The One-Armed Swordsman

The One-Armed Swordsman
Hong Kong film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese獨臂刀
Simplified Chinese独臂刀
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDú Bì Dāo
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingDuk6 Bei3 Dou1
Directed byChang Cheh
Written by
Starring
CinematographyYuen Chang-sam
Kuang Han-lu
Edited byChiang Hsing-lung
Music byWang Fu-ling[1]
Production
company
Distributed byShaw Brothers Studio
Release date
  • 26 July 1967 (1967-07-26)
Running time
117 minutes[1]
CountryHong Kong
LanguageMandarin[1]
The One-Armed Swordsman
Traditional Chinese獨臂刀
Simplified Chinese独臂刀
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Yale RomanizationDú bì dāu
IPA[tǔ pî táʊ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationDuhk bei dōu
IPA[tʊ̀k pēi tóu]

The One-Armed Swordsman is a 1967 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio.[2] 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.

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.

  1. ^ a b c d e "Hong Kong Film Archive [Search for "獨臂刀"]". Hong Kong Film Archive. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. ^ Review at HKCinema - 40th Anniversary Retrospective