Ying zi shen bian

Fifteen years earlier, a masked man with an incredible whip killed some folks and stole a shipment of jewels. Everyone assumes it was Fang Chengtian because he is the Shadow Whip--the best whip-man in the world. However, Fang's whereabouts are unknown and various people have been looking for him. One wants revenge--as he things Fang disgraced his family. Others, however, want to kill Fang in order to keep a secret--who REALLY stole the jewels and was a murderer.

I knew this was a pretty good Shaw Brothers marital arts film because as I watched it, my daughter and wife sat with me and never made fun of the film! Other, they laugh at the ineptness of many martial arts films--and it's pretty easy. But here, there is a decent story but more importantly the sword play and fighting is excellent. The only goofy thing is a common one--the extensive use of 'wire fu'--using wires and cranes to make people appear to fly! A common cliché but one that did elicit at least one chuckle from my daughter. Overall, while this is far from the best Chinese sword film I have seen, it's an awfully good one. Plus, the snowy mountain backdrop is very nice. Worth your time if you love the genre.