Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 21, 2025

Note: One potential quasi-major if somewhat tangential plot-wise spoiler is offered below, so those unacquainted with this film may want to skip to sections below.

If Lady With a Sword probably can't help but draw comparisons to the Lady Snowblood films even if those films came out after this one, Lady With a Sword is kind of groundbreaking on another level in that it was directed by a woman, Kao Pao-shu, certainly an unusual circumstance in both Hong Kong film production in general and Shaw Brothers out put in particular. That aspect may give some approaches to scenes, as an early allusion to rape, a rather interestingly discursive ambience. That said, even commentator David West seems positively shocked by a vicious murder that occurs rather late in the film which involves a little boy, though that death may seem especially unsettling given how comically cartoonish an earlier scene with the same character being harassed by the film's villains comes off. What happens in between is related to that first showdown, which sees a woman killed and her son seriously injured by a gang of ruffians. The little boy, who is named Hu Tou (Yuen-Man Meng), manages to make it to the domicile of his extended family, including his Aunt Feng Fe-fei (Lily Ho), who is, in fact, this film's title character (according to West, the original title was simply the character's name, which may have seemed difficult to market for Western audiences).

What ensues is a quest for vengeance, one that becomes more convoluted when Feng Fe-fei discovers she has a rather strong connection to one of the perpetrators of her sister's murder. While the film offers some rather fun action sequences with engaging sword play and occasionally lunatic wire work, it's actually some of the family dynamics that ensue from Feng's discovery that may give Lady With a Sword some of its most distinctive elements. There's also an almost classical tragedy "arc" with regard to both Feng and an elder woman who is a mother to the chief villain, both of whom suffer devastating losses in the closing moments.

Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lady With a Sword is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. 88 Films tends not to provide a wealth of technical information with their releases, and the back cover simply states this is a "high definition Blu-ray presentation". Thanks, that helps a lot. Joking aside, this is undoubtedly another of Celestial Pictures' largely ravishing restorations of the Shaw Brothers canon, and having reviewed any number of these "new, improved" versions, Lady With a Sword has many of the same positives I've mentioned in any number of previous Blu-ray release of Shaw Brothers material (not necessarily just by 88 Films). First and foremost, it will probably be a largely resplendent palette that strikes most eyes with the most immediacy. As West mentions in his commentary, a lot of the film was actually shot on location (West isn't sure whether it was Hong Kong or South Korea), and that gives a lot of the material some substantial pop in terms of backgrounds. Detail levels on both those natural locations as well as things like textures on costumes is largely excellent. As with so many Shawscope productions, there are some quaint anamorphic oddities at times, especially toward the edges of the frame. Grain is organic looking throughout the presentation. My score is 4.25.

Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lady With a Sword features Mandarin audio in LPCM 2.0 Mono (there is some interesting information about the various Mandarin and Cantonese language production history at Shaw Brothers in the commentary). This track has the same somewhat overly reverberant and kind of hollow boxy sound that can be especially noticeable in some of the gonzo sound effects accompanying various action scenes, but it has a rather nicely full bodied midrange that helps to support both those effects and scoring. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, though sync as they say can be loose. Optional English subtitles are available.

Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Stills Gallery (HD; 2:32)


• Audio Commentary by David West

Additionally the keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a double sided folded poster (on heavier than usual stock). Packaging features a slipcover.

Lady with a Sword Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The rote aspects of Lady With a Sword are exactly that, but what keeps this film engaging is the whirlwind of subplots involving various extended family members. Technical merits are generally solid and the commentary very enjoyable (as much as I appreciate Frank Djeng's and/or Arne Venema and Mike Leeder's commentaries on so many of these releases, it's nice to have a different point of view on occasion). Recommended.