La dernière chevalerie

Scott is right. The best 2 person sword duel ever put on film is in the middle of this movie. The sword fights with multiple fighters are not the best although quite good. However, the fight in the middle is the best even compared to Japanese samurai movies. Chinese swordplay scenes in my opinion have never surpassed the Japanese in terms of entertainment value. Especially in scenes where one guy must battle a group of enemies, Japanese movies excel, example being the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Even though duels in Japanese cinema last only seconds or a minute at the most, the sheer intensity of those moments made them better. But, this is one example where Chinese swordplay surpasses the Japanese. The scene in the middle of this film was a five minute long fight with the most amazing choreography ever. The other fights in this movie are good too but even if they sucked this movie would get a 7 for that one scene. If you haven't seen it, you have to. John Woo is the man.

This is one of my favourite martial arts movies from Hong Kong. It is one of John Woo's earliest films and one of only a few traditional martial arts movies he directed. You can see his influences from working under Chang Cheh in this film. The action is good, the fight choreography is conducted by Fong Hak On who appears as one of the bad guys in the movie. It stars Wei Pei of "Five Venoms" fame and a whole host of faces familiar to fans of Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers productions. The story line is interesting, there are a few decent plot twists and the build up of the characters and their relationships with each other is cleverly done. This film has only had a VHS release in the UK. Media Asia have released a region 3 DVD and there are versions of it on DVD available from the USA. The film is lovely to watch in either it's original language or in it's English dubbed version. I highly recommend this movie.

LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY is an early film (1978) by John Woo, who is better known for his Hong Kong crime thrillers (THE KILLER, HARD-BOILED) and Hollywood hits (FACE/OFF, MI2). It's a costume swordplay film from Golden Harvest and it looks very different from similar films then being done at the rival Shaw Bros. studio. Even then, Woo was displaying a directorial talent that set him apart from the Shaw Bros. directors (as good as some of them were). The photography and editing here display a cinematic gloss comparable to the Japanese samurai films of the time. However, the martial arts are not as pure as in the Shaw Bros. films and the 2 lead fighters are generally not as skilled as the top-ranked members of the Shaw repertory company (e.g. Gordon Liu, Fu Sheng, the 5 Venoms).

Even so, the fight scenes are consistently exciting and are sprinkled throughout a well-developed storyline with a set of intriguing characters. It's all about the budding friendship between fighters Cheng San (Wei Pai, a sometime Shaw star) and Green Suit (Damian Lau) and the path to their impending battle with villain Pai Kang (Lee Hoi San), and their ultimate betrayal by the mutual friend who had manipulated them into battle. It looks forward to Woo's A BETTER TOMORROW and BULLET IN THE HEAD each of which featured a trio of male buddies, one of whom betrays the other two for personal gain. Fans of Woo's later work (and fans of swordplay movies) will find this film a rewarding experience.

ADDENDUM (7/23/14): I watched this again, on the Dragon Dynasty DVD edition, for the first time in many years and was newly impressed with the fight choreography. It was much more sophisticated than I gave it credit for above and I'm sorry I was mildly dismissive of the lead actors' capabilities. This film also compares quite favorably with the Shaw Bros. swordplay adventures of the 1970s, of which I've seen many more since doing the original review. I was also remiss in not singling out the great kung fu villains in this piece, particularly those played by Fung Hak On and Lee Hoi San. Their work is breathtaking. And I should also highlight the film's original music score, distinguished by a theme melody taken from its title song and deployed effectively in different variations throughout the film. This is in contrast to the standard practice of so many kung fu films from that era in using library cues and bits taken from other soundtracks. And I stand by my remark about the "cinematic gloss" that sets this film apart. Woo's confidence as a filmmaker is quite noticeable here and brings an aesthetic element to the material that wasn't common in the genre at the time.

This is one amazing piece of work! I mean really; when you see a movie in the TV guide about a movie made in 1978 and it is an Asian film, you don't really have high expectations! But I decided to watch it after miserably missing "The Killer" on Showcase (I was going to record it)! But I began watching it and the host of The Showcase Revue said that it was "John Woo with swords and knives", so I gave it a shot. It was excellent! It was in subtitles though. Even so, I enjoyed this movie immensely! It is equally as good as Hard Boiled and The Killer (if not, better)! This is full of Woo's trademark styles. Amazing choreography, action - packed battle sequences, blood, action, and violence. It is set in the samurai era. Just give it a chance - you won't be disappointed!

I am a kung fu fan, but not a Woo fan. I have no interest in gangster movies filled with over-the-top gun-play. Now, martial arts; *that's* beautiful! And John Woo surprised me here by producing a highly entertaining kung fu movie, which almost has *too much* fighting, if such a thing is possible! This is good stuff.

Many of the fight scenes are very good (and some of them are less good), and the main characters are amusing and likable. The bad guys are a bit too unbelievably evil, but entertaining none the less. You gotta see the Sleeping Wizard!! He can only fight when he's asleep - it's hysterical!

Upon repeated viewings, however, Last Hurrah For Chivalry can tend to get a little boring and long-winded, also especially because many of the fight scenes are actually not that good. Hence, I rate it "only" a 7 out of 10. But it really is almost an "8".

All in all one of the better kung fu movies, made smack-dab in the heart of kung fu cinema's prime. All the really good kung fu movies are from the mid- to late 1970ies, with some notable exceptions from the late '60ies and early '70ies (and early '80ies, to be fair).