One-Armed Swordsman (1967)

A martial arts classic from the 1960's, this movie did not disappoint. Primitive by today's standards, it was cutting edge in its time.

I was reticent about watching this as I'm not a huge Jimmy Wang Yu fan nor Chang Cheh. To my surprise, I enjoyed this movie. Either lovingly restored or lovingly cared for it was sharp and vibrant. Those who have watched old kung fu movies know what I'm talking about. Some of them look like they've been drug over 20 miles of bad road. While most of the scenery was filmed on a lot, the sets were very nice to look at.

Most of the actors performed well for the time and genre. I was surprised to see Tien Feng and Ku Feng playing good guys, they usually played wicked men. Lisa Chiao Chiao, no stranger to holding a sword in a movie, played the gentle love interest with no desire for her man to ever pick up a sword again. Fortunately, her character just happened to have a secret book on how to fight left-handed hidden away and was able to give it to Wang's character after he lost his right arm and fell into a depression. This role fit Wang's screen personality like a glove and it made him famous.

The sword fights were typical of the time, with quite a few, uh, disarming scenes. Bloodier than movies that came before it, but not as bloody as Chang Cheh would make in the future, the fights were mostly entertaining.

The One Armed Swordsman excelled more in storyline and mood than in the actual fight scenes. The one-armed swordsman received a gift in his loss as he came to learn compassion and affection. Though he lost everything he knew, he gained a way out of the cycle of violence. For martial arts movie enthusiasts, it's a good one to watch in homage to the past and also to see how far these movies have come.

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