Shanghai born Hua Shan, a graduate of the Shanghai Film Institute, joined Shaw Brothers Studio back in 1963 as an assistant cinematographer. After promoted, he worked on films like “Winged Tiger”, “The Wandering Swordsman”, “The Chinese Boxer” and “The 14 Amazons” as their cinematographer. However, his directorial debut for Shaw was “The Super Inframan” (1975) starring Danny Lee. After making films with contemporary themes, we finally saw him tackle the wuxia swordplay genre with “Flying Guillotine, Part II” and “Soul of the Sword”.
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“Soul of the Sword” features Ti Lung in the lead as Nameless, the cocky swordsman hell-bent on becoming the best swordsman in wulin, the martial world. The Chinese title roughly translates as “Killing by all means”. It is basically about his obsession to defeat the King of Swords, Lu Tian Kang (Ku Feng), in a duel to claim the title. Lu lives in a prince’s mansion as his chief instructor and he also wears a hat and a black veil, therefore no one has ever seen his face.
After witnessing Lu kills a challenger and the suicide of a woman who tags along, the young Nameless even tries to unveil him. Upon learning that the only way to see his face is to challenge the sword master, he starts to train himself. Years later, the grownup Nameless has indeed become a master swordsman. Countless of challenges later, the skillful Nameless remains the last man standing. Yes, now he is ready to face the King of Swords in a duel.
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Meanwhile, he also befriends Chui Zhao Yi, an elderly healer who advises him about life in general. By chance, he also comes across He Lian (Lin Chen Chi), a woman who looks just like the challenger’s deceased tag-along from years ago. The pair immediately takes a shine to each other and before long they are living together. Nonetheless, the determined Nameless is still very keen to challenge swordsman Lu.
Visually, the film looks fantastic and Hua Shan seems to favor using extreme close ups of his leads to emphasize tension and emotions. Unfortunately, the way he shoots them behind a foreground full of clutter like furniture, silkscreens and other props, though atmospheric, echoes Chor Yuen’s works. The sword fight sequences, choreographed by Tang Chia share the same problem too. Repeated here are the way the combatants tumble around or spin in the air acrobatically during their fights. On the other hand, the fight at the Bagua Hall with priest Long and his disciples, the bamboo forest encounter and the final fight in a river with a heavy downpour are still worth seeing.
However, credits must go to Hau Shan, writers Chui Kang Chien and Lin Chan Wei for paying unusual attention to even the minor characters. The sequence in which healer Chui and Nameless wander around the streets listening to a blind man telling dirty stories while a thief picks bystanders’ pockets is a stand out. Or a bunch of children who steal from an old lady’s stall while she foul mouths just about everyone. This little unexpected distraction ends up with the main leads visiting a whore house for some relaxation and is a very welcome addition worth a rewatch.
Although Ti Lung is hardly the righteous hero here as the ruthless, arrogant and murderous Nameless, he is equally compelling and charming especially in his bathhouse scene. A tragic, single-minded protagonist who is very much clouded by his quest for fame. As usual, he shines in the action department and effortlessly carries the whole film. The forever reliable Ku Feng is another stand out as both the mysterious master swordsman Lu Tian Kang and the happy-go-lucky older healer Chui.
Lin Chen Chi has quite a meaty role as the silk store keeper He Lian and shares good chemistry with Ti Lung. Their encounter towards the end is rather tragic but very well staged and beautifully shot. Shaw veteran Norman Chui plays Yan, a timid swordsman who has a crush on He Lian but ends up in the bedroom of a female assassin, Lady of Three Strikes played by Liu Hui Ling. Lily Li turns up as a sword lady from Luo Yang who tries to kill Nameless in a bathhouse. Her topless scene is a surprise but Hua obviously uses a double for that close up shot. Elsewhere, back at the prince’s mansion, while Yuen Wah plays a white bearded swordsman with a thin and flexible sword, Lee Hoi Sang joins in the fun as a pole fighter.
Surprisingly, this wuxia adventure has quite a number of nudity and love scenes. The one with Chui and Liu is rather steamy and funny, unintentionally of course. In addition, the training scene with Nameless in a room full of fluttering birds in which he aims at piercing one is fairly disturbing. Apart from the simple plot, which actually makes it easy to follow, “Soul of the Sword” shines in its action department. It also benefits from the visuals which are arresting and the great performances from the cast.
