Leofwine_draca
THE SWORDSMAN is one of those wirework-heavy Chinese fantasy-action films that were all the rage in the 1990s. I'm not a great fan of the sub-genre; give me the good old-fashioned kung-fu comedies of the 1970s over these any day. This one is pretty typical of the genre, as it has a hugely over-complicated plot with silly story lines and a cast of far too many interchangeable characters, many of whom could have been excised to give the movie greater clarity. Old Hong Kong film staples are thrown into the mix, from cases of mistaken identity to women posing as men and mysterious, mountain-dwelling heroes, but sadly it's all very uninteresting and there's nothing here I could get worked up about. And this is from a FAN of Chinese cinema.The cast is pretty meagre and seems to be made up of comedy actors attempting serious roles, in the likes of Jacky Cheung and Sam Hui. Nobody stands out, aside from Yuen Wah who has a ball as another over-the-top villain and who dies after a killer bee attack this time around! The female characters are undeniably irritating (Brigitte Lin and Cecilia Yip, I'm talking about you) and the only decent acting of note comes from a pair of cameos by old-timers Lam Ching-Ying and Wu Ma, who share a touching scene together on a boat. Even worse, the fight scenes are nothing to write home about, with poor direction and confusing choreography throughout. The whole film has a cheap, slapdash feel and although it's regarded in some quarters as a classic – and was popular enough to spawn two sequels – I'd readily pick the likes of MOON WARRIORS over this tat any day.
yrn
When talking about the Asian movie "Swordsman", people usually tend to think about Jet Li, who stars the first sequel. This first movie however is better in every department.First and foremost, while still being a wuxia movie, the Swordman is paced, shot and cut in such a way that everyone can enjoy and appreciate it. The story is clear and you don't have to do guesswork on what's what, and why, like with some Asian movies with insufficient translation or constrained scenes. The adventure unfolds effortlessly and feels whole, which has to be a miracle of sorts when considering the difficulties it faced while in production (changing directors).The movie has such a good soundtrack that the themes are used in the latter movies too, and features few music scenes which add to the story very nicely and let's you get a breather between all the adventuring.Sam Hui obviously isn't a martial arts kinda guy and comparisons between Jet Li and him are a bit silly, but on his defence, he doesn't shy away from jumping around and about. He displays his physical side more than adequately. He's a comedy actor and while Jet Li portrays a pretty solid and cheerful Ling too, I prefer Hui's who is more human and softer around the edges.Because the action isn't anywhere as fierce and raw as in the sequels, this first Swordman movie is much more viewer friendly.This is not an action movie! This is an adventure movie!
DICK STEEL
Which brings us to Swordsman, or as the novel titled, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, whom Chow Yun-Fat took on the title Linghu Chong role in a TVB serial of old. Swordsman is part of a loose trilogy of sorts, the sequels being Swordsman II starring an almost different cast in leading roles, and Swordsman: The East is Red, made solely to capitalize on the popularity of actress Lin Ching-Hsia who made her memorable comeback role as The Invincible Dawn from the second movie. Amongst the three, Swordsman is still my favourite, even though Swordsman II had more fantastical fighting sequences, no doubt made more exciting by the charismatic presence of pugilist Jet Li. Swordsman: The East is Red, was largely wasted, and save for Lin, none of the other cast members returned, and had a totally unrelated story from the original medium.Not that Swordsman stuck closely to the intended Louis Cha version. As mentioned, plot lines were compressed, and characters sometimes appear and disappear with hardly a fight. What worked, was how the movie managed to sample the spirit of the novel, and translate it for the screen. The script and plot was kept tight, and revolved around the intense search for a missing martial arts manual, called Kui Hua Bao Dian, which is known to give the practitioner extreme prowess, as demonstrated in the sequel Swordsman II, but with a price.Double crossings, hidden intentions, quest for power - these are familiar themes which are played to perfection by the characters, save for one pair, our heroes Linghu Chong and Kiddo, who are caught in the web of intrigue. In short, the movie pretty much summarized the battles and craftiness of the characters in their thirst for the book, and ultimately, we see the disillusionment of Linghu Chong in matters of "jiang hu", as sung in the song Xiao Ao Jiang Hu.And oh, the song! If there's a song that maketh the movie, Swordsman will immediately spring to mind. It's an infectious earworm, but what elevated its status rather than being just another song played during the credits or relegated to background music, was its involvement as a plot element, in the bonding of friendship, the expression of disillusionment, and also, being so integral to the development of the story, in the form of revelation of true intentions.Naturally, since the song is important, the God of Songs of the time, Sam Hui, was casted as Linghu Chong. There were reported protests against the casting of Sam, because of his lack of martial arts background, but I would like to beg to differ. Yes he's not a natural pugilist, but don't forget, the characterization is key upon deciding who gets casted. His interpretation and portrayal of Linghu Chong, in my opinion, is spot on (miles better than Jet Li), bringing a dash of suave and impish slyness, together with strong vocals and that devil may care attitude. Stuntmen were probably roped in to handle the complex fighting stances, especially when Linghu Chong executes his Du Gu Jiu Jian (Du Gu's Nine Swords), a reputable and formidable swordsplay technique able to counter any attacks, but hey, more than half the martial arts movie out there, have stunt folk fighting in the place of actors.The rest of the cast were also top notch, like Yueh Wah, Cecilia Yip, Cheung Mun and even Jacky Cheung in a rare villainous role, although it was a pity that for the sequel, almost all of them were replaced, yet by another strong lineup like Rosamund Kwan, Michelle Reis, Jet Li, and of course, Lin Ching-hsia.With a rich, strong story containing the essence, adequate interesting fighting sequences, awesome cast and memorable song, it's hard to find what's not to like about Swordsman. Never mind the rumoured reports that director King Hu actually walked out of the project halfway, and had folks like Ann Hui, Ching Tsui-Tong, and even Tsui Hark himself amongst others take over in a collaborative effort, this movie delivers, and will forever remain one of my favourites of the martial arts genre.
mindless_junk
Swordsman was so popular in Hong Kong that it sprang two other sequels, which starred Jet Li. I consider this film to be a classic which started the whole "flying people martial art" movement in the 90's.The movie is about a sacred scroll stolen from the vault of the emperor's palace. Different groups of people wanted to get their hands on the scroll, from the master of the Wan San school, to the Eunuches. Along the way, there are a lot of fighting, a lot of singing, comic relief, even an irony of how the most powerful martial art is no match against modern weapons (In Swordsman III - the east is red, this would have reversed, culminating in the quote "You have science, I have mysterious kung fu, your science is s**t")The movie does not take itself too seriously. One of the best kung-fu/comedy/flying sword fights combination.
