Soul of the Sword (1978)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Wu-Ming (Dave Wong-Kit) watches yet another contender (Chan Jun-Ho) challenge Swordsman Lu (Ku Feng), a an who hides behind a hat with a veil, to become the new No. 1. The contender ha brought along his girlfriend (Lin Chen-Chi) as a witness to the fight. Lu informs the challenger that his death is eminent because the girlfriend holds his heart and focus, rather than swordsmanship. The contender ignores the advice and continues the challenge. Lu kills him after a few quick rounds. The girlfriend takes her own life to be with her fallen swordsman.Wu-Ming sees an old man (Wong Chin-Ho) chiseling a name into a large stone marker. There is a long list of names on the marker. The old man ads anew one each time Lu defeats a contender. The old man wants people to remember who has fallen at the swipe of Lu's sword. Wu-Ming announces his name will not appear on the list, because he will defeat Lu and become Number 1. The old man has his doubts and asks for Wu-Ming's name so he can recall it after the boy is killed by Lu. Wu-Ming promises to train hard and become better than Lu ever was.Time passes as we watch Wu-Ming (Now Ti Lung) practice his swordsmanship. The scene with the birds was gross, but effective to show Wu-Ming's skills with moving objects. Wu-Ming has a vision of the lady who committed suicide to be with her fallen swordsman. He believes his eyes are playing tricks on him and dismisses her. She will appear to him a few more times as he trains to fight Lu. It's an apparent omen that he will choose to ignore.The down side to becoming number 1, is you have to get rid of those who stand between you and that goal. Wu-Ming takes on Monk Long (Lam Fai-Wong) and his minions to begin growing his reputation. I am accustom to seeing Lam playing a side kick or off in the shadows as a guard or thug where needed. Here, he displays his swordsmanship rather well. Wu-Ming, who has informed Monk Long and his minions that his name is Nameless, defeats Monk Long and sets out for the next person on his list.Lu and Sire (Yu Wing), who hosts the fights between Lu and all comers, discuss Nameless' skill with Monk Long and his minions. Lu knows it will not be long before he must face Nameless. However, Lu also knows Nameless must secure more victories before they meet.Nameless encounters Sword Lady of Loyang (Lily Li Li-Li) in a bath house. Nameless duels her in nothing more than his undies or a towel (I'm not quite sure what he's wearing to be honest). He kills her after cutting open her blouse exposing her breasts. It was an unnecessary but not uncommon scene in these movies. Lady of 3 Moves (Lau Wai-Ling) tries her hand at taking out Nameless but he escapes her 4th Move.Nameless is befriended by Chui I (Ku Feng) whom Nameless addresses as Old Man. Chui I is the physician for Sire and all challengers who train at Sire's mansion. Chui I knows nothing of the Sword world outside fixing up damaged bodies. Chui I watches Nameless take on challengers while they're having lunch at a local inn. Sire invites Nameless to stay at the estate while he awaits his duel with Lu, wh has gone off to visit family for a few days. Nameless will be accompanied by Chui I to keep him out of trouble. There is also another swordsman, Mister Yan (Norman Chu Siu-Keung) who keeps an eye on Nameless. There is incredible animosity between Yan and Nameless. Yan talks big but doesn't back it up. He comes across as weak. Something Nameless despises.Chui I decides Nameless needs to relax before the big duel and takes him to a Brothel. Nameless is none too pleased to be there. He steps away from the ladies to gaze out the window and spots a woman who resembles the woman haunting him. He grabs Chu I and takes off in search of the woman.He Lian (Lin Chen-Chi's 2nd role in the film), works at a local boutique. Yan, who is quite smitten with He Lian, is furious when Nameless makes advances toward her. Yan's ire grows worse when He Lian appears to appreciate Nameless' attention. Yan demands Nameless back off, but once more doesn't do more than talk to make his position clear.He Lian is working on her embroidery, when it starts to rain. She goes to close the window and sees Nameless standing in the middle of the street. She closes the window, but keeps checking to see if Nameless is still there. He follows her when she goes to the market. Yan is not that far behind.The men once more have words regarding He Lian. Nameless informs Yan, that he will be taking He Lian with him to Sire's mansion, as she is now his. Yan makes a gesture as if he will actually confront Nameless, but again, does nothing. He Lian packs her things and moves in with Nameless. Nameless forces himself on her when he get her to his room. Its a very uncomfortable scene a it's not something I'd expect from a Ti Lung character.Nameless receives advice from Sire and Chui I regarding He Lian. She is a distraction, a pleasant one, but nonetheless a distraction. Nameless is told he will get himself killed, like the last challenger, because his focus is not on his swordsmanship as it should be.Nameless and He Lian go for a walk to discuss the advice. Nameless makes it clear he will become Number 1, yet sees no reason to get rid of He Lian to do it. They are set upon by Yan and his minions in an effort to separate Nameless and He Lian. Nameless, of course, defeats the minions and is about to kill Yan, when He Lian begs for mercy. Nameless warns Yan, there will be no mercy when next they meet.Lady of 3 Moves arrives as Nameless and He Lian depart. Lady of 3 Moves promises to help Yan get revenge on Nameless. Now, I don't understand where Yan thinks he deserves to seek revenge, since he never made a move to let He Lian know his feelings or do anything regarding his threats to Nameless. Humiliation might be the only excuse I could give Yan for thinking he deserves revenge. Yan isn't one with being humiliated by a long shot. Lady of 3 Moves degrades him further during a sexual encounter. when he balks at her direction, she nearly sues her 4th Move on him.Nameless discovers He Lian has moved back home and goes to fetch her. She refuses to leave. She is a distraction to his plan. Nameless balks at the idea of staying on at the boutique to help her rather than continue his quest to be number 1. They make love and Nameless kills her afterwards.He departs to confront Lu. Their battle is filled with confessions and exposure of Lu's true identity. He is Chui I, Nameless' friend. Lu admits he was defeated because he likes Nameless. It is a shame Lu's hat was ruined in the battle, Nameless might have used it to conceal his own identity from challengers.When Sire announces Nameless is now #1 an can have riches, Nameless turns him down. It's not what Nameless wants. None of it is what Nameless wants. he charges back into town to see He Lian. He confesses to her corpse he had everything wrong. What he truly desires is to be with her.The cloth covering her faces moves, revealing Lady of the 3 Moves is o the bed. She fights with Nameless, wounding him further. He finds it amusing she is the one who will defeat him. he staggers toward the wardrobe and is stabbed by Yan, who is hiding in it. Nameless kills Lady of the 3 Moves then turns his attention to Yan. Their conversation leas one more to He Lian. Yan wants revenge for Nameless having taken her from him.Yan and Nameless stab each other and fall to the floor. Nameless crawls over to He Lian's body and promises never to leave her again. Kinda late to have an epiphany there, Mu-Wing.I gave it a 7 for the duels and stars not so much for the story.

The young swordsman who would be the king of swords is defeated before the fight begins because he has emotional baggage that cannot be set aside. This theme has appeared in many martial arts movies but where did it come from? In reality fighters never have this problem. There is no such thing as distraction, learning martial arts is dependent on concentration and focus. The brain actually becomes disengaged during a fight as it is mostly muscle memory. Bruce Lee said in one of his movies while making a fist, "I don't hit, it hits all by itself!" I doubt other viewers would be annoyed by that plot point. The movie is engaging from start to finish and the fights are excellent. The fight director put character and story into all the fights and they all seemed unique. Lead actor Ti Lung was a martial artist who worked as a tailor before he got into the movies but he was not a sword fighter. I felt his fights without the sword were much better but still his sword fights were above average. Shaw Brothers movies are known for abrupt endings and anyone can die. This one takes that style to the limit.

Another period Chinese film about martial artists battling for the rank of number 1. How is Shen Hua the obscure director of the legendary "Super Inframan" going to shake up the genre?First of all, this film is very unlike other Shaw films. Shen Hua had a distinct visual style going here, one that doesn't really work all the times but is interesting. There are many shots with the main characters somewhere behind a lot of foreground clutter. Trying to read the subtitles and find the characters at the same time can make this a tad difficult to watch. Also Shen Hua's direction tends to hide Tang Chia's expert choreography. There is an attempt to use zooms and quick cuts to accentuate the dramatic dialog which is a very interesting concept but can be dizzying to watch.Despite the directorial problems, the story is one of the better entries in the martial world genre. It's unusual although you might guess some of the surprises. Ti Lung and Ku Feng give great performances and the fight scenes are very good. There is a small amount of nudity, a strange sex scene and a rape by the good guy (!).An eight for the story and a six for the direction. Recommended.

SOUL OF THE SWORD (1978) is a swordplay drama from Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio starring Ti Lung and featuring several superb fight sequences involving both sword fighting and kung fu. However, it's quite different from the studio's usual swordplay films, particularly those directed by Chor Yuen (THE MAGIC BLADE) and Chang Cheh (BLOOD BROTHERS), both of whom also worked frequently with Ti Lung. This one has fewer characters and more of an emphasis on the romantic relationship that grows between "Nameless" (Ti Lung), a swordsman seeking to unseat the current "King of Swords," and Ho Lien, a young woman shopkeeper (Lin Chen-Chi) with whom he falls in love. In between sword fights, the film addresses the question of how love affects a swordsman's destiny. Complicating matters is the fact that the woman is identical in appearance to a woman glimpsed by "Nameless" as a boy in the film's opening sequence. In that scene, a swordsman who challenges the King of Swords is defeated and killed and his woman companion (also played by Lin Chen-Chi) kills herself out of grief. This incident inspires "Nameless" to excel in swordsmanship so he can defeat the "King," but also haunts him with visions of the dead woman and has tragic implications later on. Ku Feng plays Chiu I, the last of the film's three leading characters, a clever doctor who befriends Nameless and offers him advice.Directed by Hua Shan (INFRAMAN, LITTLE DRAGON MAIDEN), the film is beautifully shot and edited and includes an important cinematic feature less frequently used in the films of Chor Yuen and Chang Cheh. Hua Shan and his cinematographer provide frequent closeups of the leading performers, adding a powerful emotional lift to the story. It helps that Ti Lung is at the top of his game here, as both an actor and an action star, and that Lin Chen-Chi is a most beautiful young actress who photographs well from every angle. This is only the third film I've seen her in (the others are SPIRITUAL BOXER, also reviewed on this site, and BATTLE WIZARD), yet I find her among the most riveting of Shaw Bros. actresses. Breaking with the conventional model of Shaw Bros. beauty, she's thin and angular with a long nose and thick lips too big for a small face but balanced by piercing eyes set wide apart and a nice space of forehead. The cumulative effect is just mesmerizing and the cameraman seems to agree.One of the small number of significant supporting characters is Yien (Norman Chu), a rival swordsman who has unsuccessfully courted Ho Lien, only to see her fall for Nameless. His attempts to settle matters are equally unsuccessful, although he gains an ally in a vengeful swordswoman who'd lost a female partner to Nameless's sword earlier in the film. (Kung fu diva Lily Li has a cameo as the ill-fated partner, with awkward shots of a nude body double spliced in.) The large number of cast members listed by IMDb for this film is presumably accounted for by the numerous quickly-glimpsed and hastily-dispatched opponents of Nameless.The consistently exciting action is staged by Tang Chia and includes a number of sword duels and larger-scale fights in which Ti Lung faces off against multiple opponents, including one memorable confrontation in a studio-built bamboo forest. Ti is also forced to fight without sword in more than one battle and uses his kung fu skills to great effect. The fights may not be as brutal or bloody as those found in Chang Cheh's films, but they're also far less gimmicky and stylized than those in Chor Yuen's films. This is a film that relies more on character and relationships and less on tricks and plot twists. There's a very moving and evocative Chinese music score tying it all together, a welcome change-of-pace from the mix-and-match, cut-and-paste scores we often hear in these films.