I have this film in a VHS edition released by Tai Seng's Martial Arts Theater under the title, THE DEADLY SWORD (1980). It's based on a story by Ku Lung, who provided the stories for so many enchanting costume tales of the "martial world" produced by Shaw Bros. in the 1970s and '80s, including THE MAGIC BLADE, KILLER CLANS, CLANS OF INTRIGUE, DEATH DUEL, and SWORDSMAN AND ENCHANTRESS, all reviewed by me on this site. THE DEADLY SWORD is not a Shaw Bros. production, so it lacks the polish and elegance of those films. While it has much larger sets than usual for a Taiwanese swordplay adventure, it still looks pretty cheap. The big problem here is that the English dubbing sounds so amateurish, with bad actors using exaggerated voices to read lines that were poorly translated from the original and often make no sense. As far as I can tell, the plot has to do with a stolen shipment of money and the attempts of the hero, security officer Yeung Chun (Barry Chan), to clear his name and free his men from jail after he's been accused of stealing the money himself. In the course of it, he regains his father's weapon, the sword of the title, referred to most often as the "deadly hook," which looks pretty crude when we finally see it. We never see him trained in its use, yet he wields it in battle like an old pro. There's a large cast of subsidiary characters, including members of the "Dragon Club," although I'm not sure how necessary many of them were to the plot.
There are a few nifty swordfights, and the lethal hook makes an effective weapon when it finally goes into action, but most of the staging is not terribly imaginative. (The first fight scene doesn't begin until the 18 minute-mark, a long time without action for a film like this.) Ling Yun plays the villain, a change of pace for him, and he has one sword technique training scene involving dozens of lit candles that might have been handled with a little more spectacle in another, better movie. Candice Yu On-On plays Su Min, Captain Yeung's sweetheart, and she goes on the run with him for part of the film. She's a lovely actress and was in some of the Shaw Bros. Ku Lung adaptations (DEATH DUEL, LEGEND OF THE BAT, THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN), where she was seen to much better effect, although I suspect she has a much bigger part here. Tien Yeh, a regular villain in these films, frequently intervenes in the fights, although it's not immediately clear where his sympathies lie. I'm not terribly familiar with the star, Barry Chan. I've had this tape for 14 years, but I always stopped watching it because of the dubbing. This week I pulled it out again and only finally finished it this morning after forcing myself to put up with it. If you're a Ku Lung completist or a fan of Candice Yu, you should probably see it. Otherwise, it's not recommended.
