The One-Armed Swordsman

The One-Armed Swordsman (Dubei Dao) (1967)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Cheh Chang

Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu, Lisa Chiao Chiao, Tien Feng, Angela Pan, Tang Ti

From: Shaw Brothers

I recently realized it has been awhile since I've seen a Shaw Brothers movie. That and someone complimenting a list I've put together on Letterboxd of all the Shaw Brothers movies I have watched, made me want to see another one. I picked this one out, as I was able to watch it at a secret site I won't reveal here, and it's one of their more highly regarded films.

To steal the plot description from the IMDb: “An evil gang attacks the Chi school of Golden Sword Kung Fu. One student sacrifices his life to save his teacher and his school, his dying wish is that his son be taken in as a student. Young Fang Kang grows up in the school and treasures his father's broken sword and the memory of his father's sacrifice. The other students (including the teacher's daughter) resent him and try to drive him away. The teacher's daughter challenges him to a fight and when he refuses she becomes enraged and recklessly chops off his arm! He retreats, broken and bloody, and is found by a young poor girl (Xiao Man) living alone who nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, the evil gang who originally attacked the Golden Sword school develops a weapon that renders the Golden Sword useless and starts killing off all of the schools students."

Needless to say, Fang Kang (Wang Yu, who I only knew before from the awesome The Man From Hong Kong) has to decide whether to help his teacher and his fellow students or listen to his new lady Xiao Man (who has connections to the martial arts world also) and leave that dangerous world and become a farmer with her. That makes it stand out-the story arc-and makes the movie interesting.

It's not hard to see why Wang Yu became a big star in the Hong Kong film world. He made you believe he was one-limbed and he could kick a lot of ass despite only having the use of his left arm.

That, the story, many of the characters being memorable and very colorful and the settings portrayed make me say this is a quality film and no wonder it's highly thought of. The first part of the movie is set during winter (i.e. snow) and that setting is real well-done. An important scene is set during a light snowfall and that made it awesome as you have no trouble thinking that they are outdoors filming in snowy weather.

I'll return tomorrow night.