Kwok Kuen Chan
The Sentimental Swordsman
One of director Chu Yuan's crowning achievements, The Sentimental Swordsman epitomizes the lone, virtuous, heroic swordsman with a twist. The film uses melodrama as a vehicle for swordplay and Chu bamboozled audiences by infusing the Oedipus complex. Swordsman Li Hsin-Huan, magnificently played by the highly respected and popular Ti Lung, is also a hero with a weakness: he drinks too much and believes in love and emotion. Shaw Brothers’ fiery yet worldly femme Ching Li plays Li's girlfriend given in the name of tricked honor. It's finally payback time. Yet it's Li's oneness with nature that wins the day. Chu's swordsman films created romantic worlds lavishly infused with flamboyant atmospheric settings as evident by the film receiving the Special Award for Best Cinematography at the 1978 Golden Horse Awards.
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Blood Brothers
Made at the peak of the martial arts film craze, "Blood Brothers" stands out against the run-of-the-mill kung-fu flicks that flooded the market in the 1970s. It would be hard to find more legendary names in front of and behind the camera: director Chang Cheh, who virtually reinvented the genre; the brilliant martial arts choreography by Liu Chia-liang, before he himself embarked on a directorial career; and the number one buddy team in kung-fu, Ti Lung and David Chiang, joined by Shaw Brothers newest superstar, Chen Kuan-tai. Set in the waning years of the Ching Dynasty, Blood Brothers tells of one of the most sensational scandals in Chinese history, the assassination of a provincial governor (Ti Lung) by his lieutenant and sworn brother (David Chiang). Ti Lung, in a complex role that allowed him to flex his thespian muscles, was honored with Golden Horse Award of Outstanding Performance.
Apple TVApple iTunesThe Sentimental Swordsman
One of director Chu Yuan's crowning achievements, The Sentimental Swordsman epitomizes the lone, virtuous, heroic swordsman with a twist. The film uses melodrama as a vehicle for swordplay and Chu bamboozled audiences by infusing the Oedipus complex. Swordsman Li Hsin-Huan, magnificently played by the highly respected and popular Ti Lung, is also a hero with a weakness: he drinks too much and believes in love and emotion. Shaw Brothers’ fiery yet worldly femme Ching Li plays Li's girlfriend given in the name of tricked honor. It's finally payback time. Yet it's Li's oneness with nature that wins the day. Chu's swordsman films created romantic worlds lavishly infused with flamboyant atmospheric settings as evident by the film receiving the Special Award for Best Cinematography at the 1978 Golden Horse Awards.
Apple TV