The One-Armed Swordsman
The 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.
| The One-Armed Swordsman | |||||||||||
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Hong Kong film poster | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 獨臂刀 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 独臂刀 | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | Chang Cheh | ||||||||||
| Written by |
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| Starring | |||||||||||
| Cinematography | Yuen Chang-sam Kuang Han-lu | ||||||||||
| Edited by | Chiang Hsing-lung | ||||||||||
| Music by | Wang Fu-ling | ||||||||||
Production company | |||||||||||
| Distributed by | Shaw Brothers Studio | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 117 minutes | ||||||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Language | Mandarin | ||||||||||
| The One-Armed Swordsman | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 獨臂刀 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 独臂刀 | ||||||||||||||
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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, The One-Armed Swordsman was voted as the 15th best Chinese-language film.