D_Davis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,348
Like kung fu? Like the wuxia pian? Like old-school, open-fisted combat, or new school wire-assisted acrobatics?
Well, I do...a lot!
And so, it is with great pleasure, that I introduce....
D_Davis' Top 30, or so, Martial Arts films!
Let's kick things off with...
The Lady Hermit (1971) - Dir: Ho Meng-Hua
This classic Shaw Brothers film stars the queen of swords, Cheng Pei-Pei, as the eponymous Lady Hermit: a butt kicking beauty who is enjoying a semi-retired/reclusive life away from the martial world. After suffering a debilitating wound at the hands of Black Demon, a ruthless tyrannical martial arts overlord and master of the Shadowless Claw technique, Lady Hermit hangs up her sword to become a caretaker for a security/delivery company (think ancient Chinese Transporter). However, like most famous kung fu masters who go into hiding, her cover is soon blown by a young upstart swordswoman, Cui Ping. The young swordstress wants the Lady Hermit to train her so she cane take revenge against the evil Black Demon. Add to this Lo Lieh, as Chang Chun, a mild love interest torn between the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping, and you have the makings of a classic wuxia narrative.
The Lady Hermit is all about action, atmosphere, and, for lack of a better term, girl-power. Yeah, you better believe it, the two leading ladies in this film kick ass and look good doing it – okay, I admit, that was cheesy. However, I cannot overemphasize how great it is to see two such strong female fighters working together in a film to overcome the evil powers of an evil kung fu master. It is also a breath of fresh air to witness a love triangle between the three heroes that does not pander to juvenile male fantasies, or ask the charismatic leading women to compromise their strength and integrity. The narrative is very mature in that it develops the characters and their individual arcs in a way that makes sense; it makes the characters stronger and more heroic because the narrative treats them with respect.
The first major brawl in the film is utterly fantastic, as is each consecutive clash of cold hard steel. This first major set piece transpires on an abandoned street, in a small Chinese village, as Cui Ping is trying to track down a group of killers who have disguised themselves as ghouls. Soon, she is overrun by the baddies, and who should show up in the nick of time? No other than the enigmatic Lady Hermit, clad in a white cloak and wearing a wide brimmed hat, the Lady Hermit looks like some kind of ghostly beauty poised to kill with her sharpened sword. Together, the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping take on the gang of thugs, and one by one, one spray of blood after another, they dispatch of their adversaries in a ballet-like fashion of beautiful violence.
During the last big brawl, which just so happens to run almost 20-minutes, Cui Ping climbs a tall pagoda to reach Black Demon’s flag in order to slice it down in a symbolic demonstration of humiliation. She does not however use the stairs on the inside of the pagoda. No, she is too dang cool to use stairs. She scales the pagoda from the outside like a female kung fu-Spiderman, only stopping at each level long enough to kill a handful of lackeys. She climbs, spins, flips, pulls, jumps, and slices her way to the top of the dark tower in a display of prowess seldom seen. The entire sequence is something of an action fan’s dream, and is executed flawlessly.
The Lady Hermit is a classic film in every sense of the word. Like Chang Cheh’s Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, I have to wonder why this film is not more well known or mentioned along side the likes of The Seven Samurai, A Fistful of Dollars, The Wild Bunch, or other high profile genre films. Everything about the film, from the music to the staging, from the script to the acting, and from the cinematography to the action choreography, represents a shining example of near-perfection. The narrative is engaging, the characters are endearing, and the entire film oozes with classic charm. When people say “they just don’t make them like they used to,” they are talking about films such as The Lady Hermit: a film that is among the best of the genre.
Well, I do...a lot!
And so, it is with great pleasure, that I introduce....
D_Davis' Top 30, or so, Martial Arts films!
Let's kick things off with...
The Lady Hermit (1971) - Dir: Ho Meng-Hua
This classic Shaw Brothers film stars the queen of swords, Cheng Pei-Pei, as the eponymous Lady Hermit: a butt kicking beauty who is enjoying a semi-retired/reclusive life away from the martial world. After suffering a debilitating wound at the hands of Black Demon, a ruthless tyrannical martial arts overlord and master of the Shadowless Claw technique, Lady Hermit hangs up her sword to become a caretaker for a security/delivery company (think ancient Chinese Transporter). However, like most famous kung fu masters who go into hiding, her cover is soon blown by a young upstart swordswoman, Cui Ping. The young swordstress wants the Lady Hermit to train her so she cane take revenge against the evil Black Demon. Add to this Lo Lieh, as Chang Chun, a mild love interest torn between the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping, and you have the makings of a classic wuxia narrative.
The Lady Hermit is all about action, atmosphere, and, for lack of a better term, girl-power. Yeah, you better believe it, the two leading ladies in this film kick ass and look good doing it – okay, I admit, that was cheesy. However, I cannot overemphasize how great it is to see two such strong female fighters working together in a film to overcome the evil powers of an evil kung fu master. It is also a breath of fresh air to witness a love triangle between the three heroes that does not pander to juvenile male fantasies, or ask the charismatic leading women to compromise their strength and integrity. The narrative is very mature in that it develops the characters and their individual arcs in a way that makes sense; it makes the characters stronger and more heroic because the narrative treats them with respect.
The first major brawl in the film is utterly fantastic, as is each consecutive clash of cold hard steel. This first major set piece transpires on an abandoned street, in a small Chinese village, as Cui Ping is trying to track down a group of killers who have disguised themselves as ghouls. Soon, she is overrun by the baddies, and who should show up in the nick of time? No other than the enigmatic Lady Hermit, clad in a white cloak and wearing a wide brimmed hat, the Lady Hermit looks like some kind of ghostly beauty poised to kill with her sharpened sword. Together, the Lady Hermit and Cui Ping take on the gang of thugs, and one by one, one spray of blood after another, they dispatch of their adversaries in a ballet-like fashion of beautiful violence.
During the last big brawl, which just so happens to run almost 20-minutes, Cui Ping climbs a tall pagoda to reach Black Demon’s flag in order to slice it down in a symbolic demonstration of humiliation. She does not however use the stairs on the inside of the pagoda. No, she is too dang cool to use stairs. She scales the pagoda from the outside like a female kung fu-Spiderman, only stopping at each level long enough to kill a handful of lackeys. She climbs, spins, flips, pulls, jumps, and slices her way to the top of the dark tower in a display of prowess seldom seen. The entire sequence is something of an action fan’s dream, and is executed flawlessly.
The Lady Hermit is a classic film in every sense of the word. Like Chang Cheh’s Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, I have to wonder why this film is not more well known or mentioned along side the likes of The Seven Samurai, A Fistful of Dollars, The Wild Bunch, or other high profile genre films. Everything about the film, from the music to the staging, from the script to the acting, and from the cinematography to the action choreography, represents a shining example of near-perfection. The narrative is engaging, the characters are endearing, and the entire film oozes with classic charm. When people say “they just don’t make them like they used to,” they are talking about films such as The Lady Hermit: a film that is among the best of the genre.