An Empress and the Warriors (2008)
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Due to his own extreme ideals, famed swordsman Li has lost everyone dear to him. After his life is saved by a rival swordsman, Li's overwhelming pride means he forsakes the woman he loves and lets her marry his saviour. Li's only comfort is alcohol and the simple life he has now accepted. On one such journey, the lonely swordsman befriends the exceptionally skilled, yet secretive Fei who has his own pressures to contend with. The person behind Li's troubles proves to be elusive, though all the clues seem to point to the legendary 'Plum Blossom Bandit', a disguised figure whose identity has long proved elusive to the martial world.
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.
A rampaging swordsman slices and dices his way across China on a bloody mission to cut down every warrior in his way, and claim the blade of the legendary Supreme Swordsman in this Shaw Brothers classic starring Derek Yee and Jason Pai Piao, and directed by Keith Li Baak Ling. But when the son of a slain sword maker emerges as an unexpected challenger, the ruthless killer realizes that he may have finally met his match.
Lone swordsman Jiang Dan-Feng (Wong Chung-Shun) is ambushed by a pair of bandits and quickly despatches them. One of them, as he is dying, asks Jiang to take his personal effects to his sister. This being a Wuxia film, our hero is bound by a strict code of honour, and he agrees. The banditâs sister, Xiu Xiu (Shu Pei-Pei), is surprisingly forgiving and tells him that he got mixed up in a bad crowd of robbers before he died. As it happens, these self-same bandits are threatening to tear up the village at any moment, and Jiang prepares to defend it despite being despised by the town folk for killing Xiu Xiuâs brother.
Golden Swallow revolves around the further adventures of its title character. This time around, she is forced into violence when a figure from her mysterious past goes on a killing rampage while leaving evidence that holds her responsible. Golden Swallow also makes room for a love triangle involving a mad, but righteous, swordsman named Silver Roc and a gentle warrior named Golden Whip. The three team up to conquer the evil forces of the martial world, but their joint venture only lasts so long, due to the two men's egos. Ultimately, a duel to the death is planned between them, leaving Golden Swallow caught between two men, both of whom she admires.
2 million taels in gold has been stolen from a vault within the Forbidden City. The Empress wants the money returned within 10 days. Chief Constable Leng Tian-Ying (Chen Kuan-Tai) is hired to bring back the gold robbers, dead or alive; only Leng never brings anyone back alive. He assembles a team of officers to find the stolen gold. Over the course of the film, Leng's team is dwindled with traps and ambushes awaiting them at every turn. During a fierce and bloody battle in a swamp, the leader of the robbers reveals a major conspiracy which leads to a final and gruesome revenge.
Ying Ke-Feng, head of Peerless Manor, is an expert swordsman whose escort business transports 200,000 taels of silver to the capital each year. This year, however, he is afflicted with an infirmity that renders him unable to use his sword. Rather than give up this important commission and let the martial world know of his precarious health he means to entrust the consignment to two young knights in his manor, Hsiang Ting and Yun Piao-Piao. As it happens, these two are also betrothed; clearly they have their swordsmanship in common. At Peerless Manor, everyone is suspicious of malevolent strangers who may be sniffing around the silver transport. So when Le I appears astride a high-quality charger but otherwise clearly down on his luck, Hsiang Ting thinks Le I may be a spy for the bad guys in the Flying Tiger Manor. It doesn't help that Le I and Yun Piao-Piao hit it off right away. Even or especially when Le I saves Yun Piao-Piao from a Flying Tiger thug.
It is 1654, in the South of France. When horsemen follow a runaway slave into the convent where he's taken sanctuary and kill both the fugitive and the Mother Superior, they little realise that one of the novices is the spirited daughter of retired musketeer D'Artagnan.
Lo Wei remains internationally famous for directing Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's first major movies. Cheng Pei-pei is now internationally famous for her superlative villainous role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. But both were superstars in Hong Kong for decades prior, so any teaming of the superlative "swordswoman supreme" and the vaunted director/writer/actor is cause for celebration. Kao Yuen joins them as a noble swordsman, and watch, too, for award-winning actor Ku Feng as the "Frontier Terror" in the evocative and effective "Martial Art World" adventure.
Chivalrous swordsman Jun-zhao (Kiu Chong) goes in search of a fugitive named Li Yueh (Jimmy Wang Yu) in order to reunite him with his love, Liu Xian (Chin Ping). Though the two men meet and become loyal brothers, Li does not reveal his true identity until Jun-zhaoâs life is endangered by swordsmen from Flying Fish Island who are looking for revenge.
In a teardrop-shaped land called Sangarashtra, a 9-year-old girl with special healing powers tries to save her homeland from the tyranny of an evil queen with the help of a blind swordsman.
A young swordsman is tasked to lead a patriotic secret society to fight a traitorous general who conspired with the enemy to invade their country. In due course, he meets two pretty sisters from a rural tribe and is caught between the affections of the two girls...
Chang Yi plays Chan Chao, a knight of justice, who thwarts the plans of Minister Peng to assassinate the revered Judge Pao Cheng over and over again. Lo Lieh gives Chang a good run for his money as the evil and sinister henchman of Minister Peng.
Asian fans of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon recognized that its director Ang Lee was actually inspired by director Chu Yuan and novelist Ku Lung's wonderful tales of a "martial art world" where all wushu warriors try to attain the "Deer Sword" and escape from the insidious maze-like "Toy Land." Master kung-fu choreographer Tang Chia leads the king and queen of Shaw's swordplay, Ti Lung and Lily Li, in a fascinating and entertaining adventure of consummate swordmen and sorceresses.
The notorious âOne-Armed Swordsmanâ who has spent the last two years retired from the martial world as a simple farmer with his wife. Of course this idyllic life is about to be sliced to ribbons by Changâs wicked imagination. He concocts a savory setup when he introduces, not one, but eight unique villains known as the Eight Kings of Swords and their sword-wielding entourage for Wang Yu to eventually chop his way through.
A tale of revenge, honor and greed follows a group of misfits that gets involved with a kitchen cleaver made from the top five swords of the martial arts world in this wild and brash action comedy.
Traveling swordsman Shen Sheng-yi (Ti Lung) and his lady friend match wits and swords with the last surviving member of the once great Murung family who is determined to rule the martial world by stealing plans to crafting firearms.
Yun Fei Yang is the viciously bullied orphan who takes on the unpleasant tasks at a formidable kung-fu school. Constantly mocked by the other students of the school, Yen counts as his only friend the daughter of the resident master. Any internal wrangling between the various members is put to one side when a swordsman from a rival clan reminds the master of the duel he must take part in once a decade. Unfortunately the defending clan chief is well aware that his rival is more powerful than himself. The expected defeat is further complicated when a wandering swordsman arrives on the scene and joins himself to the injured party, immediately adding to Yen's woes.
Legendary Weapons of China is a martial arts fantasy film taking place during the late Qing Dynasty when Empress Dowager Cixi dispatches her agents to various factions of the Boxer Rebellion in order find supernatural martial artists that are invulnerable to western bullets. When one of the leaders of these groups disbands his forces, assassins from the remaining factions are sent out to kill him.
An evil gang attacks the Chi school of Golden Sword Kung Fu. One student sacrifices his life to save his teacher and his school, his dying wish is that his son be taken in as a student. Young Fang Kang grows up in the school and treasures his father's broken sword and the memory of his father's sacrifice. The other students (including the teacher's daughter) resent him and try to drive him away. The teacher's daughter challenges him to a fight and when he refuses she becomes enraged and recklessly chops off his arm! He retreats, broken and bloody, and is found by a young poor girl living alone who nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, the evil gang who originally attacked the Golden Sword school develops a weapon that renders the Golden Sword useless and starts killing off all of the schools students. Fang Kang eventually recovers with the girl's help but must now face a life with only one arm. Will he be able to recover and live to defend the school as his father did?
In this thrilling martial arts twist on the tale of Robin Hood, a charismatic highwayman (Death Duel and Shaolin Temple's David Chiang) with formidable sword skills decides to help the poor by robbing from thieves and distributing the wealth. This plan doesn't sit well with the criminals, who band together to stop him. Fortunately, our hero has a powerful blade on his side, not to mention popular beauty Lily Li (Black Magic) at his side. A high-spirited blend of action, romance, and comedy, this Shaw Brothers classic from fearless director Chang Cheh (Five Deadly Venoms) is a timeless example of pure high-voltage entertainment.
In the 16th century in Chosun dynasty, HWANG Jung-hak and LEE Mong-hak create the âGrand Allianceâ with the united dream of a better world. While the new leader LEE dreams of eradicating this world of all its corruption and becoming king himself, the legendary blind swordsman HWANG who had once been his comrade goes after him with the loss of his good friend at the hands of LEE. Just as the king abandoned his kingdom from Japanese invasion, the two come face-to-face inside the empty palace and begin their last battle they were destined to fight.
Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Goshaâs Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogunâs gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.
The swordsman Zhang Zhen is injured in a misadventure and rescued by Eldest Sister of Changchun Sect, who has a crush on him. However, Zhang falls in love with the maid Yuenu instead, and conceives twins with her. The couple are killed by a group of evil pugilists later. The Eldest Sister is angry with Zhang Zhen for not accepting her and plans to make Zhang's children kill each other as revenge. The baby girl (Xiaolu'er) is saved by Zhang's friend, Lian Lanyan, while the male infant (Hua Yuchun) is taken away by the Eldest Sister. Lian Lanyan encounters the Ten Villains when he passes through Villains' Valley. He is overwhelmed by them and knocked out in a fight. The baby Xiaolu'er is taken away by the Villains, who surprisingly do not harm her, and instead intend to groom her to become the greatest villain ever. Eighteen years later, the twins meet each other by coincidence.
Ti Lung is the Nameless Swordsman bent on defeating the faceless King of Swords to claim the title, and the glory, for himself. Hordes of fighters lunge from the shadows to cut down the mysterious challenger. Even a cunning seductress takes a stab at him in a revealing bath house assassination. It is said that a man's weapon reflects his utmost dreams, desires and fears. A warrior with no name and one motive has a soul as merciless as cold steel.
The star in Mad Mad Mad swords is a common man with numerous weaknesses and a complete worthless student of a prestigious school. To the suprise of all, however, he manages to defeat a string of renowned swordsmen, including the one-armed swordsman and the blind swordsman, by tricks and luck.
This mystery-tinged 'Martial Arts World' epic was one of director Chu Yuan and novelist Ku Lung's last together for the Shaw Studios, but it's another action-filled winner. Liu Yung and Sun Chien (the Korean kicking 'Venom' from Chang Cheh's internationally popular series) team to investigate the martial arts murders of a supposedly mortally wounded swordsman, only to find deception, death, double-dealings, imposters, and one deadly duel after another. No less than three choreographers are on hand to handle the multitude of magnificent martial arts.
The Weird Man" is popular director Chang Cheh's bizarre screen adaptation of the famous Chinese literary classic "Romance Of The Three Kingdoms". Chang is famous for his lone swordsman and hero films, and freakily, "The Weird Man" is no exception. The film's star Cheng Tien-chi playing a righteous, beheaded priest with supernatural powers that returns from the dead to wreak havoc against one of the corrupt kingdoms.
Frankie Wei Hung is the Swordsman At Large, who everyone wants to kill. They even create a superlative sword simply for this purpose, but the blade is soon coveted even more than the hero's death by it! Bandits, beauties, and blade masters battle for survival in this exciting story of deceit, betrayal, and death, expertly guided by the same director who brought The Twin Swords, The Thundering Sword, and The Sword And The Lute to the Shawscope screen.
Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who now is wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers' debts, but is in reality manipulating the ownership of a now-valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.
A noble swordsman and a one-armed swordswoman go up against the vicious Crimson Charm gang of thieves and cutthroats. The lovely and lethal Ivy Ling Po teams with the amazing Chang I for a classic tale of good versus evil in which the best man and one-armed woman wins.
A simple woodcutter named Wei Fu (Chang Yi) finds his world shattered when three murderous horsemen arrive to kill his family and kidnap his sister. Left with nothing but his motherâs bell-laden bracelet, he sets out to seek his revenge. Lucky for him, Wei Fu encounters a master swordsman (Yeung Chi-hing), who takes him under his wing.
As a valiant Chinese general and his men battle Tartar invaders, patriot swordsmen attempt to stop the delivery of 12 medallions sent by a traitor that could spell the doom of the Sung Dynasty. When a powerful kung fu master assumes responsibility for the deliveries, his daughter and a former student turn against him in order to save China.
The story of two warring generals (Liu Bang and Xiang Yu) fighting for control of China at the end of the Qin Dynasty.
A royal official accompanies a Portuguese warship to the Black Cliffs to see the site of the defeat of the evil Invincible Asia, who attained supernatural abilities by following the sacred scroll and castrating himself.
In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
Two rival swordsmen in imperial China, poncho-clad Fu Hung-Hsueh and Yen nan-Fei (Lo Leigh, 5 Fingers Of Death) vie with a power-hungry villain for the deadly Peacock Dart and fend off waves of expert killers during their journey.
One of the last of the Old School Hong Kong martial arts flicks, this one deals with a legendary competition in swordplay and fighting that ends up being fought between two great warriors, a Chinese man and a Japanese man, who, over the course of the film, have become friends.
Following "Clans Of Intrigue"'s success, director Chu Yuan, novelist Ku Lung, and superstar Ti Lung re-teamed for another adventure featuring sexy knight Chu Liu-Hsiang. This time, he travels to the mysterious Island Of The Bats, where he encounters treacherous monks, beautiful women, and a strange Prince. The movie is also a significant milestone in the amount of female flesh revealed on screen, proving that Shaw movies can balance the yin of cheesecake with the yang of beefcake.
Kao has purchased a new wife, but an enemy has paid her more money to kill him. Kao must recruit a pair of swordsmen to help defend himself and his family from his ruthless enemy. But Kao has his dark side as well. A complex early action film from master director Woo.
An expert swordsman is suspected of being the thief of a treasure sent to Emperor. The swordsman who has nothing to do with the theft investigates and is led on the trail of the supernatural "Bloody Parrot". This leads to the "Parrot Brothel" and the star prostitute who walks around half naked. Strange things happen including a demonic possession, witches casting poison spells, disgusting autopsies and numerous sword fights. Then a dead constable turns into a vampire! This is all in the first 30 minutes!
Shiro Amasuka, dead leader of the Shimbara Revolt is resurrected from hell with the desire of overthrowing the shogunate for killing his companions. To do this , he resurrects an army od living dead swordsmen. Between him and his goal, only Yagyu Jubei stands.....
Zhan Zhao (Andy Lau) is a court officer who learns of a plot to assassinate Judge Bao (Anthony Wong). While on holiday he meets a young man named Bai (Cecilia Cheung) who turns out to be a woman. Zhan Zhao tries to recruit Bai to help him stop the assassination of Judge Bao.
A blind man seeks revenge against the psychopath who took away his sight and slaughtered his wife and daughter. Eight years after the massacre, the man has returned to the desert town, now a highly trained samurai swordsman ready to seek justice. But he doesn't know there awaits seven assassins hired by his sworn enemy who want the bounty on his head. Set in nowhere, no time, this bloody modern day fable is a new age hybrid action film with a classic samurai essence and a spaghetti western spirit. This is, "Sushi Western!"
Year 1100. Italy.The Northern lands are ruled by a German emperor: Fredrick aka "Barbarossa. His dream is to conquer also the lands in the Center and in the South so as to revive the Empire that was once of the one Charles Magno.But in the North a young man from Milan has formed an army of 900 young men coming from different cities: the "company of death". This young man's name is Alberto Da Giussano. His dream is to defeat the Emperor and to give back freedom to the Northern lands.
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love: his own brother. He must face in combat not only the pursuing retainers but his own flesh-and-blood.
An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu.
The classic role-playing game comes to life in this magical adventure. The empire of Izmer is a divided land: Elite magicians called Mages rule while lowly commoners are powerless. When Empress Savina (Thora Birch) vows to bring equality and prosperity to her land, the evil Mage Profion (Jeremy Irons) plots to depose her. But this good-vs.-evil battle is no game!
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father. He gains the reluctant help of a young pick pocket and together they travel to find the baby's father. But they do not reckon on the father's reaction to their arrival, nor on their own growing feelings for the child.
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Dutch colonial army in West Java holds a martial arts tournament to select the best warrior to confront local warrior-freedom fighter Parmin (nicknamed Jaka Sembung). The winner is an obscure blind swordsman and the Dutch commander De Mandes (Gino Makasutji) commissions him. However, the swordsman is sympathetic with Jaka Sembung's cause and things get more complicated when magician seductress Dewi Magi as well as her guru (W. D. Mochtar) intervene on behalf of the Dutch.
Blind masseur and master swordsman Zatoichi finds a robbed and fatally wounded pregnant woman, whose baby he delivers before she dies. He takes the baby in search of its father and finds the child's aunt, who is about to be forced into prostitution for want of a payment the dead mother was bringing. Zatoichi determines to save the woman from her cruel fate.
In BOXER REBELLION, three young martial arts brothers, played by Chi Kuan-chun, Alexander Fu Sheng and Leung Kar-yan, go in search of fellow patriots dissatisfied with Imperialist foreigners and wind up joining a rising sect of the Boxers, led by an opportunistic conman (Johnny Wang Lung-wei). Named as such for their use of martial arts, these boxers are revolutionaries who believe that spirits protect their bodies from foreign guns. They even dupe the Empress Dowager (Li Lihua), who gives them her royal blessing to fight the foreigners.
A prequel to "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame"
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers. While Otsu waits, Akemi also seeks him, expressing her desires directly. Meanwhile, Takezo is observed by Sasaki Kojiro, a brilliant young fighter, confident he can dethrone Takezo. After leaving Kyoto in triumph, Takezo declares his love for Otsu, but in a way that dishonors her and shames him. Once again, he leaves alone.
The Medieval and Renaissance blade, a profound and beautiful object handcrafted by master artisans of old. An object of great complexity, yet one with a singular use in mind- it is designed to kill. The truth of the sword has been shrouded in antiquity, and the Renaissance martial arts that brought it to being are long forgotten. The ancient practitioners lent us all they knew through their manuscripts. As gunslingers of the Renaissance they were western heroes with swords, and they lived and died by them. Yet today their history remains cloaked under a shadow of legend.
The hectic adventures of D'Artagnan, a young provincial noble who just comes to Paris to enter the musketeers. He will meet action, love, hate, the king and the queen as his impetuousness gets him involved in political plots... and of course virile and indestructible friendship with the three musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Written by Yepok
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skilful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. Sheâs in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.
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