poe426 SILVER ROC (a.k.a. GOLDEN SWALLOW) features Wang Yu (again sporting more eyeliner than a $5 hooker) as yet another of those swordsmen whose Magic Sword Technique fells attackers by the dozens with but a single stroke. (Which is one of the reasons I prefer kung fu movies to swordplay movies: taking a swipe at a crowd of extras with a sword and having them all topple like tenpins- spurting blood- is nowhere near as interesting as some good, old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat.) We see Wang Yu in action early on against a band of mountain bandits, whom he proceeds to lay waste with sword and darts. He leaves behind his calling card, a golden dart- suggesting it's all the handiwork of Golden Swallow (Cheng Pei Pei). While she pines for Roc, he spends his spare time in a brothel. Oh, he composes a poem to her (and never fails to leave HER calling card behind at the scenes of carnage he's unleashing), but he DOES live in the brothel... When he singlehandedly decimates the local branch of The Golden Dragon Clan, he once again leaves behind her calling card. Golden Swallow, meanwhile, has to carefully fend off the subtle amorous advances of Golden Whip, Han Tao (Lo Lieh, in perhaps his most sympathetic role ever). We glimpse David Chiang in a bit part as a brothel guard, but, despite the title, this one's all about Wang Yu. The "Coup De Grace" move he's known for (an air-borne attack, courtesy of some Old School wirework) is seen only once, and it doesn't quite live up to its reputation. Not Chang Cheh's best by a mile, but not terrible, either.

lost-in-limbo Kung-fu at its innovative best and one of the finest the genre has to offer. The Shaw Brothers produced "Golden Swallow" mixes a melancholy romance with violent martial arts caught by its handsomely earthy direction and inventively novel camera placement during the excitingly expansive set-pieces. The dazzling imagery in some sequences is marvellously projected, like the vigorous fighting craftsmanship in the woods and the vivid colour plateau accompanying it. The arresting sword fights are quick, ruthless and meticulous without a drop of sweat being spilt… however blood is plentiful in its many awesome showdowns! The story's groundwork is quite simple, but well-told with its ominous edge and suitably paced… even though I did find some of the editing in between sequences to be rather jumpy. The score is kinetic, but elegantly impulsive. There are illustratively able performances from the likes of Pei-pei Cheng (who provides one strong character), Yu Wang, Lieh Lo, Hsin Yen Chao and Chia-Liang Liu. Wang is quite memorable as the unstoppably cold-blooded warrior Silver Roc that really has a bone to pick, while in the quest to find his true love.

DICK STEEL Touted as the sequel to King Hu's Come Drink With Me starring Cheng Pei Pei, this movie is anything but. Except for the return of Pei Pei's Golden Swallow role, Chang Cheh's movie doesn't share any similarities with King Hu's original, clearly stamping his own take on his movie utilizing the lead character from Come Drink With Me, and relegating her to supporting role status.As a fan of the original, this is downright disappointing, as I had expected to see Pei Pei kick some serious rear again as the fabled swordswoman. Instead, what we get is a story involving a love triangle of sorts, with costars Lo Lieh as Golden Whip Han Tao, a man who saved Golden Swallow from bandits and nursed her back to health, and Wang Yu as a beau from long time ago, who now calls himself The Silver Roc. The Drunken Cat, with whom Golden Swallow rode into the sunset with, is clearly forgotten and totally written out.In actuality, this movie can be renamed The Silver Roc. The story centers on this figure, an orphan bearing a scar on the forehead similar to Harry Potter's, and is one of the fellow disciples to Golden Swallow's teachers. Disappearing one night to seek revenge on his family's murderers, he resurfaces to look for Golden Swallow, and does so by killing villains in her name, in an attempt to lure her out of seclusion. Being the self-proclaimed number one swordsman with an attitude helps too, and not before long, our trio will meet, with Golden Swallow being indecisive about both alpha males, that they have to duke it out to settle scores.In Chang Cheh's signature ketchup blood style, this movie doesn't lack in the gore department, with really bloody scenarios, dismembered bodies, slashes to face and an inspiration to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, albeit done in a more straightforward manner. But some of the kung fu moves seemed recycled from One Armed Swordsman, especially Wang Yu's Silver Roc, who holds his sword akimbo similar to his One Armed days. And his much revered "Coup De Grace" killer move was never seen until the finale, and that too was too weakly executed and laughable. I wondered too about numerous scenes where characters liked to leap out of windows, clearly to a mat at the bottom, out of the screen. But one thing's a bonus, and that's having plenty of outdoor shots versus indoor studio ones, which boosts production values a little.Still, it's a decent martial arts flick, but one which could have been miles better. With Wang Yu hogging too much of the limelight with his character in this movie, it suffers by neglecting the other leading characters by Lo Lieh, and especially Cheng Pei Pei, because the movie, after all, is named after her Golden Swallow, or in the original English title, it's the Girl with the Thunderbolt Kick (apparently it's a misnomer, she doesn't have that skill, nor executed any recognizable kicking moves).If anything, watch out for a young Wu Ma as Hu Zhen, a supporting character and friend of Golden Swallow and Han Tao. Nothing memorable, but just a getting a kick out of recognizing a star (to me at least) in his earlier youthful looking days.

Deusvolt Released in the Philippines with the title: The Golden Swallow,the film follows a well worn formula in Chinese swordplay movies. The character of Jimmy Wang Yu has a formidable secret fighting method called the Dragon's Flight or whatnot. He executes it with a high flying leap and slashes too quick for the eye to follow. Unfortunately, his arch-enemy has devised a formula counter-attack called The Dragon's Convulsion.Always in immaculate white with a gleaming silver sword (he is Silver Roc, after all), the reed thin and handsome Wang Yu is at his prime in this movie. He pines for his lost love, a female swordfighter called Golden Swallow. The last scenes where a seriously wounded Wang Yu fights to the last is one of the best choreographed swordplay scenes ever.