The packaging says this was banned in Asia for its violence; however, what we have here in the American dubbed release appears to be a censoring re-edit, because I've seen worse violence in films, and the editing in action sequences here seem intended to pare away pro-longed blood-letting.
Not that the uncensored edits are any much better; still, I continue to hope that one day I will be able to see this film in all its original pristine gore.
How bad is this film, just as a film? well, the hero and his wife are standing at the grave of the hero's teacher at sunset - at least, the painted backdrop behind them appears to be that of the setting sun - how do we know it's a painted backdrop? because when the hero walks in front of it, the spotlight casts his shadow ON the sun! They just don't make suns like they used to, I guess.
Actually, one has to get into a kind of weird "Mack Sennett meets Tsui Hark" kind of groove to enjoy this film. It's definitely a silent movie that somehow got made in the sound-film era; and it's definitely a wild wire-works ride through the realm of magical sword-fighting in ancient China - you can even see the wires attached to mannequins flying about pretending to be sword-fighters.
Oh, well, I might as well admit that I just have a soft spot for cinematic moments when people are killed by having rocks shoved down their throats.
Eight stars for entertainment value, but only for real connoisseurs.
