The Blade - 1995 - 7/10
AKA - Dāo / 刀

Spectacular Hong Kong swordsplay actioner.
Stuntwork is dazzling in this, and I would not be surprised if dismemberment had occurred.
Rivalry within a swordsmith’s fortress creates tension and discontent.
Outside the walls - somewhere - marauding bandits pillage at will.
The landscape is splattered with various battles and bloodbaths, while bandit numbers swell.
What they really need, however, are more swords.

Exceptional Tsui Hark film, though less known, perhaps, because it is relentlessly grim, dark, bleak.
No heroes here. Survivors, betrayers, murderers.
Violent retelling of the one-armed swprdsman tale.
Hong Kong released quite a number of pessimistic films fore-shadowing the takeover.
Hard Boiled, Burning Paradise, Black Sun, are a few that come to mind.
The Blade will be an action lover’s dream.