Deusvolt I did not know then that Chinese martial art fighters were distinguished by the myriad schools where they trained. I also learned that hand-clasping (as if in prayer) greeting with a bow that a swordfighter uses to greet his shifu (teacher). How about that peculiar Chinese idiom: "Please don't stand on ceremony" meant to put guests at ease? Neat. So a Chi man has 64 ways of using his sword. Actually the Chinese call it a knife because of its shape and it is much broader than an ordinary sword. Chinese swords tend to be somewhat slim and light. The slightly built Wang Yu seems an unlikely candidate to be a super swordsman but his stance and his moves belie the frail looks. The hero underdog gives not only as good as he gets, but more! Jimmy is a double edged martial arts movie actor. Obviously he knows his martial onions although he is not truly a master like Bruce Lee. BUT, he sure can act.The female lead Chiao Chiao played other swordfighter roles quite credibly but I was disappointed that in some movies she was cast as a femme fatale even with nude scenes.

PKazee It should be noted that this is a rather anti-martial arts, martial arts movie. There are at least three speeches amounting to "those who live by the sword, not only die by it, but also bring death, suffering and sorrow to those they love most".Also, future director Lau Kar-leung has a supporting role as one of Long-Armed Devil's two ruthless henchmen.

Brian Camp THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) is often cited as Hong Kong's first real martial arts film, i.e. with emphasis on martial techniques, styles and training rather than on clan politics, corrupt officials, and court intrigue. Star Jimmy Wang Yu is much more intense here than in most of his previous starring roles (e.g. TWIN SWORDS and TRAIL OF THE BROKEN BLADE) and his fighting is much more ferocious. Overall, this is a bleak, somber film, with occasional tearjerking and melodramatic moments. The darkly handsome Wang Yu brings the right tone of brooding and melancholy and makes the climactic moments of violent outburst quite satisfying.Wang Yu plays Fang Kang, a martial arts student whose right arm is chopped off in a sudden confrontation with his master's impetuous daughter and then must learn how to fight with his left. He runs off and finds a simple farm girl, Hsiao Man (Chiao Chiao), to take him in and care for him. She has a half-burned old swordfighting manual which she gives to Fang to teach himself left-hand sword techniques. Her father had died after a sword fight (over the book) and her mother had started to burn it. Her mother had warned her to never fall for a sword fighter and she urges Fang never to fight. However, after he is humiliated by some martial arts students when they try to flirt with Hsiao Man, Fang resolves to fight again. Fang is forced into action when his former master, Teacher Chi, and his students are attacked by Long-Armed Devil who has called on evil swordsmen, including Smiling Face and his two loutish students, to raid Teacher Chi's school during Chi's retirement party. Long Arm gets things rolling by sending his two henchmen to kill any students they can waylay. The henchmen have a sword-lock on their swords with which they can trap the opponents' swords and slay the opponent with a right hand dagger to the belly. Ultimately, only Wang Yu's short, broken sword is capable of counteracting the sword-lock. Wang Yu returned to the role of Fang in THE RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1968), which is even more focused on swordfights and bloodshed (and is also reviewed on this site). He later left Shaw Bros. to star in ONE-ARMED BOXER (1971), which, along with his last Shaw Bros. film, THE CHINESE BOXER (1970), was a seminal film in the budding kung fu genre.

Azzy I grabbed this one out of the library, wondering if it would live up to my expectations. it didn't quite, but was still an entertaining movie. the plot is the basic my school can kick your school's ass kind of story. however this was ten years before all those sammo hung or jackie chan movies with that plot. this has a preaty good claim to be the original in this field. the plot is just an excuse for some extremely violent swordplay. it didnt have a quarter of the bodycount i expected (definitely under thirty killed) but was as bloody as rumored. jimmy wang yu slices some impressive body parts. the villians' gimmick is very stupid (a sword that catches their opponents sword). the fighting isn't up to par of modern kung fu, but is way bloodier than anything of the day, and much now.