The Sword Blu-ray Review
“The Sword” is a solid wuxia film.
Written by Lau Tin-Chi, Lo Chi-Keung, Wong Ying, and Patrick Tam, 1980’s “The Sword” begins with a Master Swordsman (Master Fa Chin-shu) visiting famed sword maker (Brother Wong) for a new sword. At the same time, Master Fa is looking to get a sword he found fixed, but Brother Wong tells him the sword is evil and would bring bad fortune. The story switches perspective to swordsman Lee Mak-yin who is looking to duel Master Fa (in fact, it’s his life goal). While embarking on a journey to find him, he meets a woman initially known as Little Rock who seems to be on the run from someone. Lee Mak-yin saves her and the two wind up traveling together. Lee Mak-yin next encounters his former love Siu-yu who has been forced into a marriage with Lin Wan. Lin Wan is one bad guy, however, and he orders his bodyguard Tit-yee to kill Lee Mak-yin. This is when things take a dark turn for Mak-yin as he faces assassination, has to save someone from a kidnapping, gains possession of the evil sword, is framed for murder, learns more about who Little Rock is, and has to face off against the villainous Lin Wan and Tit-yee.
Directed by Patrick Tam, “The Sword” is a martial arts film that certainly delivers in the action department. There are several notable sword fight action set pieces in a dilapidated building, on a wooden tower, in a courtyard, and, of course, there’s the climactic battle with Mak-yin facing off against the villains. On the subject of the finale, it features possibly the weirdest ending to a fight imaginable. Truth be told, it’s the highlight of the entire film.
Storywise, the movie is a tad bit unwieldy. It feels like there’s 3 movies going on here at once with Mak-yin’s quest, the Little Rock subplot, and the sword itself. Yes, eventually all three plots converge (along with some other subplots like Mak-yin and Siu-yu’s romance), but it certainly takes awhile to get to that point. On the plus side, the story is never boring as there’s a lot going on here (perhaps too much).
Cast wise, there are a few memorable performances here from the likes of Adam Cheng (Mak-yin), Norman Chui (who plays a great bad guy as Lin Wan), and the scene stealing badass Chui Kit as Little Rock AKA Ying-chi.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? This Eureka Classics disc contains a crisp new hi-def print that will undoubtedly please fans of the film.
Audio Track: Cantonese, Mandarin and English LPCM 2.0. How do they sound? All 3 tracks are worthy options, but the Cantonese track is the cleanest and best option. The English dub’s voice acting is pretty flat while the Mandarin track is decent enough.
Extras: 2 commentary tracks (One by Frank Djeng and one by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema), original theatrical trailer, an Andrew Heskins interview, and “Forging Ahead: Wayne Wong On The Sword.”
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