7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Hsu Shao-chiang stars as a veritable "Spider-Swordsman" - master of the "Silkworm Style" - in this eye-filling, mind-bending martial arts phantasmagorical which truly warrants the description: "unforgettable."
Starring: Norman Chu, Tony Liu, Alex Man, Lao Shen, Ching-Ho WangForeign | 100% |
Action | 13% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Mandarin: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Shawscope Volume Three set.
It's maybe not even that much of a joke to state that lately it has felt like there's a new Blu-ray release of a venerable Shaw Brothers film coming
out every week, and in fact there have been some weeks where my own review queue has had more than one Blu-ray release of a Shaw
Brothers film in any given seven day period. That said, and even granting a two title per week release schedule, it would take literally years,
and
arguably maybe even a decade or more, for labels to get around to releasing the entire Shaw Brothers output. In that regard, then, this massive
newest volume in Arrow's evidently ongoing Shawscope series may be thought of as something of a "shortcut", at least in terms of
offering a veritable gaggle of films, even if wending your way
through this gargantuan enterprise will hardly seem short in any way, shape or form, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Once again, as with the
first two volumes in this series, Arrow has aggregated both better known and lesser known films, delivered with typically solid technical merits and
some very appealing supplements. This set has been packaged to be a shelf mate with its two "siblings" (for more information on the packaging,
see the supplements section in the main Shawscope Volume Three Blu-ray review).
For "rabid completists" interested in what's already been released by Arrow in the Shawscope department, the following review links may
be of some assistance:
Shawscope Volume One Blu-ray review
Shawscope Volume Two Blu-ray review
Bastard Swordsman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's almost overwhelming insert booklet lumps all the films together on its informational page about the transfers, as follows:
All fourteen films in this boxset are presented in their original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, with their original Mandarin plus Cantonese and/or English (where applicable) monaural soundtracks. Every effort has been made to present these films in their original and complete versions using the best materials available.Palette reproduction is once again probably the most eye catching part of this transfer, and the use of both occasional outdoor location work and some nicely appointed sets give the film a really appealingly wide array of colors. Detail and espeically fine detail probably do better in the more controlled studio bound material, though there are even some variances here, not necessarily related to some of the optical effects. There's some pretty severe anamorphic oddness at times, including a pretty pronounced example circa 14:45 and thereafter of what I've termed "parallelogram syndrome", where the entire rectangle of the frame looks like it's been twisted into that other geometrical shape, making everything in the frame weirdly tilted. Grain occasionally spikes and ebbs, but on the whole resolves without any issues whatsoever.
One-Armed Swordsman was restored in 4K resolution by Celestial Pictures and L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2020. Additional grading was completed at R3store Studios, London in 2024.
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, The New One-Armed Swordsman, The Lady Hermit, Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, The 14 Amazons, The Magic Blade, Clans of Intrigue, Jade Tiger, The Sentimental Swordsman, The Avenging Eagle, Killer Constable, Buddha's Palm and Bastard Swordsman have all been newly restored by Arrow Films in 2024, in collaboration with L'Immagine Ritrovata, Hong Kong Film Archive and Celestial Pictures. The original 35mm negatives for these films were scanned at L'Immagine Ritrovata Asia and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, The New One-Armed Swordsman, Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, The 14 Amazons, The Avenging Eagle, Killer Constable and Buddha's Palm were graded at R3store Studios, Lady Hermit, The Magic Blade, Clans of Intrigue, Jade Tiger, The Sentimental Swordsman and Bastard Swordsman were graded at Dragon DI, Wales. These restorations have used the entire film negative without resorting to the practice of "framecutting" resulting in the loss of film frames at each negative splice point.
The mono mixes were remastered from the original sound negatives at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Additional sound remastering was completed by Matthew Jarman/Bad Princess Productions. The audio synch will often seem loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue and sound effects were recorded entirely during post-production, as per the production standards of the period.
All original materials supplied for these restorations were made available from the Hong Kong Film Archive via Celestial Pictures. The additional sequences in the uncensored version of Clans of Intrigue were sourced from a 35mm print held by Celestial Pictures. For the presentation of the alternate South Korean cut of Killer Constable, efforts were made to access original film materials for this version held at the Korean Film Archive, but this was not possible. A Korean VHS copy was used as a guide to reconstruct this cut in high definition, using the new 2K restoration of the original Hong Kong version for the bulk of the film and standard-definition inserts for the audio and unique footage. The original trailers were restored by Arrow Films from the original 35mm materials held at the Hong Kong Film Archive.
Kind of interestingly, the quasi-liner notes in Arrow's insert booklet mention that this film evidently was originally released with a Cantonese soundtrack, but that has perhaps inexplicably been lost, leaving only the Mandarin LPCM Mono track included on this disc. That of course leads to the ever popular "loose sync", but otherwise this track is reasonably full bodied, especially in the midrange. There is nonetheless a somewhat "silvery" bright high end that can introduce a bit of sibilance and an overall hollow sound to some of the sound effects in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Bastard Swordsman may not exactly help this third volume of Shawscope material go out with a veritable "bang", but if taken on its own perhaps slightly smaller scale terms, it's engaging enough and does feature some well choreographed fight scenes. Technical merits are generally solid, and Frank Djeng contributes another of his information packed commentaries, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Chu Liu Xiang / 楚留香
1977
Bai yu lao hu / 白玉老虎
1977
Ru Lai shen zhang / Yue Loi sun jeung / 如來神掌
1982
Zhong Kui niang zi / 鍾馗娘子
1971
Duo qing jian ke wu qing jian / 多情劍客無情劍
1977
Tian ya ming yue dao / Tin ngai ming yuet do / 天涯明月刀
1976
Ai nu / 愛奴
1972
Xin du bi dao / Sun duk bei do / 新獨臂刀
1971
Du bi dao wang / Duk bei do wong / 獨臂刀王
1969
Leng xue shi san ying / 冷血十三鷹
1978
Shi si nv ying hao / 十四女英豪
1972
死亡塔 / Si wang ta / Tower of Death
1981
Du bi dao / Duk bei do / 獨臂刀
1967
黃飛鴻之五龍城殲霸 / Wong Fei Hung chi neung: Lung shing chim pa
1994
鬼計雙雄 / Guǐ jì shuāng xióng / Eureka Classics
1976
Lang mien jeu keun sau / Leng mian ju ji shou / 冷面狙擊手
1991
Razza violenta
1984
黃飛鴻之四王者之風 / Wong fei hung IV: Wong je ji fung
1993
2008
Zhan shen tan / 戰神灘
1973