I heard this was really good from an internet review. SO I obtained a DVD copy of it. Now about the copy I saw, the picture quality made me think that this film was shot through a lens smeared with mud. The voice acting in the dubbing made my skin crawl.
Beyond the manner in which this film was presented to me, it is a beautiful, brilliant film. This is Tsui Hark's best film. I would trade one of my kidneys for a subtitled, letter boxed, digitally remastered version of this film. Every time I watch my copy I am still blown away by how good it is but at the same time, how bad my copy is hurts.
Ah well, about the film itself: It is narrated by Ling, the daughter of a master sword smith. She likes nothing better than to play with the emotions of two of her father's employees Iron Head (Moses Chan) and Ting On (VIncent Zhao Wen Zu). Eventually they both grow tired of her teasing so they begin to ignore her.
The Death of a Shaolin monk at the hands of some local baddies gets the employees of the Sword factory really up in arms. Iron Head wants to lead an assault on the bad guys, but Ting On, following the master's wishes, preaches restraint. This alienates him from the rest of the employees (that and the fact that he was named as the successor) so he decides to run away. While leaving, On overhears Ling and her (Mother? Grandmother?) discussing his past, specifically the death of his father at the hand of a flying, tattooed assassin.
On retrieves a relic which he learned was the remains of his father's gigantic sword and leaves. Ling, perhaps driven by guilt follows him. Their paths go through the camp of the bandits who attack, resulting in On losing one of his arms. On is able to save Ling before Iron Head and the Sword workers arrive but goes over a waterfall.
ON is rescued by a dirty orphan who lives in a shack who is bullied by the same group of bandits. ON discovers a Kung Fu manual that he tries to learn from despite his handicap. Meanwhile, Iron Head and Ling decide to search for him.
Just to show how rich the plot is, THOSE four paragraphs cover just about the 1st quarter of the film. Also, I DID NOT go into great detail.
The fight scenes are sometimes too under cranked and jerky but overall they are high quality. Yes it IS a remake of The One Armed Swordsman, but Tsui Hark makes it HIS. The Blade can make you forget there even WAS a One Armed Swordsman. It is poetic, dark, depressing and violent. Hopefully Tai Seng or some other distributor will release a GOOD DVD edition of this masterpiece. A great film for not just HK Cinema fans but for film fans as well.
Beyond the manner in which this film was presented to me, it is a beautiful, brilliant film. This is Tsui Hark's best film. I would trade one of my kidneys for a subtitled, letter boxed, digitally remastered version of this film. Every time I watch my copy I am still blown away by how good it is but at the same time, how bad my copy is hurts.
Ah well, about the film itself: It is narrated by Ling, the daughter of a master sword smith. She likes nothing better than to play with the emotions of two of her father's employees Iron Head (Moses Chan) and Ting On (VIncent Zhao Wen Zu). Eventually they both grow tired of her teasing so they begin to ignore her.
The Death of a Shaolin monk at the hands of some local baddies gets the employees of the Sword factory really up in arms. Iron Head wants to lead an assault on the bad guys, but Ting On, following the master's wishes, preaches restraint. This alienates him from the rest of the employees (that and the fact that he was named as the successor) so he decides to run away. While leaving, On overhears Ling and her (Mother? Grandmother?) discussing his past, specifically the death of his father at the hand of a flying, tattooed assassin.
On retrieves a relic which he learned was the remains of his father's gigantic sword and leaves. Ling, perhaps driven by guilt follows him. Their paths go through the camp of the bandits who attack, resulting in On losing one of his arms. On is able to save Ling before Iron Head and the Sword workers arrive but goes over a waterfall.
ON is rescued by a dirty orphan who lives in a shack who is bullied by the same group of bandits. ON discovers a Kung Fu manual that he tries to learn from despite his handicap. Meanwhile, Iron Head and Ling decide to search for him.
Just to show how rich the plot is, THOSE four paragraphs cover just about the 1st quarter of the film. Also, I DID NOT go into great detail.
The fight scenes are sometimes too under cranked and jerky but overall they are high quality. Yes it IS a remake of The One Armed Swordsman, but Tsui Hark makes it HIS. The Blade can make you forget there even WAS a One Armed Swordsman. It is poetic, dark, depressing and violent. Hopefully Tai Seng or some other distributor will release a GOOD DVD edition of this masterpiece. A great film for not just HK Cinema fans but for film fans as well.