When a Han loyalist family is slaughtered, the only surviving member is hidden away and taken to safety by the house’s mute servant. The child, Yuan, is taken to a hermit-like master and friend of the family to be raised and taught the forgotten Lung Yau style. Yuan becomes an accomplished fighter as a young man and his appearance in the martial world creates a stir, especially if he allies himself with petulant young fighter Wen Qingqing. Yuan is further thrust into the surrounding intrigue when he finds the long-forgotten Golden Snake Sword and the accompanying manual, making him a target for the various clans. Key amongst the rivals is the Wen clan who, it turns out, have a connection to the slaughter of Yuan’s family.
A Venoms film (by virtue of having at least three of them), ‘The Sword Stained With Royal Blood’ is far removed from the straight-forward action of hits like ‘The Kid With the Golden Arm’. Based on the Louis Cha novel of the same name, ‘The Sword Stained With Royal Blood’ is a complicated wuxia, full of martial arts McGuffins, plot twists and ostentatious action. That said, while it isn’t a premium Venoms film, ‘The Sword Stained With Royal Blood’ is a thoroughly entertaining, if a little convoluted, genre film that is full of the colour and pageantry fans demand of wuxia. Chang Cheh was never quite at home in this world as Chor Yuen, but that’s not to say there isn’t much to enjoy here.
One of the things that occurred to me while rewatching ‘The Sword Stained With Royal Blood’ recently is just how colourful it is. How colourful all Shaw Brothers films were. In a world where cinema is obsessed with post-production colour tweaking, over-saturated palettes and needless computer effects (especially for whole environments), this is a tonic. Of course, like many other Shaw Brothers films, ‘The Sword Stained With Royal Blood’ is shot on a combination of sound stages and real environments, but all these years later these films still look terrific. It’s a general point about these older films but is worth mentioning.
Philip Kwok is always a charismatic lead and is surrounded by a cast of genre legends who flit in and out of the narrative. Candy Wen plays the role she always seems to play, namely the stroppy strumpet masquerading as a male fighter; you might find her antics testing your patience though she improves as the story matures. Action-wise, there isn’t quite the level of brilliance that the very best Venoms films can offer, but as the stakes increase, so does the choreographic quality. This culminates in an excellent finale of wuxia madness that justifies the quieter moments of the film. Overall, this might not be the best that the Venoms offered, but it’s definitely worth watching.
