Overview: Chang Cheh directs his third and final “One-Armed Swordsman” film, this time with John Chiang replacing Jimmy Wang Yu in a new role but with the same disability. Chiang portrays a twin sword-wielding hero who cuts his own arm off and retires from the martial world after a humiliating defeat. He later comes out of retirement to avenge the death of a sword brother (Ti Lung) and winds up facing an old nemesis (Ku Feng). This is another in a string of violent martial arts films from Chang and starring his two favorite leads of the era. As popular as these stars were at the time, Chang never had a problem frequently killing off the actors in macabre fashion. In THE HEROIC ONES, it was Chiang who previously suffered one of the most grisly fates in martial arts cinema. This time, it was Ti Lung’s turn, but not before preceding Chiang in battling through an army of swordsmen. Filmmaker Tsui Hark later took plot elements from this film and the original ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN to make THE BLADE (1995).
Detailed Synopsis: Lung Er-zi (Ku Feng), the head of Tiger Mansion, is a crafty, elder martial arts master who masquerades as a chivalrous hero but secretly engages in criminal acts with his clan mates. He robs the Yuan Sing Security Bureau and frames the theft on Lei Li (John Chiang), an upstart young swordsman who has been making a name for himself in the martial world due to his skill with twin swords. Er-zi confronts Lei Li and challenges him to a duel with the agreement that the loser shall retire from the martial world. Using a special technique with a three-section staff designed to counter opponents wielding two swords, Er-zi defeats Lei Li. In response, Lei Li cuts off his own right arm and withdraws in shame, leaving behind his swords. After recovering from his wound, Lei Li finds work at an inn as a lowly cook and table server. While there he befriends Ba Jiao (Li Ching), a blacksmith’s daughter. Lei Li adapts his martial arts training to working with one arm but is ridiculed and abused by rude patrons, including visiting members of Lung Er-zi’s Tiger Mansion. Enter “Twin Swords Hero” Fung (Ti Lung), another young knight errant specializing in wielding twin swords who arrives in the area to investigate Tiger Mansion and its involvement in a rash of recent robberies in the area. Fung comes to Lei Li’s defense after he’d attacked by men from Tiger Mansion who make unwanted advances on Ba Jiao. The two quickly become sword brothers. Ba Jiao convinces her father to let her give Lei Li a sword once belonging to a famous swordsman so that he can defend himself. Recalling his shameful defeat and subsequent vow to give up swordsmanship, Lei Li refuses the gift but soon finds cause to take up the sword again with his remaining left arm. Ba Jiao is kidnapped by men from Tiger Mansion but Fung stops them. He confronts Lung Er-zi at Tiger Mansion after killing guards on his way in but discovers that the crafty master has prepared a trap for him. In the presence of other members of the martial community, Fung accuses Er-zi’s lieutenant (Chen Sing) and members of Tiger Mansion of robberies. However, the crimes never actually took place and were nothing more than a ruse by Lung to lure Fung into appearing as an aggressor. Er-zi duels with Fung and defeats him with the same three-section-staff technique that bested Lei Li. Although gravely wounded and made to appear as the villain, Fung refuses to back down and battles Er-zi’s men. They unleash a coordinated entrapment maneuver with ropes that ensnare Fung’s limbs before delivering a gruesome fatal blow that slices his body in half. Hearing of his friend’s fate, Lei Li vows to take revenge and storms Tiger Mansion. The result is a bloodbath as Lei Li wipes out the entire clan before challenging Er-zi to a rematch on a bridge. This time, Lei Li has a new trick to use against Er-zi’s three-section staff thanks to one-armed skills he developed at the inn.
AKA: Triple Irons, Xin du bi dao, San duk bei do, 新獨臂刀
Genre: Wuxia
Companies: Shaw Brothers
Release Date: February 7, 1971
Producer: Runme Shaw
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Director: Tang Chia, Lau Kar-leung
Starring: John Chiang, Li Ching, Ti Lung
