La dernière chevalerie

Due to its heavy emphasis on sleek Wuxia swordplay, John Woo's 'Last Hurrah For Chivalry (1979)' was apparently considered antiquated at the time of its release. In retrospect, though, it's clear that it's the prototype for the Heroic Bloodshed movies that would later go on to define his career (a genre which he practically created with 'A Better Tomorrow (1986)'). You can really tell that Woo is pushing against the boundaries of an existing genre in an effort to craft something new, and he gets really close to breaking into new territory here. Although it's his later films that left an irreversible mark on action cinema, this more traditional effort is just as vital - if only for the fact that it's clearly a major stepping stone in the filmmaker's journey to be able to do that. Besides, it's just a really solid and entertaining experience overall. It also has a different feel to a lot of its contemporaries; it's one of the earliest Hong Kong action films I can recall that plays with these particular themes and subverts expectation in this sort of way. It's surprisingly bleak, getting more and more world-weary as it progresses, until it eventually lets its ultimate message burst to the forefront in an eponymous last hurrah that ends things on a really bittersweet but satisfying note.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The feature initially seems as though it's going to follow a traditional revenge plot. It focuses on a young lord who is betrayed on his wedding day and is left wounded while his family home is ransacked and stolen by a rival. Desperate for revenge, he seeks the aid of a master swordsman, who in turn finds a friend in a hired killer with a penchant for drinking and disorderly conduct. Although it seems as though the narrative is going to focus on the lord, it soon becomes apparent that it's much more interested in the swordsman and his assassin buddy. Their blossoming bromance receives a lot of attention, slowly eclipsing the story laid out in the opening moments if not in terms of screen time then in terms of importance. This emphasis goes hand in hand with the slow introduction of formula idiosyncrasies that clue you into the fact that things aren't what they initially seem and that the affair isn't as conventional as it sets itself up to be. Then, as it heads into its third act, it does something genuinely unexpected. I won't spoil what that is, but I will say that the film becomes a lot more thematically interesting in its aftermath. You find yourself sitting up in your seat, more engaged than you have been before. And then, just when you think you've adjusted to the new status quo, the film plays its final hand and shocks you once more. It isn't quite as unanticipated the second time around, but the picture is able to do something that ought to be really cliché in a really effective way. Because it's already caught you off guard once, you aren't expecting it to do so again. The element of surprise isn't the only thing that makes this moment great, though. While it initially threatens to undermine the previous beat and essentially be the coward's way out of the direction said beat necessitated, it soon becomes clear it actually hammers home the feature's themes of friendship, honor, loyalty and redemption. It's the sort of thing that simply has to happen in order for the affair to be what it is, a natural extension of the feature's underlying subversion that's ironically more unique because it's so often seen in one form or another. Basically, it's the execution of these well-worn tropes and the context in which they're used that make them so successful. The interesting themes and texture of the final act reverberates across the entire experience in retrospect, making the overall film much more exciting and fulfilling than its first two thirds make it seem to be. That's not to imply the first two thirds aren't good, just that it's the climactic segment that really pushes the film to the next level.

Aside from its unexpected thematic power, the picture has many other merits. It looks and sounds the part, standing confidently alongside its peers in terms of its aesthetic. While it isn't particularly stylish when it comes to lighting or music, it does exactly what it needs to and makes good use of exterior locations to ground the film in a certain sort of reality. There is plenty of exciting action, most of which focuses on free-flowing swordplay and includes the occasional bit of wire work. A lot of blood is spilt during these moments; the affair is surprisingly brutal, which - along with its harsher thematic elements - gives it a harder edge often missing in Wuxia cinema. The choreography is generally fantastic, as breathlessly impressive as effortlessly exciting. It's sometimes a bit stagey, but it works within the context of the film and rarely feels outright silly (there is one bizarre segment which involves a sleeping swordsman that's tonally incongruent but wickedly funny and wildly enjoyable, so it doesn't reduce the generally sincere movie's authenticity). The combat is inventive and manages to avoid feeling repetitive, even if it sometimes almost washes over you due to its constant intensity. The frequency of the fights is also a little misleading, in the sense that the picture feels like it's been on for a lot longer than it has simply because so much of it is filled to the brim with fast-paced set-pieces. In a way, the pacing is a little loose, although there aren't many areas that are in obvious need of a trim. While the plot can be a little muddled in the first half, especially as the piece juggles its various characters and has to orient the audience towards a protagonist who isn't the initially obvious focal point, everything eventually comes together in a satisfying way that makes pretty much every scene seem as though it always had to be exactly the way it is. While a lot of the narrative is a tad melodramatic, it takes itself seriously and that means we do too. It isn't dour, but it's candid in its desire to both entertain and convey a deeper theme. Because it's working within a genre that's inherently heightened, its less realistic elements don't feel out of place or counter to its overall intention.

Ultimately, this martial arts movie is really entertaining. It has several well-choreographed set-pieces that make use of the cast's capacity for impressive athleticism and is surprisingly subversive as it approaches its final third. Its thematic elements are really satisfying, too. It's easy to see how Woo could go from this to the Heroic Bloodshed that represents his most notable contribution to cinema, but it shouldn't be overlooked as a really solid movie in its own right. It does exactly what it needs to and then some, ending with a bittersweet sting that reminds us brotherhood born in bloodshed can only end the same way. It's really good.

LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY is an engaging Golden Harvest swordplay adventure and early film in the career of John Woo, who gets a chance to explore the themes of brotherhood and loyalty that would later pop up in his heroic bloodshed movies. This one begins with a wedding which turns red in a gruesome fashion with a huge betrayal. We then cut to some time later, where a survivor is looking for revenge and hires a couple of swordsmen to help him out. The story is packed with swordplay from beginning to end and the choreography is very good indeed. There's a pretty big cast with multiple characters, all of whom follow their own motivations, so there's plenty going on even when they're not fighting. Fun stuff.

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.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a movie I'd been excited to watch for a while, because I love classic martial arts movies and I love John Woo as an action director. I'd heard this was his best movie made before he started making more modern action movies with gunfights and all, so the prospect of watching a John Woo old-school martial arts movie was always intriguing. Even if the movie hadn't been great, I think I would've just enjoyed the novelty of Woo making an action movie outside what (I imagine) is his comfort zone.

Thankfully, not only is there novelty value here, but the movie is also just a really good martial arts flick. The majority of the action is so well-choreographed and fun to watch, with probably the best fight in the movie occurring around the halfway point - a one-on-one fight in a field, complete with tons of slow-motion and spectacular scenery. It's fantastic, and then the way the climax feels like a video game - two heroes fighting through different rooms and enemies, all the way to a boss fight - is also very entertaining.

Its story is a bit chaotic at the start, introducing viewers to a man who wants revenge, but wants to get other people to do it for him. We're shown a town that's filled with what initially feels like too many characters (and side-antagonists), but I think these scenes generally pay off by the end. The story becomes easy to follow after the first half-an-hour, with at least one fairly clever twist, and characters that you come to care about more than most martial arts movie characters. I think that's what takes Last Hurrah for Chivalry from being good to very good/great.

And not only is the action really well choreographed and shot, but there's also so much of it, with it feeling like 50 to 60% of the movie is just action. It's a blast to watch, is kind of exhausting in the best way possible, and shows that John Woo can do more than just great gunfights and car chases. I'm continually feeling like as far as the action genre goes, maybe no one does it quite as well as John Woo.

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.