Swordsman and Enchantress (1978)

Two leading swordsmen end up dueling over the beautiful Chen Bijun (Cheng Lee), but literally become puppets in the hands of an unknown player intent on ruling the martial world at all costs.

Another story written by Gu Long, one of China’s most popular wuxia novelists is adapted for feature film and directed by Chor Yuen. Swordsman and Enchantress follows the genre conventions to the letter, but is far from mundane. In Chor’s talented hands, the film is an exuberant menagerie of colorful characters with elaborate names, unraveling mysteries, and fanciful swordplay.

Although Ti Lung plays the principle hero, a drifter swordsman named Xiao, it’s the women who really dominate this tale. First we meet the seductive Lady Feng, played by Lily Li in one of her saucier roles. She’s the woman who causally goes through men like tissue paper, drops her clothes without reservation, and proudly labels herself a slut while humorously going by the nickname of “Man Junkie.” Representing the fighting female is the oddly-named Little Lord (Candy Wen), a slight woman in male attire who paralyzes opponents with a mere touch and is nearly equal to the toughest of her male counterparts including Xiao. Her motives remain hidden until the end, but she is chiefly responsible for setting Xiao up as the villain in the eyes of Lian Chengbi (Lau Wing), a supreme swordsman from a wealthy and influential family. Little Lord does this by stealing the legendary ‘Deer Cutting Sword’ as it’s being delivered to Lian and then attempts to kidnap Lian’s wife. This is where the ‘Enchantress,’ Chen Bijun (Cheng Lee) comes in as the central female character and the love interest. Xiao rescues her, they bury their growing feelings for one another, and a jealous Lian challenges Xiao in a series of unresolved duels. Chen soon rejoins Xiao as they run from Little Lord and her henchmen. They end up in the hands of the real manipulator of these events who traps them within a small world of miniatures known as Puppet Villa.

After watching this film, it’s no wonder that wuxia stories are so popular in China. It’s The Wild Wild West and James Bond in ancient China with swords replacing guns. There’s so much going on and it’s all loads of fun, unlike some lesser wuxia films that are either too confusing or take themselves too seriously. Fun is definitely at the top of the list. How can it not be when you have two ‘Zombies of the West’ and two ‘Zombie Casters’ for villains? The first pair are dressed like mummies, have white-painted faces, and one of them wields a bone claw weapon while the other uses ‘White Nether Claws’ kung fu to impale his victims. The second pair is dressed in hoods and were probably meant to perform magic, but budget and time limits might have prevented that as they hilariously bang cymbals instead.

Lest anyone think this is cheapo production, Shaw Brothers rolls out their best sets complete with elaborate waterways, tons of foliage, creative lighting, and elaborate structures. Stage fog is pumped out in practically every scene. Yes, it’s unreal, but purposely so in order to portray the otherworldly feel of the story from which the film is derived. The Puppet Villa, a place where the world’s top swordsmen are lured into is a very interesting concept for a swordplay film. It’s played to perfection for its day and nicely turns expectations upside down. One gripe related to the overall setting is a strong sense that the entire story takes place within a one-mile radius due to the enclosed sets. Characters seem to travel no more than a few steps to reach entirely new locales. But at least they’re interesting and varied. Chen Yung-yu’s medieval-style theme music is distinctive, but ends up recycled too many times and awkwardly fades short on occasion. Given a choice between one original theme played to death and a wider selection of lifted clips used in independent films, I’d take the latter.

Ti Lung is basically reprising his roguish Magic Blade character to good effect, yet without that film’s ultra-cool spinning sword. He initially wields a spear which is strange since the ‘Swordsman” part of the film’s title refers to him, but it ultimately proves to be an accurate description. There is a brief nod to the Drunken Master when Ti starts drinking. The next best role comes from Candy Wen who is thoroughly entertaining as a kick-butt female fighter. This is one of her first roles and she really runs with it. Not much needs to be said of Lily Li, except that she finally gets to play the bad girl and that’s good. There are several blink and you’ll miss them appearances by future stars, Kara Hui as a member of the ‘12 Flower Servants of Yihua Palace’ and Yuen Biao as a nameless fighter. Longtime stunt double Yuen Wah features a little more prominently as one of the ‘Four Lethal Leng Brothers,’ a band of white-clad swordsmen under Lian Chengbi who perform synchronized swordplay.

Swordsman and Enchantress definitely has a lot going for it. Tong Gaai’s action choreography is as good as it ever got without his longtime partner Lau Kar-leung assisting. The story is strong and contains some real twists that will be nearly impossible to predict. Ti Lung and company are in top form. In other words, this is another sterling wuxia production from Shaw Brothers. It won’t convert anyone who normally objects to this fantasy style of martial arts, but it won’t disappoint its fans either.