Leofwine_draca
THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN has the honour of being one of the finest Shaw Brothers movies I've watched and that's saying something when I enjoy the studio's films in general and have yet to find a film from them which I've really disliked. For me, their best work seems to be that made in the early 1970s, in which the plots were still delightfully old-fashioned but the action was harder-hitting than ever. This film happens to be extraordinarily gory, the goriest I've seen from Shaw outside of FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS.The plot is a reprisal of the films that made Jimmy Wang Yu a star, i.e. THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN and its sequel. David Chiang is the hero who loses his arm in a duel and becomes a reclusive waiter until Ti Lung shows up and galvanises him into action once more. Chang Cheh was an excellent director and he's at the top of his game here; not only are the widespread action sequences impressively skilled and visually masterful, but the rest of the movie looks fantastic too, especially the framing shots. The incredible bloodshed is really ghoulish here and really goes over the edge at times. Chiang has never been better as the brooding hero - don't expect any of his trademark humour here - and Ti Lung excels in a star-making turn. Add in Ku Feng's truly malevolent bad guy and you have a classic of Shaw cinema.
seductrix
I usually like more realistic action films like Bruce Lee. Not the latest Die Hard where they break the laws of physics every ten minutes. And I don't like the current stuff with too much CG and wire-work.That said, I love this film. Especially in the original Mandarin. Fine production values, two heroes Chiang and Jimmy Wang Yu and a great villain "Hero Lung." A classic movie baddie.The only possible improvement would be if Bruce Lee had starred. Still, I'll have to say Chian is perfect as a young master swordsman who would rather cut off his own arm than live with dishonor.I've heard that Jimmy Wang Yu was not a trained martial artist, but a pretty tough guy in real life. Too cute guys.
S1lv3rSp33r
This is 1 of the best movies I have seen so far!Its always nice to see david chiang and ti lung playing togheter with eachother !Like some guy explained before , you can learn from this movie , because although you have a handicap you can still be improving your skillz.This story is well made , like mentioned before a guy Lei Li losing his arm to a corrupt "held" Lung. After being retired for a year a brother Feng come to his place where he acts like a bartender. While he was demolished by some people from the Tiger Fort , Feng teached Lei Li to appreciate himself again. Then one day Feng is losing his battle in the Tiger Fort against Lung , Lung used the same trick he used to do to Lei Li to with his sticks. After that Lei Li sworn revenge and the ending is amazing ! He defeats a whole squad of fighters from the Tiger Fort! And once again he meets Lung , the man that made him retire for a year. A very nice battle at the end !Anyway just watch the movie then you know what I mean ! :-)Greetz!
Mick-L
As a beginning martial artist at the time I saw this film,I was amazed at how realistic the fight scenes were.This man could handle a sword and to this day I wonder how they made it look so real.