THE GOLDEN SWORD REVIEW

The Golden Sword is one of the more impressive Cheng Pei Pei and Lo Wei films. Wei directed a number of glorious wuxia movies starring the actress from the late 60s to 1970. They are enormously underrated and include movies like Dragon Swamp (1969) and The Shadow Whip (1970). Peoples impression of Lo Wei is sometimes colored by his history working with Bruce Lee, where he sometimes gets portrayed in a negative light. And I think this is unfair to the director. His talents are visible across all of these films. He excels at delivering adventure and martial arts action built around the talents of a compelling actor or actress. From Lisa Chiao Chiao in Black Butterfly (1968)to Li Ching in Vengeance of a Snowgirl (1971), to Cheng Pei Pei, Bruce Lee and Jimmy Wang Yu in a series of films, he really understands how to use star power. He also understands story and is a master of bringing sets to life to build a world (something much more visible in his work at Shaw Brothers). 

The Golden Sword was released in 1969 and about a mysterious shadow sect that abducts a master in the middle of the night during a storm. His son goes forth to find him years later, and along the way falls in love with a beggar played by Cheng Pei Pei. After their marriage night, a mysterious golden sword belonging to his father is given as a gift, and a perilous adventure ensues. To see more of my thoughts on the movie, check out my review at easternKicks HERE.