Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: A tale of honour and revenge by a celebrated master of wuxia cinema, Joseph Kuo! Having witnessed the brutal slaying of his entire family as a small child, Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng, A Touch of Zen) spends several years wandering in search of those responsible. After years in training, he intends to use his expert swordsmanship to exact violent revenge on Yun Chun-chung (Tsao Tsien, Dragon Inn) and his four accomplices, who murdered his father in order to obtain a legendary weapon known as the Spirit Chasing Sword. But after dispatching several rival swordsmen that stand in the way of his righteous vengeance, Tsai comes to contemplate the futile nature of revenge after Yun Chun-chung’s daughter, Flying Swallow (Polly Shang-Kuan Ling-Feng, Back Alley Princess), saves his life. Followed by The Bravest Revenge and The Ghost Hill, The Swordsman of All Swordsmen is the first entry in Joseph Kuo’s Tsai Ying-jie trilogy and a landmark work in the wuxia genre. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time ever in the UK from a new 2k restoration, along with Kuo’s influential kung fu masterpiece The Mystery of Chess Boxing, available ONLY in this Limited-Edition set.

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Views: Recently released in a gloriously restored Blu-ray edition by Eureka Video, this hidden gem of a movie has finally been released to UK and Irish audiences, and to great praise. Also known as King Of Swords, The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen is a 1968 Taiwanese production that has been forgotten for many years, yet stands strong as a hugely enjoyable wuxia classic boasting a great cast and plenty of enjoyable swordplay action! Directed by the prolific and fantastic Joseph Kuo Nan Hong – director of over 70 feature films and the very same man behind kung fu classics such as The 18 Bronzemen, 7 Grandmasters, The Mystery Of Chess Boxing, Born Invincible, and World Of The Drunken Master – The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen delivers a classic tale of revenge that sees a young man take on a 20 year long mission of vengeance to find the man who killed his parents...

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Fan favourite Roc Tien Peng delivers his first leading man role as the titular character, only just having made his debut in King Hu's fantastic Dragon Inn just a year before, with his role here clearly impressing studio bosses and directors enough that would see Tien go on to star in over 60 further films through to the early 80s including titles such as A Touch Of Zen, Evil Slaughter, Chaochow Guy, Heroes In The Late Ming Dynasty, The Lost Swordship, The Jade Fox, and The Jade Dagger as well as other Joseph Kuo titles like The Shaolin Kids, The 18 Bronzemen, and Return Of The 18 Bronzemen. Aside from proving himself as a martial arts star, Roc would also direct 7 of his own features from 1974 to 1984 such The Notorious Bandit, The Majesty Cat, The Silver Spear, and The Legend Of All Men Are Brothers among others.​ Here, Tien Peng is joined by the equally talented and wonderful Polly Shang Kwan who also made her debut in Dragon Inn and went onto star alongside him in many titles throughout the 70s – such as most of his aforementioned Joseph Kuo titles and two forgotten, loosely-connected sequels to this with The Bravest Revenge in 1970 and The Ghost Hill in 1971. But Kwan would fast become a star in her own right, with this pint-sized feisty female fighter proving herself time and time again in classics such as The Ghostly Face, Back Alley Princess and its sequel Chinatown Capers, A Girl Called Tigress, Shaolin Death Squads, 18 Jade Arhats, Adventure At Shaolin, and the absolutely wild Zodiac Fighters.

 

Together, both stars provide top class entertainment that, although early in their careers, clearly defines the star power they both had. They are joined by a recognisable cast of stars including Chiang Nan as the opposing Black Dragon – also seen in many of the aforementioned Kuo titles and others – prolific actor Tso Chien who also appeared in classics like Hsi Shih Beauty Of Beauties and Dragon Inn, and the poular Miao Tian who had also just come off Dragon Inn and joined his co-stars many times over the following years. The highly recognisable Shih Han who appeared in most King Hu titles as well as classics like One-Armed Boxer, Beach Of The War Gods, and The Killer Meteors also appears along with popular Shaolin monk-actor Ko Yu Min, and regular co-stars Lu Shih and Kao Ming. Eagle eyed viewers should also keep an eye out for a young Lee Tso Nam who would, of course, go on to become a popular director himself just the following year – giving us classic titles such as The Hot The Cool & The Vicious, Eagle's Claw, Phantom Kung Fu, Shaolin Invincible Sticks, Challenge Of The Lady Ninja, A Life Of Ninja, Kung Fu Wonder Child, and Moon Lee's Beauty Investigators among many more.

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The screenplay was provided by Tyrone Hsu Tien Yung, the writer behind titles such as Joseph Kuo's King Of Kings and The Mighty One, as well as the Shaw Brothers classic, The Bride From Hell. In the mid 60s, Tyrone would make his directorial debut with Mistress and went onto direct many more of his self-scripted titles such as The Revenge Dragon and Evil Slaughter, as well as films such as The Fierce Fist, The Boxer's Adventure, Six Directions Of Boxing, Immortal Warriors and The Red Phoenix – with the latter two starring Polly Shang Kwan herself. It's also worth noting that, while many make their comparisons, this production was made under the Union Film banner who were also behind King Hu's aforementioned Dragon Inn just the year before.​ Featuring plenty of exciting swordplay action courtesy of martial arts director Pan Yao Kun, who also served as a co-director, The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen still proves to be as impressive and important today as it was upon release over 50 years ago with its tasteful cinematography, gorgeous scenery, and great performances from all involved proving that he should be remembered alongside the finest of wuxia cinema from that time such as King Hu and others. And with that, it's only fair to say that The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen is a beautifully made product of its time that deserves to be seen by any true fan of classic wuxia and Japanese chanbara cinema!

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Overall: A wuxia masterpiece that highlights another side of Joseph Kuo and his skills as a director, The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen is a classic that's well worth checking out!

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Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & John Charles, Interview with Joseph Kuo, Bonus Film: Mystery Of Chess Boxing, Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Michael Worth

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Watch my unboxing video for this Eureka Video Blu-ray release HERE​

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Watch my video retrospective for this film HERE