Will

Swordsman and Enchantress (1978)

Swordsman and Enchantress [蕭十一郎] (1978)

Starring Ti Lung, Lau Wing, Ching Li, Candy Wen Xue-Er, Tang Ching, Lily Li Li-Li, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Shum Lo, Ku Kuan-Chung, Lee Hoi-Sang, Yu Hoi-Lun

Directed by Chor Yuen

Expectations: Pretty high.

Swordsman and Enchantress is Chor Yuen’s crack at Gu Long’s 1973 novel The Eleventh Son [蕭十一郎], originally written as a screenplay for the 1971 Hsu Tseng-Hung film Swordsman at Large. Both films and the novel share the same Chinese title, which is Ti Lung’s character name, Xiao Shiyi Lang, and literally translates to The Eleventh Son. According to translator Rebecca S. Tai’s introduction to the English version of the novel, it was common practice in Ancient China to name children based on their gender and order of birth. This was the first (and maybe only) Gu Long story written as a film first, and this genesis helps Swordsman and Enchantress to be one of the more easy-to-follow wuxias. My review of Swordsman at Large indicates it was “impenetrable” to me, so either it’s more confusing than Chor Yuen’s version, or I leveled up my wuxia-following skills considerably in the 10 years since. I didn’t even know who Gu Long was back then, so…

Swordsman and Enchantress hinges around the greatest weapon in the martial world, the Deer Cutting Knife, newly forged with nine kinds of steel by Xu Ruzi, King of Swords. The sword is able to cut through steel and its wielder will be revered as the leader of the martial world. Naturally, people want to get ahold of it, but Xu gifted it to Lian Chengbi of Brocade Villa (Lau Wing). The Four Lethal Leng Brothers guard the sword on its journey to Brocade Villa, but it never arrives as the skillful Little Lord (Candy Wen Xue-Er) bests the brothers and steals the weapon. She tells them her name is Xiao Shiyi Lang, though, who just so happens to be the only other person in the martial world who might be worthy to wield the Deer Cutting Knife. The problems for our main character only grow from here, and we haven’t even been introduced to him yet!

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 2 (1978)

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 2 [倚天屠龍記大結局] (1978)
AKA Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, Part II

Starring Derek Yee, Candice Yu On-On, Ching Li, Karen Chan Ga-Yee, Cheng Lai-Fong, Candy Wen Xue-Er, Lo Lieh, Ku Kuan-Chung, Ai Fei, Yue Wing, Chung Gwok-Yan, Tin Ching, Teresa Ha Ping, Wai Wang, Wang Lai, Helen Poon Bing-Seung, Wang Yong, Woo Wang-Daat, Chan Shen, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Ching Miao, Yang Chi-Ching, Chiang Nan, Keung Hon

Directed by Chor Yuen

Expectations: High.

Whether you enjoy Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre or not, this sequel presents more of the same. If you’re a fan, it’s a worthy continuation and conclusion of the story, while non-fans will most likely still be lost by the end of it all. Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 2 is more straightforward than the first film, but it’s straightforward in the densest, most wuxia way you can imagine. I’m finding it hard to write about, because everything I wrote for the first film could just carry over. They’re really just one long serial movie, although I couldn’t imagine sitting through them both in one go. Even for a Jin Yong super fan, the density of the material may fry more synapses than any one fan can afford to lose.

We left off when Priest Chang San Fang (Cheung Ying), the leader of Wu-Tang, was struck by the poisonous King Kong Palm from a Yuan mercenary posing as a Shaolin monk. Wu Ji (Derek Yee) must once again retrieve an antidote from Chiu Ming (Ching Li) at the Green Willow Mansion. In exchange for it, Wu Ji agrees to perform three tasks for Chiu Ming, to be named as needed. She sends him on his way, as she already sent the antidote for San Fang before he even arrived! When he rejoins his Ming brethren, he learns there is yet another problem in the martial world requiring his attention. On the way home from their battle at Bright Peak (the Ming Cult headquarters), the six clans were poisoned at a tavern by Chiu Ming’s brother, Fufu Temuyi (Yue Wing)! He then imprisoned the poisoned clans in the Man Fat Temple of the Yuan capital, Khanbaliq (now Beijing). Turns out Chiu Ming is the daughter of Yuan General Chaghan Temur, and the dissent amongst the clans was a calculated effort to divide and conquer the martial clans! Oh no!

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1978)

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre [倚天屠龍記] (1978)

Starring Derek Yee, Candice Yu On-On, Ching Li, Karen Chan Ga-Yee, Cheng Lai-Fong, Candy Wen Xue-Er, Cheung Ying, Wang Lai, Helen Poon Bing-Seung, Wang Yong, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung, Ching Miao, Lo Lieh, Yang Chi-Ching, Chiang Nan, Keung Hon, Lam Fai-Wong, Yuen Wah, Ng Man-Tat, Cheung Wai-Yee, Stephen Yip Tin-Hang, Ng Hong-Sang, Lau Wai-Ling, Ai Fei, Tang Tak-Cheung, Teresa Ha Ping, Tin Ching, Chan Shen, Dick Wei, Ku Kuan-Chung, Hung Ling-Ling

Directed by Chor Yuen

Expectations: Incredibly high.

On the general scale:

On the Dense Wuxia Scale™:

I loved every second of Chor Yuen’s Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. It’s hard to be objective; I’ve been inordinately fascinated by Jin Yong’s Condor Heroes trilogy for years, and each film adaptation I see unlocks more pieces of the elaborate puzzle. Wong Jing’s Kung Fu Cult Master is one of my most treasured Hong Kong films, a love that grew from total, whirlwind confusion when I first saw it on a blurry bootleg in the late ’90s. Chor’s film is, of course, based on the same material, so the prospect of a Shaw Brothers’ Kung Fu Cult Master has always excited my imagination. It lived up to everything I hoped it would be, but conversely I can’t imagine remotely understanding the film without prior knowledge. It’s so densely packed that I imagine lots of Shaw fans don’t like this one, but again, I loved every second.

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre is named after two legendary swords positioned to re-shape the martial world. The swords were forged from the Heavy Iron Sword of Yang Guo, the hero of The Return of the Condor Heroes, and son of Yang Kang, antagonist of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. During the swords’ creation, Guo Jing and Huang Rong (protagonists of The Legend of the Condor Heroes) hid the Book of Wumu (which the villains hunt for in The Brave Archer 2) in the Dragon Sabre, and the Nine Yin Manual (subject of The Brave Archer) & other techniques in the Heaven Sword. None of this is particularly necessary to the plot of Chor’s film, but I find that understanding the details, and connecting them to your knowledge from other films, allows for an appreciation of the adaptation that would otherwise be lost.

Arrow Films Shawscope Volume 2 Available for Pre-Order!

Arrow Films are bringing more Shaw Brothers films to the US (& UK) on Blu-ray this November! The first set was a beautiful monster, and this one should be just as fantastic!

The films included are:

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) [My Review]
Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985)
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)
Five Superfighters (1979)
Invincible Shaolin (1978)
Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)
The Magnificent Ruffians (1979)
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (1979)
My Young Auntie (1981)
Mercenaries from Hong Kong (1982)
The Boxer’s Omen (1983) [My Review]
Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)
The Bare-Footed Kid (1993)

88 Films are releasing Shaw Brothers films in the US!

Goodness gracious, 88 Films are coming to the US and they’re bringing Shaw Brothers Blu-rays with them! Between the Arrow announcement and this, Shaw fans in the US should be very excited!

88’s first release will be for Jimmy Wang Yu’s landmark kung fu film, The Chinese Boxer! It’s set to release November 9, 2021, and it will have commentary, interviews and more to fill out the package. I have all of 88’s UK Shaw Brothers releases, so I can vouch for their fantastic output firsthand! I can’t wait to check out their first US Shaw Brothers release. But that’s not all… the announcement also included images of future releases (see below)!

Arrow Video are releasing Shaw Brothers films in the US!

Oh me, oh my, Arrow Video are bringing Shaw Brothers films to the US (& UK) on Blu-ray later this year! There were some US Blus prior to this, but the last one, Five Element Ninjas, came out in 2012!

Arrow’s release will be a 12-film, 8-Disc box set called Shawscope Vol. 1, and it will debut in December 2021. Yep, it’s just Volume 1! Besides that, I’m most excited that some films will have new scans from the negative (King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Challenge of the Masters, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers and Dirty Ho), so maybe we’ll actually see some film grain 😮 ! Chinatown Kid will have a new scan of the longer, preferred cut! There will also be a book and tons of new extras… I can’t wait!

Weedjies: Halloweed Night (2019)

Starring Brett Hargrave, Victoria Strange, Yo Ying, Johnny Jay Lee, Denise Milfort, James Adam Tucker, Nelson Hayne, Derek Petropolis, Chad Ridgely, Roy Abramsohn, Shellie Sterling, Sebastian Fernandez, The Don

Directed by Danny Draven

Expectations: Not much, but it does look fun.

On the general scale:

On the B-movie scale:

It’s no secret that recent Full Moon movies are a different breed than the films of their ’90s heyday, but Weedjies: Halloweed Night does its best to recapture the old spirit. Dagnab it, they do a pretty effective job of it, too! It’s more than simple nostalgia, though; Weedjies is dedicated to the memory of FX artist & director John Carl Buechler. His unique style and skilled hands helped shape the look and feel of many Empire/Full Moon movies, and they wouldn’t be the same without him. Weedjies specifically hearkens back to the Ghoulies movies, and while it isn’t on par with them, it’s a welcome return to the horror-comedy fun that typified Empire/Full Moon films at their best.

College friends Madison (Brett Hargrave), Dallas (Victoria Strange), and Frankie (Yo Ying) are throwing a giant Halloween party in Las Vegas, and they’ve rented out an entire hotel for the occasion. The party must be a great success, or else Madison won’t be able to afford her tuition next semester. How can they rent out a hotel on a holiday night if they need money, you ask? Never you mind, Mr. Armchair Accountant, we’re here to have fun! They’ve teamed up with chemistry nerd Claude (Johnny Jay Lee), who created a most desirable scavenger hunt prize: a potent marijuana strain named the Golden Nug! This attracts a healthy crowd, but it also brings along The Baroness (Denise Milfort), a mysterious woman with a unique Ouija board.