The New One-Armed Swordsman

"It slashes! It smashes! It rips you apart! It's the bloodiest weapon of the martial arts! Watch it outdo Kung-Fu!"

1971 1h 42m ZH

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 84

ActionDramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Lei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beautiful girl in need, Pao Chiao. Even against impossible odds, he will prove a great warrior.

“It slashes! It smashes! It rips you apart! It's the bloodiest weapon of the martial arts! Watch it outdo Kung-Fu!”

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Cast

David Chiang Da-Wei
Lei Li
Ti Lung
Feng Junjie / Hero Fung
Li Ching
Ba Jiao
Ku Feng
Long Yizhi / Lung Er Zi
Chan Sing
Chief Chan Chun Nam
Wong Chung
Tiger Mansion Leader Jin Fen
Liu Gang
Tiger Mansion Leader Jin Yi
Huang Pei-Chih
Tiger Mansion Leader Chen Jie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chang Cheh
Writers: Ni Kuang
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The One-Armed Swordsman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chang Cheh, shot by Kung Mu-To. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frankie Chan Fan-Kei. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kwok Ting-Hung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Chiang Da-Wei and Ti Lung and Li Ching carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It slashes! It smashes! It rips you apart! It's the bloodiest weapon of the martial arts! Watch it outdo Kung-Fu!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069518 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chang Cheh directs. Kung Mu-To behind the camera. Frankie Chan Fan-Kei scores. Kwok Ting-Hung cuts. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

155 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "The One-Armed Swordsman Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Chang Cheh, shot by Kung Mu-To. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Frankie Chan Fan-Kei. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kwok Ting-Hung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6David Chiang Da-Wei and Ti Lung and Li Ching carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It slashes! It smashes! It rips you apart! It's the bloodiest weapon of the martial arts! Watch it outdo Kung-Fu!".
8IMDB entry: tt0069518 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 84 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kung Mu-To
Original score: Frankie Chan Fan-Kei
Editing: Kwok Ting-Hung
Costume design: Li Chi
Makeup / hair: Fong Yuen
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: ZH
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)

Part of

The One-Armed Swordsman Collection

One-Armed Swordsman is a 1967 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. Directed by Chang Cheh, it was the first of the new style of wuxia films emphasizing male anti-heroes, violent swordplay and heavy bloodletting. It was the first Hong Kong film to make HK$1 million at the local box office, propelling its star Jimmy Wang to super stardom. This film eventually became the first in the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy. A sequel was released in 1969 called Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, followed by The New One-Armed Swordsman in 1971, all directed by Chang Cheh. It has since achieved classic status in Hong Kong cinema. In the Hong Kong Film Award's 2005 poll, One-Armed Swordsman was voted as the 15th best Chinese language film. The first and second movies are the same director, writer, and stars, while the last has the same director but a new lead actor.