Opening with a wicked duel to the supposed death between Tuan Changqing (Ti Lung), the Deadly Breaking Sword, and Lian San (Michael Chan), the Throat Piercing Halberd, The Deadly Breaking Sword is a wuxia for the ages. It’s colorful with its strong production values and deadly with the art on display in the fight choreography from Tang Chia.
It’s also got quite a narrative as a deadly assassin and one of the most unluckiest gamblers (Alexander Fu Sheng) ever team up to tackle a growing evil in the village thanks to the arrival of a captivating courtesan (Shih Szu), who can get any man to do what she desires. Their task? Remove an unwanted Doctor of Death from the village.
With plenty of comedy from Fu Sheng as Xiao Dao (due to the daggers he uses to fight with), the film is never a tedious slough to get through. But, with that opening scene where two challengers meet (and Changqing brings a coffin because he hates messes), the intentions are clear: the fighting here will be anything but graceful. The swordplay between these two characters is breathtaking and, as Tuan’s sword breaks off inside the skin of his opponent, ends abruptly with Lian hopping on his horse, bleeding everywhere, and riding away.
Duels aren’t supposed to end like that, but The Deadly Breaking Sword is full of surprises. We even have a killer doctor (Ku Feng) in this martial arts entry, thanks to an underworld master in disguise who is ultimately faced by Lung and Fu Sheng and taught a few lessons.
The work of fight choreographer Tang Chia absolutely shines in director Sun Chung’s The Deadly Breaking Sword. It helps that both Ti Lung and Alexander Fu Sheng are at the top of their game, too, mixing arrogance with a healthy dose of humor thanks to Fu Sheng’s goofy antics. His fight sequences while losing at gambling are damn funny and become more brutal with the loss of each and every bit of his money.
Suddenly, he finds himself indebted and having to work as a security guard, which is where he starts spying on Szu and then, as strange things become apparent in the village with Lian (Chan) being controlled by a local doctor, who promises to fix the wound the Deadly Breaking Sword caused.
With several moments in which it looks like Ti Lung is going to break character due to the tomfoolery of Fe Sheng, The Deadly Breaking Sword is a whole lot of fun. While it might need an edit here and there to tighten up some of the content, the fact remains that this is certainly a charmer of a wuxia, offering fans of the Shaw Brothers some great highlights to show off both Lung and Fu Sheng’s talents.
The film is now on blu-ray as part of Shout Factory’s Shaw Brothers Classics, Vol 3, which also includes 10 other classic martial arts films from the famous Shaw Brothers' library, featuring some of their greatest stars – Alexander Fu Sheng (The Brave Archer), Lo Lieh (King Boxer), Ti Lung (A Better Tomorrow), David Chiang (The Boxer Of Shantung) and the Deadly Venoms! Many of these films are debuting for the first time on Blu-ray.
Watch a man become a puppet thanks to some incredibly skilled acupuncture!
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - October 24, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; 11-discset
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
This explosive film elevated director Sun Chung to the highest ranks of martial arts helmsmanship alongside such esteemed company as Chang Cheh. Starring the incomparable Ti Lung and Alexander Fu Sheng, and utilizing the acclaimed fight choreographer Tang Chia, The Deadly Breaking Sword is propelled by the stars' venomous fighting appeal. Armed with the "Deadly Breaking Sword" technique, Tuen Cheng-tsin (Ti Lung) unites with thief Xiao Dao (Alexander Fu Sheng) to defeat an assassin who is "acupuncturingly" controlled by the evil Dr. Kuo.
Video
Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The Deadly Breaking Sword is beautifully presented on 1080p from Shout Factory. Interiors are strong. Colors pop throughout, but it is the blood effects - burning bright in the transfer - which seal the deal on this one. It’s full of great atmosphere thanks to the quick-footed script and looks visually eye-popping due to the 1080- upgrade. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p. Blacks are solid and shadows maintain their lines. Even the costumes are noted stitch by stitch.
Audio
Fans of the genre get only the newly restored lossless Mandarin track and a new English dub for all your chop socky needs.
Supplements:
Get ready to duel to the death with these supplemental items!
Commentary:
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See Special Features for the breakdown.
Special Features:
- NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
- NEW An Unbreakable Legacy – Author And Academic Victor Fan Looks Back At The Venomous Violence And Success Of The Shaw Brothers Action Formula
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Celestial Trailer
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 101 mins
Director: Chung Sun
Writer: Kuang Ni
Cast: Lung Ti; Sheng Fu; Szu Shih
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Shaw Brothers
Official Site:
Release Date: April 12, 1979
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 24, 2023
Synopsis: Warrior Tuan Changqing (Ti Lung) meets courtesan Liu Yinxi (Shih Szu) in a small town. Liu pleads Tuan to kill underworld master Guo Tiansheng (Ku Feng), known as the "Killer Doctor", in oder to avenge the death of her fiance. Tuan and casino security guard Xiao Dao (Alexander Fu Sheng) breaks into Guo's household and triggering the battle of good against evil.
