“The Sword Stained with Royal Blood” is a Shaw Brothers production based on the wuxia novel of the same name written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). The novel was first serialized in the Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper back in 1956. It became very popular upon its publication and led to numerous films and TV series adaptations. The novel itself has gone through several revisions and this production mostly touches on the encounter of Yuan Cheng Zhi, the main protagonist with the Wen family.
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Set during the end of the Ming dynasty, the story starts off with the execution of a betrayed but loyal Han general Yuan Chong Huan. His young son Yuan Cheng Zhi, with the help of a mute servant, finds shelter in the remote Mount Hua where the Master Mu of the Hua sect takes him in. Years later, Yuan grows up to be a righteous and polite young man who has skillfully mastered the Mount Hua sword fighting skills.
One day, he discovers a cave and finds the skeleton remains and sword of the highly skilled swordsman, Golden Snake. While burying the skeleton, he unearths a set of chests which contains a training manual, the snake-shaped sword and instruction to locate a woman, Snake’s old girlfriend. Before leaving Hua mountain to solve the mystery death of the Golden Snake, Yuan makes sure he trains hard to master the new skills first. Upon reaching a nearby town later, he befriends a young swordsman, Wen Qing Qing. Before long, he finds himself deeply entangled in the intriguing affairs of the Wen family.
Director Chang Cheh has gathered an impressive cast here to tell his story and the overall look is very professional. Since the film mainly takes place indoors, he makes great use of the Shaw Brothers studio sets to represent the cave and the massive Wen mansion. However, there are some nice outdoor location shots of rugged mountains during the opening credits to set the plot going. On the other hand, the flashbacks and the introduction of new characters in the second half slow the film’s momentum down a bit. Luckily, it picks up speed again with some amazing display of solid action in the spectacular climactic showdown.
The film starts off rather slow while introducing its characters and the dense twisting plot. But when the action kicks in, it’s like a different film all together. The charismatic Philip Kwok is definitely the star here, displaying both his amazing martials art and acrobatic skills in a heroic central role. Furthermore, his intense fight against the five members of the Wen family who use their “Five Element Array” technique really stands out. In addition, his character Yuan is a virtuous man who avoids bloodshed and only kills when absolutely necessary. Kwok has a great screen presence here and dominates the film effortlessly.
Candy Wen Hsueh Erh plays the spoiled Wen Qing Qing, the first swordsman Yuan meets after leaving Hua mountain. It turns out that Wen is actually a lady who disguised as a man and she manages to fool the naive Yuan. Still, they strike up a friendship and become sworn brothers. During his stay at her house as a guest, Yuan finally discovers the complicated truth about the Golden Snake and the doing of the Wen family. Nonetheless, Wen plays her part suitably well and is impressive as the headstrong, reckless young lady. But as someone pretending to be a man, she is less convincing.
Although Ching Li has a smaller role as her mother, Wen Yi, her character is important in driving the plot along in her relationship with her lover, swordsman Golden Snake. Elsewhere, Venoms Lu Feng and Chiang Sheng turn up as the two rather weak Wen household members. In fact the Wens are a bunch of unsavory individuals who kill, rape and rob. Played here by Lung Tien Hsiang, Swordsman Xia Xue Yi or The Golden Snake is a killer with a heart. Xia and Wen Yi become star-crossed lovers and show more feelings and emotions than anyone around them.
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Apart from the impressive fight sequences choreographed by Philip Kwok, Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng, the various weapons used are equally interesting. At one point, Yuan fights an opponent who uses a two-headed spear which turns into dual short spears because of its detachable middle section. The snake-shaped curved sword and snake darts inherited by Yuan are also very cool weapons. Interestingly, a number of fighters seem to wield dual weapons like dual swords, dual axes and so on.
Even though the plot is full of twists and turns plus a collection of characters, Chang Cheh’s version is easy to follow and a well put together wuxia film with amazing action. The pair of charismatic leads and the uncommon characterization of the predicament of women and their images is also a nice touch.
