That was an excellent one.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

THE MAGIC BLADE is a well-regarded Shaw Brothers 'martial world' tale from director Chor Yuen, who would go into directorial overdrive at the tail-end of the 1970s. This is one of his best movies, perhaps THE best. It stars an intense and brooding Ti Lung who is busy juggling a rivalry with the equally excellent Lo Lieh against a backdrop of murder and assassination, as the pair find themselves repeatedly attacked by various mercenaries and masters all trying to get their hands on the titular weapon. This film has a dark and mysterious atmosphere much like KILLER CONSTABLE, one of my all-time favourites. The cast is excellent across the board, from the dependable leads to solid character actors like Ku Feng and Fan Mei-Sheng and even some bit parts for future greats such as Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah. Unusually for a Chor Yuen film, the action choreography is spot on and there's wealth of violent incident to make this a fast-paced thrill-ride. The story is even comprehensible for once. What's not to like?

Director Yuen breaks with tradition, here, and opens with some nifty nighttime shots that lend THE MAGIC BLADE that "little something extra" when it comes to mood. Yen Nan-fei (Lo Lieh) is fulfilling that "eat, drink and be merry" edict at 3a.m. when Fu Hung-hsueh (Ti Lung) shows up. Fu stands immobile, a backlit silhouette, when we first see him- yet another of the aforementioned "little something extra" in the mood department shots. Fu, wearing a poncho, a la Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, is armed with a tonfa-handled sword. Yen and Fu take up where they left off a year earlier with their "duel to the death," but are interrupted by a pair of assassins, Wood Evil (who attacks using a tree as camouflage, much like one of the ninjas in FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS) and Earth Evil (whose hands pop up out of the ground groping for ankles). Yen and Fu promptly dispatch them both, decide to join forces for a bit, and are subsequently attacked by pretty much EVERYONE in the first village they enter. The most interesting of the would-be assassins is the snaggle-toothed Devil Grandma and her two murderous grandchildren (it later turns out that Devil Grandma has a taste for Long Pig). Yen and Fu battle their way out and move on to a tavern where the motionless patrons seated about the tables are all dead. The killers are coaxed from hiding and the manslaughter begins anew. There are plenty of interesting twists and turns throughout THE MAGIC BLADE and the hunt for the mysterious Peacock Dart (kept at the Peacock Mansion, of course) is fraught with danger at every step. Ti Lung is as poised as ever throughout and Lo Lieh... Well, let's just say that he pretty much stays true to form as well.

Fu Hung-hsueh(Lung Ti) is a master swordsman who was once enamored with wealth and power, these lusts a major reason behind his training. In a search for his lover, Fu has made an adversary in another talented swordsman named Yen Nan-fei(Lieh Lo). Not allowing anyone else to kill Yen is Fu's goal since in his mind he is the one who will fulfill this task, but before this can happen, they will have to work together as a collaborative team in order to combat another foe, Mr. Yu(Ching Tang), a powerful warlord with an endless supply of ronin at his disposal. Mr Yu desires a deadly weapon called the "Peacock Dart" whose "explosive" feathers are a dangerous threat to anyone within 50 yards, with the power to wipe out anyone in the vicinity of where it lands. Mr Yu will send out five deadly assassins to accompany his innumerable host of swordsmen as a means to eliminate the Fu and Yen, but this mission will not be easy. Along with Fu and Yen is Miss Chiu(Li Ching), the daughter of the old protector of the Peacock Dart, which rested for sometime in the Peacock Mansion. Fu will gain control of the dart when the old protector is killed(through the use of a poisoned sword by a ronin who thought he had seized the dart), offering his apologies for inadvertently bringing death to the Peacock Mansion, blaming himself for a slaughter of the Tsao house. Separated after narrowly escaping a trap set up by another ronin, Fu and Chiu contend with that ronin's men while Yen heads on horseback to a familiar place called Tu Village. Fu is told by another assassin that Yen is dead, and is almost upended when his cut wound, being tended to by Chiu, becomes "infected" by a witch's curse and almost killed. When Chiu is kidnapped and held by Mr. Yu as ransom for the Dart, can our hero ever rescue her and make it out alive?One thing's for certain, if you are a fan of swordplay and acrobatic fighters, appreciate the poetry of action and martial arts, then "The Magic Blade" will satisfy you I believe. Yes, the plot is bonkers and as a fantasy, Fu(among other fighters)are capable of extraordinary feats, able to accomplish amazing acts beyond the realm of possibility(such as leaping from the ground and immediately landing on the rooftops of buildings, fending off armies of men by yourself with ease). Lung Ti is the model of these kinds of movies, a strong, silent, clever, intense, smart warrior and, for someone who kills for a living, he's quite humane. The movie shows just how humane Fu is when he arrives in a desolate city and encounters a desperate, starving woman promising to provide sex for bowls of noodles. There are plenty of action set pieces to salivate over including the knockout "human chessboard" sequence, the battles at Tu Village, Tien Lung Temple, Tien Wai Mansion where Mr. Yu resides(along with Tien Wai Village), and Peacock Mansion. Of course, the movie is entertaining for it's colorful villains(including a grotesque character named "Devil Grandma" who practices witchcraft and cooks human meat!), ridiculous scenarios involving Fu's incredible abilities to resolve nearly impossible situations where he must stay two steps ahead of his enemies, wire-fu, bloody sword fights, and exhilarating uses of those typically wonderful Shaw Brothers sets. Other subplots include Fu's discovering the location of his lost lover, a betrayal unearthed, a secret defense against the sought after weapon of the movie, and the ultimate showdown between Fu and Yu. Also, Fu and Yen attend to some unfinished business. A show-stopping highlight involves Fu's splitting apart a foe using a mirror to protect herself and how he escapes the entrapment of a scarf and chain. Man, speaking of the scarf, there's some amazing work on display regarding Fu's battles with the villain who uses it to handicap him. Also a highlight, the "burning of the incense" sequence regarding a "sinus attack", involving a series of punches which are used to paralyze a victim, and how Fu, seemingly done for, manages to survive, is a doozy.

Moody, well-lit kung fu saga as two mortal enemies are pursued by the legions of killers hired by the mysterious Mr. Yu. I saw this on television a long time ago and was not impressed. The new release, subtitled, is a joy to watch. The whole production is very unrealistic but that is not a distraction. We are in a fantasy world where swords can cut branches off of trees from a distance just by being spun in place really fast. The film is very unlike the usual Shaw Bros. films everyone is familiar with except during the fight scenes which are up to the Shaw Bros. high standards.Recommended. It's a change of pace from your typical kung-fu film. Just remember, don't eat anything Devil Granny serves you.