The ruthless struggle between the master of the Wah sword school and an Imperial court Eunuch to possess a powerful martial arts scroll leads to much bloodshed and only Wah’s senior student can put an end to it.

From 1990 to 1995, Hong Kong experienced a massive resurgence of swordplay and wire-filled kung fu films inspired by the classics of the Shaw Brothers era. Tsui Hark was largely responsible for this boom and Swordsman was the film that kicked it off. Its richly detailed production design and occasionally outstanding action choreography is tempered by a convoluted story adapted from a novel and a heavy dependence upon rapid-fire editing that leaves the viewer more bewildered than anything.

Although Tsui Hark’s intense style of action filmmaking dominates the film, it is director King Hu’s eye for production design that lends Swordsman its visual flair. This was the first martial arts film this legendary auteur had directed in over a decade. In 1966, Hu scored a major success at Shaw Brothers with Come Drink With Me. Although a relatively low-budget film, its influence on most future swordplay films was significant, especially the work of Tsui Hark and Ang Lee. Hu left Shaw Brothers to pursue his own vision of filmmaking and produced another influential hit, A Touch of Zen (1971). As an artist, Hu was involved in every aspect of the films’ look from costume design to sets and exterior locations. His finely tuned sensibilities led to films that often looked like paintings come to life. Like in classical Chinese art, colors were rich, yet toned down. Swordsman is full of interesting costumes and sights that all share this look.

Hu’s influence also translates into a more poetic and contemplative take on swordplay action that contrasts strongly with Chang Cheh’s bloodier style, for instance. Yet in this film, Hu’s style also seems to be at odds with Tsui Hark’s need for constant motion. A confusing plot doesn’t help matters either.

A powerful martial arts scroll disappears from an Imperial library and a high-ranking Eunuch (Lau Shun) and his soldiers surround the home of a recently retired officer who is suspected of being the thief. The growing tension is sliced open when Ling Wu-chung (Sam Hui) and Kiddo (Cecilia Yip), two care-free students from the famed Wah sword school blunder in with a message for the officer from their master whose promised aid is coming a day late. Ensuing hijinks lead to explosives destroying the home and the officer’s death, but not before he charges Wu-chung with the task of finding his son and telling him the secret location of the family’s treasure. This is where the scroll is hidden.

What follows is a series of related, yet overwhelming events as the students encounter two aged heroes from the Sun Moon Sect (played by screen vets Lam Ching-ying and Wu Ma) who sing of happier times before their demise. Wu-chung receives brief but critical advice and training from a former Wah sword master. Later, Wu-chung is saved from the relentless pursuit of the Eunuch’s chief lieutenant, Zhor (Yuen Wah), thanks to the intervention of a clan of smugglers. The film’s main and final confrontation unfolds in a home where the scroll is hidden. After a bit of subterfuge where the chief Eunuch and his ambitious attendant (Jacky Cheung) do a little role playing, everyone’s true intentions are finally revealed as the scroll turns up. It takes the collective efforts of Wu-chung and his cohorts to defeat the Eunuch. All that’s left for Wu-chung to do is face his master who ruthlessly strikes down his own students to reach the scroll.

The film’s inclusion of so many major characters and subplots is frustrating enough, but making matters worse is poor pacing and machine gun editing. The pacing issue traces back to the conflict of Tsui Hark’s manic drive versus King Hu’s more classical approach. Tsui Hark wins with too many scenes that should have been handled with more patience.

The issue of how many cuts is too many when shooting a fight scene will always rage among fans, but Swordsman definitely goes too far. None of the stars are particularly good at kung fu. Sam Hui is usually cast in comedy roles and he doesn’t hold a candle to his replacement, Jet Li in Swordsman II (1992). To make up for this, most of his and everyone else’s action scenes are broken up into a series of tightly edited shots, that at times become quite annoying. By the end we’re seeing more close-ups of someone’s shoe or sword point than of a complete sequence. But we are still dealing with talented crafters of action scenes and some of these shots are quite good. An early scene where Wu-chung shows off his sword skill by snagging several lit candlewicks and twirling them about is impressive. We are also dealing with fantasy kung fu where inner chi energy is harnessed to explode limbs or slice multiple opponents in two from top to bottom. It sounds gorier than it is, because these scenes happen extremely fast and again, are editing very tightly.

Had the story been more clearly focused and the action reigned in, Swordsman could have been a lot more enjoyable. Also, most of the principle cast are either miscast or just dull. Sam Hui is more at home in comedy roles while Jacky Cheung makes for an unconvincing evil schemer. Yet Yuen Wah fits his role perfectly, while Lau Shun as the Eunuch is deviously superb. Having the villains win might have been an improvement.

While this film needs plenty of other improvements, it also has a good amount of action with images that are often creative and unusual. If you’re looking to see great swordplay films I would start with better efforts like Come Drink with Me, Swordsman II, and The Sword before checking this one out. It may have been a key film in the revitalization of the genre, but conflicting filmmaking styles means that Swordsman doesn’t match the films that inspired it or the films that it spawned.

by

Related Topics:
 •