Leofwine_draca THE SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD is another outing for director Chang Cheh and his Venoms cast, but this one's a little different to the rest. It's based on a famous wuxia novel by Louis Cha which has been filmed plenty of times in Hong Kong over the years, so the plotting is much more dense than usual and, dare I say it, a bit disjointed. Phillip Kwok plays a loyalist hero whose discovery of the skeleton of a famous adventurer named the Golden Snake kicks off a story of intrigue, suspense, and murder.The only real problem this film has is with the writing, so unfortunately it's quite a dominant one. There's too much plot for the running time. It starts off okay, with some particularly great and memorable scenes in the cave with the skeleton and the booby-trapped chest. Kwok dominates the screen with his bravado (one of the reasons I love the guy, the other being his excellent fighting form) and all goes pretty well until the second half, where the story is bogged down by having too many characters (including the extraneous mother role) and interminable flashbacks which really slow down the momentum of the present-day storyline.It's a pity, because THE SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD has all of the trademarks of the Shaw Brothers studio at its very best. Cheh directs with class and professionalism and the film looks fantastic, a good mix between the clean and bright Shaw martial arts films of the 1970s and the more atmospheric, horror and fantasy-tinged Shaws of the 1980s. He's also assembled a fantastic all-star cast, including roles for rival Venoms Wang Li, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng, alongside popular actor Chan Shen and actresses Wen Hsueh-Erh (very convincing as a spoilt brat), Ching Li, and Kara Hui. I was a little sore when I realised that Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng have quite minor henchman roles here and don't get to do very much until the climax.As for the action, it's very good as always, although there's less of it than usual, particularly in the first half. Cheh goes for the gory bloodshed approach here with some limb-lopping shocks and surprises, but the only real large-scale action is at the very end. After a few solid displays of skills and styles, the last fifteen minutes is a rip-roaring and madcap display of abilities and one vs. many madness, and it manages to reinvigorate the story and end it on a real high.

poe426 Yuan (Kuo Chui) finds the remains of Golden Snake Yi in a cave and, being a righteous sort of fellow, discovers the secrets that will lead him to a fortune in gold (which he plans to give to Yi's heirs). Along the way, he meets the beautiful Qing Qing and her family. She leads Yuan to believe that she's a male, though she's clearly attracted to him (and he to her, in a Manly sorta way...). Yuan is put to the test by the five male members of the Qing family, who utilize The Five-Element Array. If ever an actor could convincingly fend off five skilled opponents, it was Chui: he was a triple threat, an actor whose skill set included almost effortless acrobatics, consummate martial artistry, and absolute believability (whether doing comedy or drama). Some great action throughout. Highly recommended.

drystyx Like most kung fu films, we lose a lot in translation, but we get the gist of a young hero learning ways to fight powerful evil people.Here, we're not sure for a while who the evil ones will be. In fact, the hero is played by an actor who often plays bad guys.Here, he is a very likable chap, and he meets a girl who is very stubborn and has a bad temper. That's what makes the film as good as it is. The two leads are very charming and charismatic.The acrobatics and constant gymnastics are what often become tedious in these films. Here, they are more than tedious. We stick through this crazy choreography, though, because of the charisma of the two lead characters.Fortunately, although our hero ends up having to fight 5 kung fu artists by himself, he is not totally alone, as two family members are there to make sure the "henchmen" don't interfere. They have a brief battle of their own. A mute servant also adds to the appeal, as does some very stylistic settings, including a cave of danger with an Indiana Jones atmosphere.All in all, very watchable, although the tedious fight scenes are a bit of a drag. In this film, it is the drama in between that salvages it.

Filmfandave During their heyday, the Venoms played in three wuxia films: LEGEND OF THE FOX, THE SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD and ODE TO GALLANTRY. I got the chance to see LEGEND OF THE FOX and this at the cinema and is my favorite of the three!Kwo Chui plays an orphan raised on the mountains by a revered swordsman and his mute servant. Fate brings him to discover a hidden treasure chest of the Golden Snake swordsman (Lung Thien Siang), whose skeleton is also found inside the cave with the chest, containing a snake- shaped sword and its training book. Having trained himself to become a swordsman, he travels to a nearby town to solve the mystery of the Golden Snake's death. Upon reaching town, Kwo gradually gets entangled in the mystery and must confront the Golden Snake's archenemy (Wang Li) and his clan members.The story has its twists common to a wuxia film, which add flavor to an otherwise clichéd plot. Women characters played by Wen Shue Erl as the daughter of the Golden Snake, and Ching Li as his wife are also introduced to complicate the plot.The one against five weapon-fight is of high-octane Venoms' quality: fights that involve exciting swordplay and fight-in-the-air stunts. Watch how Kwo Chui takes on his five opponents - a band of deviously skilled swordsmen: Wang Li, Lu Feng, Chiang Sen, Yu Thai Phing, and Chu Ke! Worth watching for Venoms fans who want to see the Venoms' strutting out their kungfu skills in a wuxia film.