It cannot be understated just how dominant the Shaw Brothers studio was in the late 60s and early 70s. If you wanted to have any traction in the Chinese market then you had to go through Run Run Shaw and his studio. They had a stranglehold on the theatres (due to them owning a majority of them) and this gave them the chance to put the focus on their own production line of films. And that is exactly what it was, a production line. A studio churning out features to fill the theatres they owned to turn a profit as quickly as possible, and if you couldn’t get on board with that then you could always go to Taiwan and see what you could do from there, but Hong Kong and China was where the real money was at.
One such director that didn’t fit the mould at Clearwater Bay was King Hu. His constant search perfection had driven Run Run Shaw to despair, and despite Come Drink With Me (1966) being a huge success and launching the career of the legendary Cheng Pei Pei, King Hu wasn’t going to be kept around to give other directors bad ideas about “art” and “vision”. So King Hu found himself in Taiwan making a film that would go on to influence East Asian action cinema for generations, something that would be a shining beacon for those that preach the word of Wuxia Pian cinema, The Dragon Inn (1967).
That same year another director was about to set off on his own journey through the flashing swords and acts of chivalry of Wuxia Pian, and whilst his name would become synonymous with other forms of Kung Fu cinema (more on that later), he would release a trilogy of films that would have been classics in their own right if not for the aforementioned all time classic being released that same year. His name? Joseph Kuo. That film was Swordsman of all Swordsmen.
Produced by Union films and utilising not only some of the natural and manufactured beauty of Taiwan, it would also utilise two of the greatest talents to be born out of Taiwanese cinema, that being Tien Peng and Polly Shang Kuan. Both had appeared in King Hu’s classic the year prior, in fact it had been Polly Shang Kuan’s Jade screen debut (what a way to kick off a career), so it was a no brainier for director Kuo to draft them in for his own tale of swordsmen, honour and legacy.
Whilst comparing Swordsman of all Swordsmen to The Dragon Inn may seem futile at first glance, scratching beneath the surface actually reveals something far more heartfelt and ambitious at play, because Joseph Kuo may have become better known for films like Born, The 18 Bronzemen and the infamous The Mystery of Chess Boxing (included here as an extra disc on the limited editions), with this he is pouring his soul into every frame, creating shots that would not look out of place in a gallery and capturing a sense of tragedy that is usually lost under the sound of swords and death.
Eureka Entertainment once again piece together a luxurious collection of commentaries and extra content, all presented in a beautiful 1080p print, taken from the only known remaining copy of this film left on celluloid. There is a warning upfront to state that certain parts of this film may look warped or distorted, but don’t let this put you off, this is by far and away the best this film has ever looked, and that should never be forgotten.
Swordsman of all Swordsmen isn’t just good, it’s essential viewing for anyone that prefers their East Asian action cinema with actual characters and story.
The Swordsman of all Swordsmen is out now on Eureka Blu-Ray
Ben’s Archive – The Swordsman of all Swordsmen
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