The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie Review

The Flying Dagger is a thrilling adventure with a lot of great martial arts sequences. The Shaw Brothers classic is a must-see for martial arts fans. Produced by Run Run Shaw, The Flying Dagger stars Pei-Pei Cheng and Lieh Lo. Co-starring Lei Cheng, Chih-Ching Yang, Miao Ching, and Wu Ma.

Yu Ying (Pei-Pei Cheng) is a strong-willed lone swordswoman with a talent for harnessing the power of the blade. She has a determination to protect a family from the villainous dangers of a bandit ruler who is causing chaos: The Flying Dagger. Yu Ying is remarkably tough and she has the strength to overcome a wide variety of bandits who are out to stop her.

An incredible fighter with a remarkable sword, Yu Ying will do whatever it takes to stand up for herself and to win the battle that is set forth before her – including any violent men who may get in her way. Yang Ching (Lieh Lo) has a personal reason for wanting to confront the bandits himself – seeking his personal vengeance – and settling an old score between warriors.

Pei-Pei Cheng is a remarkable actress and she does a great job in the lead role of The Flying Dagger. There is something magnetic about Pei-Pei Cheng and her dedication to her roles. The performance in The Flying Dagger is exceptional and she carries herself remarkably well throughout the film. It is no wonder that Pei-Pei Cheng became such a hugely popular actress.

The supporting actors are also impressive with Lieh Lo providing an excellent supporting performance. Lieh Lo is great alongside Pei-Pei Cheng and the energy between these two stars makes the film all the more exciting and invigorating. The other supporting cast members do a good job rounding out the film.

The score composed by Eddie Wang (To Kill a Mastermind, Bloody Parrot) is one of the greatest highlights of the film. Wang is a consistently great composer and the music plays a huge role in complimenting the action and highlighting the drama. There is something enormously satisfying about the music of Eddie Wang and the hypnotic energy the composer brings to the table. A great score and one that helps the action crescendo.

The cinematography by Mu-To Kung (The Boxer from Shantung, Five Deadly Venoms) is beautiful to look at and the visual splendor of the cinematography style aids the martial arts film in a significant way. A visually rewarding style, the cinematography helps to create a painterly quality to the filmmaking. An impressive effort by Kung.

The production design is similarly top-notch and noteworthy – the designs are creative in surprising ways, often appearing more compelling than one would expect to find with budgetary limitations. Enhancing the tone and aesthetic, the design elements are large in scale. The art direction by Chi-Jui Chen (Five Fingers of Death, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman) is exquisite and Chen certainly helps to bring the artistry of the film to life.

Edited by Hsing-Lung Chiang (Cherry Blossoms, Disciples of the 36^th Chamber), The Flying Dagger is a well-paced film. The storytelling is always a clear consideration of the editing. The Flying Dagger has great energy and flow and the pacing is considerate of the character-moments while reflecting the action beats.

Directed by Cheh Chang (Five Element Ninjas, Shaolin Hellgate), Chen is often associated as being one of the most on-the-pulse action filmmakers in martial arts films. Chen helped to propel the “yanggang” concept – emphasizing macho battles between the stars. With The Flying Dagger, Chang creates an experience that is enormously rewarding. Chang also takes into consideration the entire cast. Chang co-wrote the script with co-screenwriter Chi-Shan Li (From Home with Love, Chun nuan hua kai) and the script provides great moments for the cast members. The Flying Dagger is a ton of fun and easy to recommend to Shaw Brothers fans – it exudes style and creativity in spades.

The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory, The Flying Dagger is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation is excellent and there are a lot of great attributes to the presentation. The cinematography looks great (highlighting the visual splendor of the production). The print itself is in excellent condition and is free from egregious print damage or wear – it's a remarkably crisp and clean print and offers an impressive presentation of the feature. The color reproduction is excellent on the release as well. A solid encode from Shout Factory.

The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: the main audio presentation on the release is provided in Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (with English subtitles). The release also includes a secondary option: English dubbed DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono presentation. The lossless presentation impresses with good clarity and detail. The score is well reproduced. A fun and engaging sound presentation.

The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng of the New York Asian Film Festival

Celestial Trailer (HD, 1:08)

The Flying Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Flying Dagger is an excellent showcase for Pei-Pei Cheng. Pei-Pei Cheng is the clear star of the show and the performance is one full of energy and charm. The filmmaking is exciting and the production is impressive on a number of levels – from the production design to the superb score by composer Eddie Wang (To Kill a Mastermind). The Blu-ray release provides an impressive high-definition presentation and lossless audio encode. Highly recommended.