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Kenneth Tsang, who made his mark in Hong Kong’s golden age of film before coming to the US and scoring roles in several prominent movies, died at age 87 today. He was found after quarantining in a Hong Kong hotel after entering China from Singapore, per that country’s Covid-19 protocols.

Tsang’d talent manager confirmed his death. “I’m deeply saddened by the news and will miss his laughter and his friendship,” Tsang’s manager, Andrew Ooi, said in a statement.

“He was a pioneer and a legend of his time in the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, who broke boundaries with his fearless performances not only there but in Hollywood too. His legacy will live on in the movies he’s made and my heart goes out to his family in this difficult time.”

In addition to his Hong Kong films, Tsang appeared in Hollywood movies Rush Hour 2...

In 1967, Shaw Brothers released “One-Armed Swordsman”, a new style of swordplay wuxia film, starring Jimmy Wang Yu and directed by Chang Cheh. It became the first film in Hong Kong to rag in Hk $1 million and Jimmy became a huge star overnight. Two years later, Jimmy picked up his broken sword and again under the direction of Chang Cheh, was back in “Return of the One-Armed Swordsman” (“One-Armed Swordsman King”in Chinese) with more bloodletting action.

This time around, our hero Fang Kang (Jimmy Wang Yu) is a happily settled down farmer and has little interest in the affairs of jianghu (the Martial arts world). In the meantime, the evil Eight Sword Kings clan has emerged; they set up a tournament to challenge all rival schools to decide who the best in swordsmanship is. However, this turns out to be a cover-up so they can kill off all the rival schools members.

Guest reviewer Lee Broughton returns with coverage of two well-regarded wuxia films (period martial arts movies set in ancient China). One is an intense action flick from the Shaw Brothers Studio that places a heavy emphasis on bloody and gory depictions of swordplay. The second is a wuxia film with a difference: rather than fancy sword moves or flamboyant punching techniques, the mystical fighters attack each other with incantations and magical musical instruments.

One-Armed Swordsman

Region B Blu-ray

88 Films

1967 / Color / 2.35 / 111 min. / Du bei dao / Street Date, 26 March 2018 / £12.99

Starring: Yu Wang, Chiao Chiao, Ti Tang, Chih-Ching Yang, Feng Tien, Yin-Tze Pan, Feng Ku.

Cinematography: Yuan Chen San

Film Editor: Chiang Hsing-Loong

Art Director: Ching-Shen Chen

Original Music: Foo-Ling Wang

Written by Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni

Produced by Runme Shaw

Directed by Cheh Chang

Reviewed by Lee Broughton

The bandit leaders Long-Armed Devil (Chi-Ching Yang) and Smiling Tiger (Ti Tang) are determined...

In the late 1960’s, the Wu Xia Genre was elevated to a new level of sophistication through the release of two very influential movies. The first came in 1966 with King Hu’s seminal work “Come Drink With Me” to be followed swiftly the year later, with “One Armed Swordsman”. Fifty years on the movie, and it still retains a good deal of its power despite the inevitable dating. Voted the 15th Best Chinese Language Film in a Hong Kong movie poll in 2005 and loosely reimagined by Tsui Hark with “The Blade” in 1995, “One-Armed Swordsman” remains one of Hong Kong Cinema’s most ground breaking works.

Master Chi Ju Fung (Tien Feng) comes under attack, only to be rescued by his servant who loses his life in doing so. Chi Ju Fung agrees to look after his son as though he were his own, to repay the debt.

When I think of Wu Xia movies, I immediately think of Shaw Brothers and the many classic they have made over the years. What I love about this genre is many things, the Swordplay, The Characters, Story lines, Setting, Costumes and much more.

Wu Xia, traditionally is a form of literature. But after high demand over the years it’s become involoved in many art forms such as Movies, Opera, Video Games and beyond. This list of 30 Wu Xia movies listed, i hope you’ll like and want to thank my friend Richard Robinson for contributing to the list. If we missed any classics out, its most probably because we honestly forgot at that time or maybe we haven’t seen all the classic Wu Xia movies so far, anyway enjoy the list and let us know what you thought in the commen box at the bottom.

1.Have Sword Will Travel (1969)

Cast: David Chiang,...