The Flying Guillotine

Flying Guillotine, it is the name of both the legendary bladed dome weapon, and the legendary secret police service in the Qing Dynasty. The weapon decapitates human heads like a flying buzzsaw, and acts on the direct command of Emperor Yung Cheng. In The Flying Guillotine, director Ho Meng-hua recounts the legend through a predator-turn-prey plot – the protagonist tries to quit the killing squad, only to find himself being hunted by former squad-mates; a popular storyline in foreign films. The hat-like weapon had its cinematic appearance before but the precursors were only made with limited resources. When Shaw Brothers gave the weapon a grand makeover and coupled it with terrifying visual effects, the Flying Guillotine truly left a bloodied trail in Hong Kong film history.

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