged but expert knife thrower who shows no mercy in the film's shocking early scenes. Later on the film becomes a little more episodic but the action always ebbs and flows along nicely. Cheh's martial arts scenes are brilliantly bloody and once again he proves himself a superior director of such material. Lieh is on top form, full of charisma and heroics, and I always find it a shame that he was later typecast as a stock bad guy. Watch out for David Chiang and Wu Ma in early roles.