REVIEW: ‘The Magic Blade’ (1976)

Were the Chinese knight errants of legend always chivalrous and dying by the sword? Generally, but throw in some explosives and all bets were off. This is the fantastic theme of THE MAGIC BLADE, where strange weapons like the exploding Peacock Dart and the Thunder Bullet mix with more conventional, but equally deadly tools of killing such as Ti Lung’s magnificent twirling chopper.

The film is based on a popular martial arts novel by the late Chinese author Gu Long and takes place in a mythical jiang hu or underworld where swordsmen and women are frequently depicted vying for dominance. Thus, it is filled with elaborate fights, improbable circumstances and eccentric characters that director Chor Yuen manages to recreate without losing an audience unfamiliar with the literary source. This may in part be due to noticeable Western influences.

Ti Lung, possibly Shaw Brothers’ greatest swordplay star plays Fu Hung-hsueh, a wandering swordsman who crashes the party of another wealthy swordsman named Yen Nan-fe (Lo Lieh). Having defeated Yen one year prior, Fu has returned for a rematch. But their duel is cut short by two assassins (one inside a tree) who attempt to kill Yen. The duelists decide to temporarily join forces in order to discover who is responsible for the attack. His name is Yu, a shadowy figure who aims to control the entire underworld. The only weapon capable of stopping Yu is the fabled Peacock Dart and the two sword heroes seek an audience with its owner in order to borrow it. The encounter is disrupted by Yu’s men who hope to steal it but Fu eventually gets a hold of the dart, which is shown to be capable of throwing out massive explosive charges, killing everything in its path. Escaping an elaborate trap, Yen rides on ahead while Fu and Chiu (Cheng Lee), the daughter of the Dart’s original owner endure a near fatal encounter with Yu’s assassins. Further setbacks including the abduction of Chiu, the loss of the Dart and news of Yen’s death fortify Fu’s resolve to endure more attacks and the seductive lure of women, wealth and power. Fu eventually faces Yu and his not-so-surprising leading henchman.

THE MAGIC BLADE is classic Shaw Brothers action in all its glory. Tang Chia’s choreography and choice of exotic weapons is colorful and exciting. Ti Lung’s sword spins on an axel and makes a terrific grinding noise as he literally mows his way through dozens of armed assailants. One of the highlights is an outdoor encounter with a small army of swordsmen who begin their fight by lying down to form a Chinese character, possibly meaning “sword.” The fighting isn’t stylized but is well executed and a usually more reserved Ti Lung is in one of his most energetic roles.

Another interesting setup involved our heroes becoming living chess pieces in a full-scale Chinese chess game where lines are drawn in the ground and assassins play opposing pieces. In these scenes, the film is reminiscent of Western television series like THE WILD WILD WEST where history is turned into a playground for the writer. One more memorable and eerily effective scene has our heroes walking into an outdoor teahouse full of dead patrons who are all frozen in “natural” poses. It’s all exaggerated nonsense but a lot of fun.

Discerning kung fu fans will recognize screen legends such as Fu Feng, Lily Li and Norman Chu in notable supporting roles. Even Fung Hak-on can be seen in a lesser role as a spearman. Lo Lieh is out of the film for half of the time but performs well while he’s present. Interestingly, in an interview with Yuen Wah, who doubled for both leading actors, Lo was described as being a bit lazy when it came to doing his scenes, whereas Ti was more actively involved in the production. If true, it doesn’t seem to have had much impact on the finished film as the quality of Chor’s direction makes it difficult to discern when doubles were used, excepting when characters performed tumbles and flips – a sure sign of Yuen Wah’s masterful acrobatics. This was certainly not true for many of the independent productions at the time.

The best role goes to veteran actress Ha Ping who plays the infamous Devil Grandma! She’s a cackling, blood-drinking witch who boils helpless victims for stew and wheels about a vendor’s cart erupting with explosive Thunder Bullets and armed men hidden inside. Wonderful characters like this are a testament to the creativity of author Gu Long, whose martial arts stories were adapted for film countless times. It’s a shame that his works are not readily available in English or that he doesn’t get more attention here in the West. He obviously had a tremendous impact on the martial arts films of the ’60s and ’70s. Today, martial arts films are either written for the screen or, like THE STORM RIDERS, are adapted from comic books to varying degrees of success. But quality source material for an incredible film like THE MAGIC BLADE is hard to come by.

The final word on this film is simply to not miss it. Of all of the kung fu films adapted from novels, this is one of the most accessible ones and is certainly entertaining on any level. The actors are in top form and the combat is endlessly creative, given budget limitations. Special mention goes to the Shaw sets which are intricate and Huang Chien’s straight-forward, yet very cinematic camera work. Aside from not having enough outdoor shots, a couple of pointless scenes including two lesbians getting busy and Ti Lung’s encounter with a starving prostitute, THE MAGIC BLADE rates as a near masterpiece of martial arts cinema.

Related Topics: Gu Long, jiang hu, poison, Shaw Brothers, swordplay, The Magic Blade (1976), Wuxia