The Deadly Breaking Sword
by Sun Chung
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Lily Li, Shih Szu, Ti LungDirector: Sun Chung
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Mandarin Chinese (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Deadly Breaking Sword
Movie Review: "We're the same." - Xiao Dao
Summary: 5 Stars
With this line (translated from Mandarin), the two lead characters of "The Deadly Breaking Sword" are ultimately defined; each has their own reputation as swordsmen, but regardless of exactly where and how they learned their fighting talents (or how they gained their respective standings in society), they turn out to be equals in more ways than one
The basics of the plot (and the "signature" move of Ti Lung's character) have been fairly well established in the other reviews here, and the review by writer Mark Pollard (on the Kung Fu Cinema website) truly catches the essence of what this movie can give to the receptive viewer. Of the three films [Alexander] Fu Sheng made with director Sun Chung, this DVD is the only LEGIT one domestically available.
I sought out this team-up of Fu Sheng and Ti Lung (their second with Chung, after "Avenging Eagle", available on DVD as an import or "bootleg") because of the significance of the injury Fu Sheng acquired during the making of it. (A wire snapped from a rigging he had on, and he landed on his head, so he likely had a concussion.) This accident, plus the worser calamity that occurred during the production of "Heroes Shed No Tears" (a broken leg), would alter his his film career drastically. Judging from the finished film, "TDBS" got finished with no complications, and this film is the last time in a Shaw Brothers movie we see the "vintage" Fu Sheng in action. After his recovery, he wouldn't regain all his speed and moves, but he came close. (A double--NOT a post-production addition!--handles more tricky moves for Fu Sheng in some of "TDBS", but such is the skill of the film editor that it's very hard to pick up where Fu Sheng begins and the double finishes out. More than once, I found myself going, "Hey! Fu Sheng ACTUALLY did that!")
My initial look at this pleased me more than I thought it would (in part, because he FINISHED the film), and many "encores" have added to my appreciation of this overlooked classic. Exactly how Sun Chung connected every piece of this endearing "puzzle" of a film--the story (more than a few holes in the plot, but there IS a beginning, middle and end to this), the acting (the on-screen actors AND the "voice-over" actors!), the photography, fight choreography, film editing, music editing (plus the theme song by Jenny, though it's chopped up at the start and finish)--makes it stand out in a way that bigger (expensive and/or longer) films do not always manage to.
If taken out of context from the era in which this originally played overseas (with other martial arts pictures of greater reputations, including the first Jackie Chan "kung-fu comedies"), this Shaw Brothers production holds its own with any Chang Cheh "Venoms" film, as well as anything directed by Lau Kar Leung. Until I get to see early Chan like "Drunken Master", any so-called influence his movies had on Fu Sheng's "Xiao Dao" role will not phase me; he performs well here, as does Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Chen Hui Min, and Ngai Fei. The ladies don't do any fighting here, but you'll still enjoy the talents of Lily Li (great being Fu Sheng's nemesis), Kara Hui (doesn't do much, but her brief flirting scene with Fu Sheng is cute), and the lovely Shih Szu. (Comparing Szu in "The Shadow Boxer" to her part in "TDBS", I do see proof she did have plastic surgery at some point!)
The picture on this Image DVD is NOT of "Tokyo Shock" quality, but it's very good in its own way. I think the Mandarin language track (with optional English subtitles) adds to the overall sonic "poetry" of the movie, while the [unadvertised] English dub detracts from it. Since there are many who prefer the latter, let my opinion on this point be disregarded by THEM, then!...This is a NECESSARY purchase for fans of Fu Sheng (along with "Heroes Two" and "Disciples Of Shaolin"), and followers of Ti Lung, Ku Feng, Lily Li and Shih Szu will need to add this to their collection. Chen Hui Min's performance as the halbred-wielding Lian San is so good, you'll want to see more of his other movies, too! This is NOT an IMPORTANT Shaw DVD release like "Come Drink With Me", "One-Armed Swordsman" or "The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin", but its value as a work of well-dressed, thoughtful entertainment is not to be second-guessed by anybody. Read Mark Pollard's review, buy the DVD, and become another satisfied purchaser of "The Deadly Breaking Sword"!
...All the Best, Brother Fang.
Summary of The Deadly Breaking Sword
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