The Blade
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Polish premiereTheatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 3
Kinoteka 4
Film description
Ding On is an orphan who works in a sword-making workshop, taken in and raised by its owner. When he accidentally discovers the circumstances surrounding his father’s death, he sets out to track down the murderer – the ruthless Flying Dragon. This decision sets in motion a chain of events that will turn his entire world upside down.
Narrated from the perspective of Ling, the workshop owner’s coming-of-age daughter, The Blade is a lesser-known Tsui Hark masterpiece and a remake of Chang Cheh’s 1967 classic The One-Armed Swordsman. Tsui’s raw and nihilistic film, however, is a far cry from its stylised predecessor and radically redefines the noble conventions of the wuxia genre. The action, steeped in sweat, blood, and violence, was filmed in tight shots with frenetic camera movements set to a fiercely pulsating soundtrack. It is a film attuned to the sensibilities of its era, one that cuts deep into the emotions of its audience two years before the handover of Hong Kong to China.
text:
Marcin Krasnowolski
Tsui Hark
A Hong Kong filmmaker of Vietnamese descent, he was born in 1950 and is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and influential figures in the history of popular world cinema. His first three films, considered landmark works of the Hong Kong New Wave, were not box-office hits, but they continue to astonish with their inventiveness and wealth of influences. It was only when Hark turned to commercial filmmaking that he truly demonstrated the full extent of his abilities, quickly establishing himself as a leading figure in mainstream cinema. From 1984 onwards, he also shaped the careers of key directors and actors, and above all actresses, as a producer. Many of them have since gone on to achieve international success. Thanks to his boundless energy and constant drive to explore new forms of cinematic expression, Hong Kong cinema developed a distinctive identity that helped turn it into a compelling export. Tsui Hark now works primarily in the Chinese film industry, making big-budget blockbusters.
1979 Zabójcze motyle / Dié Biàn / The Butterfly Murders
1980 Niebezpieczne spotkania pierwszego stopnia / Di yi lei xing wei xian / Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind
1984 Shànghǎi zhī yè / Shanghai Blues
1986 Kaczka po pekińsku / Dāo Mǎ Dàn / Peking Opera Blues
1989 Mistrz / Huang Fei Hong jiu er zhi long xing tian xia / The Master
1991 Dawno temu w Chinach / Wong Fei Hung / Once Upon a Time in China
1991 Bankiet / Hao men ye yan / The Banquet
1995 Ostrze / Dao / The Blade
1995 Chińska uczta / Gam yuk moon tong / The Chinese Feast
2005 Siedem mieczy / Qī Jiàn / Seven Swords
2011 Latąjace miecze ze Smoczej Bramy / Lóng Mén Fēi Jiǎ / Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
2021 Chángjīn hú / The Battle at Lake Changjin
2022 Chángjīn Hú zhī Shuǐmén Qiáo / The Battle at Lake Changjin II
