Magic Blade, The (1976) Review

"The Magic Blade" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Chor Yuen
Producer: Runme Shaw
Cast: Ti Lung, Lo Lieh, Guk Fung, Tang Ching, Cheng Lee, Lily Li Li-Li, Fan Mei Sheng, Chan Shen, Cheng Miu, Goo Goon Chung, Ha Ping, Lau Wai Ling, Norman Chu, Yuen Wah, Tim Lei, Wong Pau Gei, Alan Chui Chung San, Yuen Shun-Yi, Kong Yeung, Ng Hong Sang
Running Time: 93 min.

By JJ Hatfield

By the time you are settled in a flurry of characters and events are constantly being brought into the story. I admit I had to see this twice before I really understood what was happening. It’s not that the movie is purposely confusing but there are so many fighters, challengers, villains, characters it can be a bit confusing. How can a movie go wrong that has Ti Lung and Lo Lieh (Yen Nan-fei) fighting opening the film! This is all sword fight and mini – wu xia action! Don’t expect to see anyone doing martial arts, because there are none. That does not mean this is a boring or bad film. In fact you can hardly keep up with the ever growing cast. After awhile it really is too much and serves as a detriment. Everyone wants to be more powerful than anyone else. There are innumerable bizarro world creatures/people that are always lurking nearby, people that seem to almost fly… Just know going in that this is not an excellent film but it is a damn good movie with much of the credit belonging to Ti Lung.

It felt like most of the film consisted of numerous people coming to challenge (Ti Lung) losing and then another challenger would appear. There is no revenge or even save the country or world motivations. This film is mostly spent with anyone and everyone (I do mean everyone!) fighting to be the best. In that enormous group there are “good” and “bad” people/creatures that have no hesitations to grab a sword and fight and kill.

A loose group of the enemy have to work together to survive and find out who, specifically is trying to wipe them all out. And everyone is after the Peacock Dart. One of the really cool evil spirits is Grandma. Just don’t go near her cart.

Grinding the gears the movie is suddenly taking a different turn. I believe it was a segment added to the film to give some time to showing Fu Hung Hsieh’s character. A break in the fighting that I probably would not have left in the film. The story is extremely fast paced and this really slams on the brakes.

Once Fu Hung Hsieh meets Cheng Lee it’s hard-core back to sword play and extremes.

Ti Lung is a far better fighter and swordsman than he really ever has recieved credit for and that is a shame. There are so many long takes in the fighting it’s wonderful to see. So many fights have short, cut and chop editing but this film does not do that. The camera allows Ti Lung to shine as a swordsman, twisting, leaping but very realistic with most of the sword fights.

One of the reasons I like this film is because of the extended fighting. Instead of the usual cut, fight, cut, fight Ti Lung just keeps going. Being able to see him in longer segments is a thrill!
He should have won an award for his fighting skills and finesse.

There is some blood but it really isn’t to excess, splashes when someone is hit and that sort of thing.
There are some who have said this is the first movie in a trilogy because of the same characters appearing briefly in other films. I really don’t see that much of a connection as the movies are on different subjects.

The viewer needs to remember that in the film everyone has special skills or powers. The usual way to show super- natural fabulous feats is to have the characters do things a “normal” person can not. So yes there is a lot of wire fu sometimes almost too much. But in “The Magic Blade” it really works and works well. It is a must have for some events to take place. Ti Lung has never looked better or made longer fighting takes that blows apart the “stars” who can’t manage thirty seconds.

The production values are high with careful attention to detail from the costumes. (loved Ti Lung’s outfit and swirling sword) The director, Chor Yuen knew his subject and how it needed to be shot. He had a fantastic cast and crew to work with and they sure as hell delivered!

A must see film!

By JJ Hatfield’s Rating: 8.5/10 (9.5/10 for Ti Lung fans)

By Joe909

Magic Blade hits the ground running and doesn’t let up for its first hour. From the opening challenge between Ti Lung and Lo Lieh, to the mortal combat between the duo and a legion of weird killers, to the swordfight-filled conclusion, this movie is action-packed to say the least. But around the one hour mark it lands in sappytown, and then struggles to righten itself.

Magic Blade is the beginning of a loose trilogy of films directed by Chor Yuen. Ti Lung’s Magic Blade character makes a brief appearance in Death Duel, a 1977 film that features Derek Yee as a master swordsman looking to become the greatest in the land. Death Duel also contains a brief appearance by Lo Lieh, as twisted killer Hang Tan, a role Lo first portrayed in 1976′s Killer Clans, which featured neither Ti Lung nor Derek Yee. So there’s your trilogy. Like I said, loose.

This is a swordplay film, so there isn’t much kung-fu acrobatics. Instead, there’s lots of flying around and other supernatural feats. But all of it’s done in an old school style, so there’s none of the fast-cut editing that distinguishes much of the gunk which makes up more recent swordplay films. The movie takes place squarely in the “martial world,” where fighters battle for prestige, not revenge or any other universal motive. Instead, everyone wants to be Number One, and will do whatever it takes to reach that goal. This is also one of those movies where everyone knows each other, either through reputation or legend; and just so we’re not left out of the party, every time someone new comes into the story, they’re accompanied by an on-screen credit. It does get annoying after a bit.

In fact, the multitude of characters is one of this film’s impediments. The first hour is a torrential flood of character after character who shows up long enough to challenge Ti Lung and Lo Lieh, and then get killed by one of them. Luckily these guys mostly don’t stick around very long; otherwise you’d need to keep a character list to keep track. Enemies who team up to discover who’s attempting to have them killed and capture the dreaded Peacock Dart, Lung and Lieh are Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef respectively, and this movie is more Sergio Leone-influenced than any other Hong Kong movie I’ve seen. From the music to the shot angles to Lung’s twirling, tricked-out sword, the movie is a true Eastern Western.

The characters up against this pair are all “straight out of a comic book,” to quote Jim Kelly. In this aspect the movie reminds me of another Shaw Brothers production, Avenging Eagle, which also featured crazily-named villains who used even crazier styles and weapons. The Devil Grandma is probably the best representative of the villains in Magic Blade: a decrepit old witch who pushes around a cart that contains everything from dying captives to deadly swordsmen.

As mentioned, things get sappy around the hour mark. Lung and Lieh split up, and Lung runs into a starving woman who prostitutes herself for food. This sequence is so unnecessary it isn’t even funny, and really halts the flow of the movie. Things get back on track once Lung hooks up with Cheng Lee, who plays the daughter of the Peacock Dart’s owner. Cheng gets captured, and Lung must free her, battling several new (and old) foes.

The movie takes an interesting turn into the metaphysical toward the end, as Lung, victorious, is informed that the mysterious pursuer of the Peacock Dart, Yu, the man he has been hounded by throughout the movie, doesn’t exist. Instead, whoever rules the martial world becomes Yu. This is an interesting, Eastern twinge to the film, but then it’s ruined when the real Yu comes charging out and attacks Lung. The fight between he and Lung is great, and Lung dispatches the guy with a neat twist, but I would have preferred the more philosophical conclusion that was hinted at.

But what it all comes down to is the fighting. I’m happy to say that, even though I don’t love the swordplay genre, I thought the action scenes in this movie were very well done. Since Ti Lung is our main character, he does a lot more fancy footwork than actors like David Chiang or Wang Yu ever could. His opponents also come off very good, so the fights in this film are more protracted than other swordplay movies of the era, which generally were over in a few unsatisfying seconds. Since all of the characters are veritable martial gods, expect lots of inhuman feats, but they’re all pulled off impressively, and believably within the context of the film. The gore factor isn’t nearly as high as in a Chang Cheh movie, but blood does erupt from the occasional sword slash.

Since this is a Chor Yuen film, the sets are meticulously constructed and look fabulous. Costumes are also impressive across the board, with Ti Lung really sporting a Spaghetti Western look in his poncho. Lung is as usual excellent, though his character is a bit too superheroic for me. Lo Lieh is as evil as always, and Cheng Lee, though she doesn’t get as meaty a role as in Yuen’s Web of Death, is fine in a part that doesn’t ask for much but to look scared.

Joe909′s Rating: 8.5/10