This superior swordplay extravaganza boasts numerous exciting fights, high quality production values and a better-than-average story written and directed by the great John Woo.
Kao (Lau Kong) is a scholarly swordsman of dubious character who vows revenge on the man who killed his family. He begins by befriending Chang (Wai Pak), aka “The Magic Sword.” Chang is a warrior trying to put his infamous reputation as a swordsman behind him.
Kao hires Pray (Fung Hak-on), a more ambitious swordsman to kill his own master (Cheng Lui) in order to claim the master’s famous sword. Kao’s master survives thanks to Chang’s intervention. But later, Kao finds the sword and kills his master in the process.
Misled by Kao’s initial kindness, Chang agrees to fight Pak (Lee Hoi-san), the ruthless martial arts master who killed Kao’s family. Joining him is Tsing (Damian Lau), a care-free sword-for-hire who develops a bond with Chang.
After narrowly defeating Pak, Tsing explains that he has been hired to kill Chang but refuses to do so and the pair confront the treacherous Kao in a deadly battle.
Although the story ably wraps around several main characters, Chang, played by Venoms Mob alumni Wei Pak, stands out as the principle character upon which the story pivots. Wei is right at home playing the somewhat naïve, yet talented hero who finds himself at the center of a complex plot where not everyone is as they appear and honor among friends is hard to come by.
It may be surprising to some that John Woo ever directed an action movie devoid of blazing dual Berettas. Woo’s few action movies in the ’70s were all martial arts pics, the other most notably was HAND OF DEATH (1975) which co-starred Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung before they became superstars.
The central themes in Woo’s tales have not changed much throughout the years. In LAST HURRAH, swords replace guns but the idea of male bonding and sacrifice is ever present. Likewise, there is a fair amount of bloodletting, although tame compared to Chang Cheh’s work at Shaw Brothers. Veteran action director and actor Fung Hark-on does terrific work with the numerous fight scenes that employ a variety of weapons and open-hand techniques.
Although Damian Lau is not an accomplished screen fighter, he’s surrounded by talented stunt actors who are, including co-leading man Wai Pak and the main fighting adversaries, played by Fung Hak-on and Lee Hoi-san. With the more fanciful gimmicks reserved for Lau Kong in the finale, most of the combat relies on long, elaborate sequences of fast and complex sparring, near as good as anything coming out of Hong Kong at the time. It doesn’t hurt that John Woo shows considerable still in framing this action with the help of DP Cheung Yiu-jo who went on to become one of Jackie Chan’s top cinematographers for classics like POLICE STORY and DRUNKEN MASTER 2.
It’s amazing that by this early point in his career Woo had already dispensed with the flaws present in previous efforts and found his winning formula in this film. The camerawork is assured and frequently in motion, a precursor to the more dynamic shoots of his modern-day films. Both embracing and shunning the trends, Frankie Chan’s soundtrack combines disco-era electric guitars and more subtle orchestral music that compliments each scene. There is also a terrific theme song performed by the late Roman Tam, a local singer who had lent his voice to many wuxia TV series.
Woo breaks little new ground with LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY. Other swordplay films such as Patrick Tam’s THE SWORD (1980) stand out greater for their starkly beautiful cinematography and limited reliance on studio sets. Yet this film is very accomplished for its day and features one of the more engaging plotlines among wuxia offerings from the late 1970s and early ’80s. It won’t disappoint swordplay fans or those who enjoy Woo’s later films.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
John Woo • Videos • Wuxia
