Have Sword Will Travel

I tried a few Chang Cheh films ages ago, and thought that they were too slow. So it was a big surprise how much I liked this one. Right off the credits it was clear that this was above the usual Shaw fare. Cheh uses slow motion to great effect, takes his time in setting the mood and characters. He also uses music&sounds better than most of his peers. The love triangle between the main characters work. It's only the ending which felt a bit dragged out. This encourages me to try more of his films.

This just might be my single favorite Shaw Brothers film. There is more going on here than in most of the Shaw Brothers films I've seen. No, I don't mean it's more complex or complicated I simply mean that was more character depth here than in most I've seen. The fighting was decent and quite brutal for the time, the acting was actually more restrained which was a nice touch. But it was the direction, cinematography, and score that lifted the film. [Full review]

Although there wasn't as much action as I would have hoped, and some of the parts were a little TOO cheesy (some cheese is expected), I still think it's worthy of being considered great. The non-fighting parts weren't incredibly deep but there were some tense interactions, some humour and decent characterization for what this is. I wasn't bored during it, but like I said I would have welcomed more fighting. The ending was a little hokey but the battle up until then was satisfying.

A young man is a talented martial arts fighter looking for work. He is honorable and stands against evil though it does not benefit him. And of course there is a beautiful girl. The bad guys are plentiful and the good guys are few. The fighting is spotty, sometimes very good and sometimes quite hokey. Some silly flying. The ending is a little nutty. Performances are flat, showing little range. A somewhat unsatisfying end.