The Blade (1995)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Wow! Such a good movie.

Thanks for the memories!

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Let us hope the rumors are wrong, that the rights holder of Dao (Warner Bros?) is not pulling this film from theatrical release forever, and that the lucky sold-out audience at Walter Reade Theater tonight will not be the last people on planet Earth to see this towering achievement of cinema on the big screen.That said, tonight's screening of a near-pristine 35-mm print was the experience of a lifetime. Tsui Hark's re-imagining of Chang Cheh's 1967 Dubei dao (The One-Armed Swordsman), is (in the words of Subway Cinema curators) "a psycho-tronic phantasmagoria full of scars and tattoos, mutilation, amputation, sexual frustration, and sharp, heavy chunks of steel splitting muscle and breaking bones" - but most of all a story of love and kindness in a world that may be damaged beyond redemption.Original Music by Ying-Wah Wong (as Raymond Wong) and Wai Lap Wu is fantastic. The soundtrack album to be sought out. Any help in finding will be appreciated.

i've heard a lot about the inventive camera-work and direction in this movie. i thought both were a messalso some truly terrible acting. the main 'heroine' in the movie is irritating beyond belief and has absolutely nothing useful to contribute in any situation. everything she does or says is stupid, and she generally just seems to mess peoples lives up. if she could fight, i might forgive heroverall all the women in this movie are stereotypical 'broads' in need of a man to save them. and all the men in this movie are muscle bound dim wits capable of saving no onethis is a poor movie, and i urge you to avoid it. watch something like 'the sword of doom' instead, it's much better than this confusing mess of a film.

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.

Blade is a Hong Kong movie directed by Hsui Hark. It has a very interesting premise and defined characters. What it lacked was a bigger budget and cohesion. The story centers around the principles of revenge. It starts with the narration of a woman who talks like the two young men at the sword factory, On and Iron Head, will end up contesting for her hand in marriage. As one previous reviewer stated, the narrator is somewhat annoying. However the story is recounted how On is rewarded with ownership of the sword factory. The owner explains to On how he had raised him after his father was murdered by a mysterious tattooed swordsman who could fly. On wants to avenge his father. As the new owner of the factory the other employees dislike him except for Iron Head and the young woman. The young woman, the narrator is captured by bandits and On comes to her aid, and in the process ends up losing his hand in a very ugly trap. On eventually escapes and disappears. He is nursed back to health by a young spunky woman named Blackhead. Meanwhile Iron Head and the narrator go looking for On. On their journey Iron Head becomes enchanted by this crazy prostitute played by the extremely sexy Valerie Chow. When Chow is semi raped by a bandit, Iron Head rescues her and then precedes to take advantage of her. This of course disgusts the narrator. This action by Iron Head makes no sense. This is what I mean by lack of cohesion. Anyway the tattooed swordsman and his bandits shows up at On and Blackheads farmhouse and torture them and burn their house. Later, On finds a book which instructs him how to use his father's sword. The film wraps up nicely with the vengeful showdown between On and the Tattooed Swordsman. Iron Head and the rest of the sword factory employees get to help fight the other bandits. This film could have been great, but it looked like the editing and filming were done at a breakneck pace and that is why certain parts lack cohesion. I think a 7 out of 10 is a good rating. Valerie Chow I give a 10 out of 10. She is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!