Snake pits! Swordplay! Cheng Pei-pei having great fun with a secret clan of deadly women! Also featuring a lively song and dance number from Pei-pei herself, one would think The Golden Sword would constantly be one of the most energetic Shaw Brothers productions out there. It’s not. In fact, the entire story takes so long to be told - with plenty of dry scenes that do little to push the spindly narrative forward - that (yawn) you might just get a little sleepy, too.
But that’s unfair to its stars as Cheng Pei-pei is, once again, the best thing about this wild and sometimes exciting wuxia entry. Directed by Lo Wei, The Golden Sword is his third film in ‘69 and, to his credit, begins with a chilling arrival from two strangers on a dark and stormy night at the Golden Sword Lodge. Whatever they are bringing is so important and mysterious that only Bai Yu Lung's father can see it.
And then he disappears into the night with them . . . never to return. Ten years later, Bai Yu (Kao Yuen) still hasn’t found him or the Golden Sword. Not willing to give up the search, he heads to the North, hoping for better results. It is there where he meets Cheng Pei-pei (playing the part of a cross-dressing beggar) and the film certainly picks up the pace, with great fighting sequences as Pei-pei laughs her way through several killings. She’s definitely having a ball here and we are as well . . . until we aren’t and Lo Wei’s storytelling gets really bogged down with the past elders giving up their beliefs for the new generation.
Necessary. Truly. But, damn, this wuxia is all over the place and sort of forgets what makes the first 45-minutes so grand and great. Perhaps some extra editing could have tightened up some of the more talky moments, but The Golden Sword just can’t escape itself, especially when it trades its cutthroat ways for ceremony.
While it definitely has a lot going for it when it comes to spectacle, the search for Bai Yu Lung’s father (also played by Lo Wei) is not quite as adventurous as it sounds. The movie - now on 1080p - is only one in Shout Factory’s incredible Shaw Brothers Classics Vol. 1 set. This spectacular box set comprises 11 classic martial arts films from the famous Shaw Brothers' library, featuring some of their greatest stars Jimmy Wang Yu (One-Armed Swordsman), Cheng Pei-pei (Come Drink With Me), Lo Lieh (King Boxer), Ku Feng (The Five Venoms), and David Chiang (The Boxer From Shantung). Many of these films are debuting for the first time on Blu-ray.
The Golden Sword, now on blu-ray from Shout! Factory, has some great location scenes throughout it and uses the split screen (once) for great effect, but all of the technological leaps just don’t overcome the second half of the film.
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - June 13, 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-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Lo Wei remains internationally famous for directing Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's first major movies. Cheng Pei-pei is now internationally famous for her superlative villainous role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But both were superstars in Hong Kong for decades prior, so any teaming of the superlative "swordswoman supreme" and the vaunted director/writer/actor is cause for celebration. Kao Yuen joins them as a noble swordsman, and award-winning actor Ku Feng stars as the Frontier Terror in the evocative and effective "Martial Arts World" adventure.
Video
Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The Golden Sword gets its hands bloody and never once rinses its sword as beauty is birthed in this same blood, all with its audience in mind. The poetry on display comes through in the lush fields, the crispness of the interiors and the haunting exteriors, and the sudden violence which echoes throughout the film, including its big finale in which a lone figure takes down all manner of soldiers. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The night and rain-drenched scenes included here are truly rich with layers and those tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p.
Audio
For this release, viewers get a satisfying uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio. There are optional English subtitles.
Supplements:
Get ready for some exciting thrills and chills with these bonus features!
Commentary:
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There is a new commentary delivered from filmmaker Gilbert Po, which straightens some of what was being attempted here.
Special Features:
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NEW Audio Commentary With Hong Kong-Based Academic And Filmmaker Gilbert Po
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Celestial Trailer
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 100 mins
Director: Wei Lo
Writer: Wei Lo; Kuang Ni
Cast: Pei-Pei Cheng; Yuen Kao; Lai Wang
Genre: Acttion | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Shaw Brothers
Official Site:
Release Date:
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 13, 2023
Synopsis: Bai Yu Lung's father mysteriously disappears one night, and for 10 years Bai searches for him in vain. Finally, he decides to head to the far northern part of the country with the hope that he can find a clue in that region.
