Qin jian en chou

THE SWORD AND THE LUTE (1966) is the third film in the trilogy that began with TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS and continued with TWIN SWORDS, both 1965 and both also reviewed on this site. The story, about the adventures of a young married swordfighting couple, Lianzhu and Gui Wu, and the swordfighting members of their different clans, veers off in this entry into a running battle with the Flying Tiger Clan, a band of outlaws who steal the lethal Phoenix Lute from the two leads and who then try to steal the Gan Clan's Invincible Sword from its owner, Xiaoling, an adolescent girl. They also attempt to get hold of the Seven Stars Stone from the Qin Clan, which can heal the wounds caused by the Phoenix Lute's deadly needle missiles. The film basically consists of various parties fending off various attempts to steal one or more of the three objects or trying to get back one or more of the objects after they've been stolen. It all culminates in a big raid at the end on the Flying Tiger Fortress, where the robbers have gathered other martial arts experts to try and form an outlaw federation.

This is a beautiful-looking production from Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio, filled with great sets, costumes and music and ample location work. The cast is headed by four beautiful Shaw Bros. actresses decked out in a stunning array of attractive and colorful costumes. Chin Ping plays Lianzhu, the young swordfighting bride; Ivy Ling Po is the mysterious red-clad heroine, Scarlet Maid; Lily Ho is the daughter of the Flying Tiger bandit chief; and the adorable child star, Bobo Fung, all of 12 at the time, plays the adolescent Xiaoling or "Little Ling." The male leads are Jimmy Wang Yu, as Gui Wu, a year before his breakout success as THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967); Shaw Bros. star Yueh Hua (COME DRINK WITH ME); and Lo Lieh (KING BOXER, aka FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH) as the brother of the character he'd played in the first two films in the trilogy. Comic actor Pang Pang (Pigsy in the Shaw Bros. Monkey King films) plays Xiaoling's fighting servant. In addition, there are the usual Shaw Bros. supporting actors, some of whom (Ku Feng, Wu Ma, Ching Miao, Lee Yun Chung) appeared in the first two films, but in different parts.

This one doesn't have the intense drama that TEMPLE and TWIN SWORDS had, i.e. Jimmy doesn't get to cry here. It's mainly a series of chases and fights, chases and fights, with occasional stopovers at various inns. As in the other two films, the Scarlet Maid pops up when she's needed to set things right or turn the tide and, as played by Ivy Ling Po, she's quite an impressive heroine. Interestingly, young Bobo Fung (aka Petrina Fung Bobo) has the biggest part among the leading players. She's in most of the major scenes and participates as fully in the action as anyone else. There are long stretches where the two main characters, played by Jimmy Wang Yu and Chin Ping, disappear. So while it may not be the most intricate Shaw Bros. story we've seen, it's picturesque and moves well and offers a lineup of main characters, played by a veritable all-star mid-1960s Shaw Bros. cast, that are all so endearing and attractive—even villainess Lily Ho--that you can't help but get wrapped up in it.

Now all three films in the trilogy are available from Celestial Pictures on Region 3 DVD in restored/remastered editions, so they can finally be seen in their proper order. If I had to single out one as the best, I'd still go with the second, TWIN SWORDS, the one I saw first.

This film essentially begins where its predecessor "The Twin Swords" left off with a young man named "Kuei Wu" (Jimmy Wang Yu) and his bride "Kan Lien Chu" (Ping Chin) being given a terrible weapon known as the Phoenix Lute by a great warrior known as the "Scarlet Maid" (Ivy Ling Po) to destroy once they reach a certain destination. Unfortunately, not long after an encounter with some bandits known as the Flying Tiger Clan, the Phoenix Lute is stolen--and this creates all kinds of problems for everyone involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this third film in the Shaw Brothers trilogy started off well enough but seemed to lose a bit of its edge once the focus shifted to the young sister of Kan Lien Chu by the name of "Kan Hsiao Ling" (Bo-Bo Fung). She just didn't seem that credible in her particular role as a warrior. At least, I didn't think so. Be that as it may, while I certainly don't consider this to be a bad film by any means, I don't believe it was quite as good as its immediate predecessor, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

I really need to read up on my Shaw Brothers films! Having previously watched Twin Swords without realizing that it was a sequel, tonight I found myself watching The Sword and the Lute, without knowing that it was a sequel to Twin Swords! I thought the characters looked familiar and a quick look on IMDb brought me up to speed. Like Twin Swords, this film also jumps right into the action. The plot sees the Gan family mostly now in seclusion after the end of the previous film. The twin swords of the previous film are transporting a deadly Lute when they are set upon by robbers from the Flying Tiger clan. They use the Lute which is a mistake as it reveals it and later they discover that it has been stolen and now this deadly needle-firing weapon is in the hands of the Flying Tigers. The only thing which can cure injuries caused by the Lute is the Seven Stars stone, which the Shen clan know the location of. The robbers set up a trick to reveal the location of the stone to cure their injured but also have the weapon and the cure. Meanwhile a third artifact, the Invincible sword, is the only thing that can destroy the Lute – and it is in the hands of the Gan family's youngest member – Hsiao Ling. All the various groups try to work out how they can control all three artifacts without losing the ones they have.

This all sounds very convoluted but in reality it works well, producing a narrative that has lots going on and lots of twists while also being very easy to follow since it is basically very straightforward. Although there are dialogue heavy scenes and some more serious events, mostly it is a series of chases, twists and fight sequences and as such I found it engaging and enjoyable. The production values are high with great shots and well organized scenes. The cast I enjoyed a lot, although I was surprised that the "leads" of Wang and Chin were not in it as much as I expected. The real lead is young Fung and although her physical abilities are not as convincing, I liked her character and her delivery. She works well with her comic assistant as well. Po makes a guest appearance again as the Scarlet Maid – always on hand to sort things out and give good advice. The main villain is Lily Ho, playing the daughter of the chief; her delivery has sass and meanness to it and I liked her character too. Although there are a lot of characters here, everyone does do well – it really is only the lower-level characters (the ones that die quickly in battle sequences) that do the basics.

The film ends with a large confrontation which is fitting for a film with so many smaller comings and goings building up to this. You don't really need to have seen the other films to appreciate it, and this film with its nicely fluid plot and enjoyable action scenes is worth a look.