Tales of Chivalry

The Sword

Dir: Patrick Tam
Orig Story: Wong Ying
Scrs: Lau Tin-chi, Lo Chi-keung, Wong Ying, Patrick Tam
Martial Arts Choreographers: Tony Ching Siu-tung, Tang Tak-cheung
Prod Co: Golden Harvest
Cast: Adam Cheng, Tsui Siu-keung, Chen Chi-chi, Tian Feng, Ngai Chau-wah, Eddy Ko Hung
1980 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 89min

This is a film of many firsts. It was Patrick Tam’s directorial debut, and although cinematographer Bill Wong had previously worked with Tam on the television series Seven Women Jade, this was his first time shooting a period wuxia film. Martial arts choreographer Tony Ching Siu-tung began a new phase in his career with this film after years in the television industry, while two wuxia heroes from television, Adam Cheng and Tsui Siu-keung, were paired onscreen for the first time. Despite the big names in his cast and crew, Patrick Tam tells an unconventional tale where the fights over two famous swords expose the martial arts world’s futile obsession with victory and fame. Ching had shot to fame with his work on the television series The Roving Swordsman, Reincarnated, and It Takes a Thief, where his choreography emphasised mise-en-scène design, as well as the beauty and speed of movement. Tam matched these techniques with fast-paced editing and camera movements. In addition to the action, he put a lot of focus on the lighting, visual effects, and creating the right atmosphere, so that each fight sequence in the film is unique and memorable in its own way.

In the two night-time duels between Chen Ti-yi (Eddy Ko Hung) and Li Mak-yin (Adam Cheng), the former moves in and out of sight like a Japanese ninja, while Li’s rapid-fire attacks and defences allowed Cheng to show off the rhythm and beauty of his dance-like swordplay movements. The ending scene where Tsui’s character leaps up to attack, only to get sliced in two, became the talk of the town for its shocking brutality.

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# Post-screening talk with Matthew Cheng

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