Former Taiwan's action star Polly Shangkuan Lingfeng had many aliases, but her Asian fans used to call her The Phoenix (they said: "Bruce Lee is the Dragon, Polly is the Phoenix!"). This great performer made more than 50 actioners (mostly Wushapians) then got married and retired. This LIE HUO is another one in her line of her sword-armed heroines, but if you like the genre you'll enjoy it because, aside Polly, the valuable Pai Ying stars as her ally against the Ching Dynasty guards. They both acted in King Hu's masterpiece DRAGON INN, and this is not a masterpiece for sure, but the cast is filled by so many Martial regulars, and most of them appeared in DRAGON INN too. Colorful costumes and setting fills the eye and even if the camerawork by director Yang Shi Ching (A GIRL FIGHTER, also with Polly) is merely adequate, who cares about it when THE ONE-ARMED BOXER's stuntmen Lung Fei, Shan Mao, Chang Yi kwai and Chen Shi Wei fights all around as Ching's soldiers? Director King Hu's wife Hsu Feng (A TOUCH OF ZEN) was also in the rich cast, but for some reason she was deleted from the final cut. Don't be cheated by the sentimental title: the only Grand Passion here is for blood-spitting battles. Released in Taiwan 10/24/70. Also known under the titles THE GRANT PASSION and THE FLAMING VENGEANCE.
