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Mainland born Lo Wei was an actor whose film career flourished after migrating to Hong Kong. After directing “The Black Butterfly” for Shaw Brothers, he followed it up with “Death Valley” starring the same pair of male leads. He is best known as the director who launched the kung fu film careers of Bruce Lee in “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury” and also Jackie Chan in “New Fist of Fury”.

Master Chao Yun Yang (Lo Wei) of the Chao Manor in Death Valley is getting old and thinking of retiring. Since he has no children, he wants to give everything he owns to his nephew Chao Yu Lung (Yueh Hua), a righteous swordsman who wields a pair of deadly short swords. Before the opening credits roll, we see him easily dispatching a group of bandits and he even pays for their burial. Furthermore, he also picks up a cowardly lone traveler,...

Rom-coms often follow straightforward narrative structures, and one classic pattern involves the introduction of a prince or princess, charming or not, who disrupts the peace of a regimented or constrained life. This storytelling form inevitably strikes a chord with us, the majority of audiences, to varying degrees. Let's face it, whether casually scrolling through Insta or Tinder, getting dressed for yoga class or a night out, everyone seeks an unexpected twist in their lives, in 1977 as well as today. Furthermore, such pivotal moments often lead to a Cornelian choice, between reason and chance, wisdom and whimsy. This is precisely where Tuan Wan-lu finds herself.

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Everything started when Wan-lu, a young and carefree student crashed into journalist Meng-chiao. Love at first sight, end of the story. But that was without reckoning on Ku Yu-lan, her childhood sweetheart and prospective husband seemingly approved by her family,...

Perhaps one of the most legendary titles in the genre, King Hu's iconic martial arts epic “Come Drink with Me” was a revelation when it first premiered in the mid-60s. Being one of the first films to adapt a stylish bent to the martial arts scenes while still keeping it's artistic touch, the film essentially launched Shaw Brothers as a studio for adrenaline-charged, hard-hitting action films.

Come Drink With Me is screening at Five Flavours

In the middle of the countryside, a group of bandits takes the imperial envoy Chang hostage in order to demand the return of their leader. Although she is really a girl, the renowned fighter Golden Swallow who claims to be Chang's brother, arrives to secure his release. Tracking them down, she takes on the bandits in their hideout at a Buddhist temple, massacring dozens before she's wounded by a poison dart. Subsequently, she...

Perhaps one of the most legendary titles in the genre, King Hu’s iconic martial arts epic “Come Drink with Me” was a revelation when it first premiered in the mid-60s. Being one of the first films to adapt a stylish bent to the martial arts scenes while still keeping it’s artistic touch, the film essentially launched Shaw Brothers as a studio for adrenaline-charged, hard-hitting action films.

“Come Drink With Me” screened at the Old Kung Fu Fest

In the middle of the countryside, a group of bandits takes the imperial envoy Chang hostage in order to demand the return of their leader. Although she is really a girl, the renowned fighter Golden Swallow who claims to be Chang’s brother, arrives to secure his release. Tracking them down, she takes on the bandits in their hideout at a Buddhist temple, massacring dozens before she’s wounded by a poison dart.

When I think of Wu Xia movies, I immediately think of Shaw Brothers and the many classic they have made over the years. What I love about this genre is many things, the Swordplay, The Characters, Story lines, Setting, Costumes and much more.

Wu Xia, traditionally is a form of literature. But after high demand over the years it’s become involoved in many art forms such as Movies, Opera, Video Games and beyond. This list of 30 Wu Xia movies listed, i hope you’ll like and want to thank my friend Richard Robinson for contributing to the list. If we missed any classics out, its most probably because we honestly forgot at that time or maybe we haven’t seen all the classic Wu Xia movies so far, anyway enjoy the list and let us know what you thought in the commen box at the bottom.

1.Have Sword Will Travel (1969)

Cast: David Chiang,...

Dead End

Directed by Chang Cheh

Written by Chiu Kang Chien

Hong Kong, 1969

The name Chang Cheh should be recognizable to any self ascribed Shaw Brothers fan. The man was a true legend within the studio system, directing movies at such a rapid rate that even Woody Allen would blush. With a whopping total of 95 films to his credit as a director, Chang Cheh was a machine, sometimes working on multiple films in quick succession. The are upsides and downsides to such a career. The obvious criticism is that not all of his movies were good. Some were rather petty in fact. That being said, such workmanship definitely helped him become a remarkably creative individual with a voice capable of sharing eclectic stories. Rarely was this more evident than in his 1969 effort, Dead End, which, despite its title suggesting a horror story, is actually a quaint yet emotionally gripping drama about young adult aimlessness.

The Thundering Sword

Directed by Chiang Hung Hsu

Written by Chiang Shen

Hong Kong, 1967

Heroes behaving virtuously and villains relishing in evildoing are the archetypical behaviours of characters which make up action adventure films. This is the easiest route to take for a filmmaker, but with said ease comes the potential for great effectiveness given that this is what most people expect from some escapist fun. Putting a spin on old rules can however bring some fresh air to a film, such telling the story of someone who comes from a bad background, but tries to do good. Taking such a plot device one step further, a movie can have this originally bad person actually try to do good, only to have their attempts fall flat, thus causing more pain than well being to those around them. Such is the path Chang Pei-pei’s character, So Jiau-jiau, decides to embark...