Lady With a Sword
directed by Kao Pao-shu
starring Lily Ho, Hsieh Wang
88 Films
Before Bruce Lee, wuxia style swordplay films were a dominant force in Hong Kong cinema. The use of ancient weapons and the often elegant manner of fighting coming from Chinese opera were far less “realistic” than the brand of martial arts that would dominate screens in the wake of Bruce Lee’s breakout film The Big Boss (1971). Lady With a Sword is (spoilers) a story about a lady, with a sword. Women were prominent action stars in the wuxia films, but were muscled out of the spotlight by the rise of kung fu. A lady with a sword wasn’t a novelty in 1971, but a female director was damn near a revolutionary act.
Starring Lily Ho and confidently directed by Kao Pao-shu, Lady With a Sword is a curious film, as the studio, Shaw Brothers, seemed to have had zero confidence in the project. The film features none of the usual locations or soundstages of the main operations in Hong Kong and appears to have been made in South Korea, using Korean actors for a number of roles. It looks far more like an independent production than a glitzy Shaw movie. This is not a detriment, as the lack of tight control gave Kao Pao-shu the breathing room to create a more interesting film than would have been allowed on the main lot at Shaw. If you think that being directed by a woman would result in a more genteel film, shake yourself of those delusions, because Lady With a Sword goes hard, the violence tough, brutal, and quite gory. Limbs get hacked, our heroine finds herself on the wrong end of a bullwhip master, and not even children are spared the blade.
Lily Ho shines in her role as Feng Fei-fei, who chooses to avenge her sister’s murder against the very family she is to be married into. As Feng Fei-fei dispatches various goons, the family pins their hopes on an emissary arriving with her father in time to talk her down. Even in films about women, directed by women, the patriarchy still dominates. Kao Pao-shu was one of the few women to ever helm Shaw projects, and it is a shame, as she creates a unique vision and verve.
The sheer volume of films produced by Shaw Brothers Studio is staggering, made even more unlikely by how many good films were produced. When working in high volume, one would expect a lot of low effort films, but even lesser-known Shaws are always interesting and professional projects. 88 Films has produced a handsome edition of the film, complete with a sparkling audio commentary by David West. Lady With a Sword may not be a classic Shaw Brothers film, but it has a vibe that goes hard and is helped by its freedom the familiar trappings of the studio’s Hong Kong base.
