RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN -- DVD review by porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/13/10

 

Master Fang Gang (Jimmy Wang Yu), the legendary one-armed swordsman, has dropped out of the martial world and settled down to the quiet life of a farmer with his lovely and devoted wife Xiaoman (Chiao Chiao).  But just when he thinks he's out, they keep pulling him back in.  With Dragon Dynasty's new DVD release of the Shaw Brothers' 1969 classic RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, Master Fang's peaceful new existence is shattered when he finds himself up to his eyeballs in blood-drenched mayhem against a host of uniquely-talented opponents. 

A gang of self-proclaimed martial arts kings invite all the sword clans in the area to their stronghold to participate in a contest that will decide the "King of Swords."  Actually, it's a ruse to attract all sword clan elders into a trap so that the bad guys can eliminate their competition by threatening to kill them unless their followers cut off their own right arms and deliver them as ransom.  When the young pupils beseech the retired Fang Gang to take up his sword once again and help rescue their elders, he's reluctant to do so until his wife is threatened, which prompts him into action.  But the journey to the enemy fortress is fraught with danger as the group is ambushed at every turn by the various evil sword kings and their minions. 

Despite its fanciful characters and colorful action, RETURN is a sober, somber film with little or no comedy, in which the frequent deaths of likable lead characters give it an atmosphere of dread.  The group of young rescuers is constantly attacked along their route by gangs of bloodthirsty villains, each dealing death by their own bizarre means in some of the bloodiest Shaw Brothers action I've seen.  Hell's Guardian and his Seven Earth Bullies spring out of the ground itself while Heaven Strike and his Nine Flying Pupils drop out of the sky; Spinning Wheels and his men slice their opponents to ribbons with razor-sharp whirling blades.

Other frightful sword kings include Poisonous Dragon, Great Muscles, and Quick Arms.  The most treacherous of the bunch is the beautiful Lady of a Thousand Hands, who poses as a damsel in distress in order to gain the trust of our heroes and then strikes with her many deadly blades while their guard is down.  Worst of all, however, is the Stealth King, a master of deception whose weapons can't even be seen until they've already killed you.  Master Fang has to take this guy on along with his hordes of bodyguards (none of these crumbs fight fair) in the climactic battle.

Swordplay takes place in bamboo forests, teahouses, roadside inns, and finally in the villains' fortified lair itself.  The fight choreography isn't as refined as it would become over the years, but this is some pretty furious stuff for its time and there are several exciting free-for-all combat sequences throughout the film.  The few instances of primitive wirework which pop up now and then are a bit jarring since the characters appear to be swinging rather than flying (which, of course, is still fun to watch anyway).  More effective is the scene in which Master Fang's attackers are bouncing high into the air all around him with the help of unseen trampolines.  Other special effects depicting the bad guys' unusual weaponry in action are generally good, particularly those nasty spinning wheels of death.
 

Chang Cheh's relatively restrained direction not only keeps the action under control but also gives the dramatic scenes the air of gravitas required to lend depth to the story, especially during the interactions between Fang and his wife. The cast is generally very good and there is little of the hammy overacting one often sees in these old Shaw Brothers films, save that which is expected of the more over-the-top villains.  Jimmy Wang Yu is very appealing as the title character, whose humility and reluctance to fight make him an even more admirable hero. 

The DVD from Dragon Dynasty is presented in its original widescreen with both Mandarin and English mono soundtracks.  Subtitles are in English and Spanish.  This is a barebones disc with no extras.

Fans of the clash 'n' slash genre won't want to miss this fight-filled epic.  With its fascinating main character, imaginative array of villains, inventive fight scenes and weaponry, and epic storyline, RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN is clearly one of the films that helped create the template for all the Hong Kong sword operas to come. 

 

RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN -- DVD review by porfle

Porfle's Trivia Quiz #18: "STAR WARS Cantina Scene" (1977) (video)

How much do you remember about this classic scene from the original "Star Wars"?
 

Question: Obi-Wan's first contact in the cantina is with...

A. Han Solo
B. Chewbacca
C. Greedo
D. Jar Jar Binks
E. Boba Fett

Question: When a thug threatens Luke, Obi-Wan does what?

A. Runs him through
B. Cuts off his arm
C. Beheads him
D. Talks him out of it
E. Pays him off

Question: The Millennium Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than ____ parsecs.

A. 14
B. 13
C. 12
D. 11
E. 10

Question: Who originally shot first...Han or Greedo?


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz #18: "STAR WARS Cantina Scene" (1977) (video)

"The Warlords" & "The Eclipse" - on DVD and Blu-ray June 29

Jet Li Stars In The Lavish And Heroic Tale THE WARLORDS, Arriving On Blu-ray Disc And DVD June 29 From Magnolia Home Entertainment Under The Magnet Releasing Label As Part of the Six Shooter Film Series

Winner Of Eight Hong Kong Film Awards Including Best Picture, Best Director And Best Actor

“Jet Li shines in this elaborately choreographed, action-packed Chinese historical epic.”
– New York Magazine

"Emotionally powerful. Spectacular action. Jet Li dominates the drama whenever he's onscreen."
– Variety

“An impressively gargantuan, highly watchable Chinese battle epic.”
– Village Voice

Love, politics and loyalty collide in THE WARLORDS, one of the most sweeping epics in the history of modern Chinese cinema.  Set in the midst of the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, the magnificently engrossing film was a massive critical and commercial success in China.  Starring Jet Li (The Mummy 3, Hero), Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (Red Cliff, House Of Flying Daggers), THE WARLORDS tells the story of General Pang (Li), a battalion commander who barely survives a brutal massacre that leaves all of his fellow soldiers dead.  Pang joins a passing group of bandits led by Er Hu (Lau) and Wu Yang (Kaneshiro) and helps them defend a helpless village from attackers.  The three men swear an oath to become “blood brothers,” pledging loyalty to one another until death.  Pang then convinces his brothers to join him in the army to earn an honest living, but things quickly derail when they become embroiled in a web of political deceit and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful woman.

Embark On An Eerie Tale As The Ghost Story, The Eclipse, Arrives On Blu-ray Disc and DVD June 29 From Magnolia Home Entertainment.

"A smart, scary, spine-tinglingly matter-of-fact ghost story."
- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"A GEM. A lovely tale of grief, love and moving on.”
- Marshall Fine, Huffington Post

“…eerie story of a widower and his brush with the supernatural has the amazing dual effect of being both sweetly moving and really creepy.”
- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Ciarán Hinds (There Will Be Blood, Margot at the Wedding) won the Best Actor award at the Tribeca Film Festival for his “…marvelously understated, but full-bodied performance" (Marshall Fine, Huffington Post) as Michael Farr, a widowed father who believes that his house is haunted.  Michael sparks interest in a visiting horror novelist, Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle; Defiance, High Fidelity), who writes books about ghosts and the supernatural.  However, Lena has been having an affair with the world-renowned novelist Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn; “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” Legends of the Fall).  Both authors are visiting the town for an international literary festival, and as the festival progresses, the trajectories of these three people draws them into a life-altering collision involving challenges of love, fear of the unknown and release from the burden of grief.

The Warlords [Blu-ray]
Warlords
The Eclipse [Blu-ray]
The Eclipse

"The Warlords" & "The Eclipse" - on DVD and Blu-ray June 29

THE LAST LEGION -- DVD and Film Review by Porfle

Porfle joins the team with his review of The Last Legion coming to DVD this Tuesday!

THE LAST LEGION (2007) opens with 460 A.D. Rome installing a 12-year-old kid as their exalted emperor simply because he's the last of Julius Caesar’s bloodline. Sounds a bit half-baked to me, but it sorta actually happened in real life--the events in the first part of the movie are loosely based on history, all the way through the part where the Goths move in and kick Rome's ass shortly after Romulus Augustus assumes power. The kid is banished for life to the island of Capri (at which point history loses track of him) along with his teacher and mentor, the mysterious Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley), who excels in using parlor tricks and sleight-of-hand to convey the illusion of sorcery. 

While most of the defeated Romans are scrambling to welcome their new Goth overlords, the Roman military commander Aurelius (Colin Firth) escapes with some of his best guys and plans to rescue Romulus. But they'll need help if they ever hope to retake Rome, and the only remaining legion that hasn't been slaughtered or assimilated by the Goths is in Brittania. There, a new and even more frightening enemy awaits--the dreaded conqueror Vortgyn (Harry Van Gorkum), a golden-masked villain with whom Ambrosinus has unfinished business.

THE LAST LEGION is handsomely mounted, beautifully lit and photographed, with authentic-looking period detail and locations (although the occasional less-than-perfect matte shot or CGI effect may induce a slight cringe). Some of the sets, especially during the Rome segment, are impressive.

Director Doug Lefler populates most of the crowd scenes with actual extras (as many as 1300 in the coronation scene) and only rarely packs the frame with digitally-generated replicants. This gives the film the aura of a more traditional old-style sword epic from the 50s or 60s rather than the unreal hyper-grandiosity of the LOTR films, especially in the gritty final battle sequence between the "last legion" and Vortgyn's hordes at Hadrian's wall in Britannia.

But despite all that, this film isn't quite an epic--more of a "mini-epic"--with a somewhat lighthearted and at times storybook veneer that sets it apart from the more sober and adult-oriented likes of GLADIATOR. This is most evident in the character of Mira (Aishwarya Rai), a lithe warrior woman who runs around mowing down hordes of bad guys single-handledly while managing to look gorgeous the whole time. I haven't Googled whatever form of exotic martial arts she's supposed to be a master of, but apparently it involves the ability to kill all opponents regardless of size or number. Anyway, Rai is a real looker who handles the fight choreography beautifully, and it's fun watching her character in action.

For me, though, the best thing about THE LAST LEGION is seeing how various elements of the story gradually come together to form the genesis of the King Arthur legend. At one point Romulus discovers the "sword of kings", created for Julius Caesar and passed down to his descendants, which we know will eventually become known as Excalibur. The first really literal indication of Arthur's origin comes when Romulus forms his first boyhood crush on a girl named "Ygraine." And, of course, Ambrosinus himself bears a striking resemblance to a certain Arthurian sorcerer.

But the main difference in tone between this and John Boorman's EXCALIBUR, for instance, is the lack of fantasy elements--here, we're shown a relatively plausible basis from which a magical, mystical legend might develop through generations of retelling.

Ben Kingsley plays Ambrosinus with his usual presence and skill. Colin Firth's Aurelius is suitably heroic, although the pep talk he gives his men before the final battle isn't anywhere near as stirring as Theoden's "sword day" speech in THE RETURN OF THE KING or Mel Gibson's wild-eyed rants in BRAVEHEART.

The rest of the cast is fine, including Alexander Siddig of "Deep Space Nine" and THE MUMMY's John Hannah as a duplicitous Roman senator, but it's the young Thomas Sangster as Romulus upon whom everything hinges. He gives an impressively mature and convincing performance, with a physical presence that makes me think of a pint-sized Jeremy Irons or Malcolm McDowell.

The DVD image is anamorphic with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Picture quality looks great to me, and I had no problem with the sound as well.

Bonus features include deleted scenes with optional director's commentary, the most interesting being an 8-minute alternate edit of the final battle sequence. There's also a short "making of" featurette, a storyboard-to-film comparison (which I skipped since I couldn't care less about storyboard-to-film comparisons), a theatrical trailer, and a detailed and informative commentary track by Doug Lefler. My favorite, though, is an 11-minute short featuring some intense, in-character stunt performers running through a greatest hits collection of the film's furious fight choreography.

THE LAST LEGION isn't likely to achieve classic status, cult or otherwise, but for fans of the King Arthur legend, sword-and-sorcery, and/or historical drama mixed with lots of action, it's definitely worth checking out.

THE LAST LEGION -- DVD and Film Review by Porfle