Having some of the older martial arts films available on DVD now is a great source of entertainment, and with these movies come a long and rich history of film making from the Asian film companies. This story alone gives the audience a chance to see a different style of combat designed for a one armed fighter. This is only one film out of the very large library that the Shaw brothers produced and directed throughout the 70s, and it shows the expert craftsmanship that they put into their films.
After having his right arm cut off in a duel, Fang Kang works past his debilitating injury and learns how to fight with only his left hand and tries to save his former teacher from a devious enemy. Having the main character start out with both arms, and not just beginning the story after the loss, gives the audience a true draw to the character when he does lose the arm and when the tale brings him to the point of rehabilitation you cheer him on to success. Some of the obvious story flaws are apparent, like when his arm is cut off why doesn't he bleed to death, but because of the type and classification of film that we have here we look past these points and enjoy the entertainment that is on the screen.
Even with some of the obvious problems of having a one armed character, namely you can see the actor's other arm tucked in his shirt; this is a very entertaining film. It has all of the elements that the early "kung fu" films had that drew an audience to them, the action, swordplay, and a bit of mysticism, are all here and in no way does the story slow down once it gets started. So if you like the Asian cinema and the martial arts movies are your thing, you've got to make time to see some of these classics now that they're available and be sure to add this one to the list
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