Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Golden Swallow Blu-ray Movie Review

The Golden Swallow is an exciting action epic with plenty of thrilling fight scenes. The Golden Swallow is a sequel to the acclaimed martial-arts classic Come Drink With Me (available on Blu-ray separately by Arrow Video). Produced by Runme Shaw (The Lady Professional, The Sword Stained with Royal Blood), The Golden Swallow stars Pei-Pei Cheng, Jimmy Wang Yu, and Lieh Lo in the leading roles. Co-starring Hsin-Yen Chao as Mei Niang, Wu Ma as Flying Fox Hu San, Chih-Ching Yang as Poison Dragon Wang Xiong, and Pin Ho as Golden Dragon Branch Chief.

Golden Swallow Hsieh Wo Yen (Pei-Pei Cheng) is back in action and vengeance is once again on the table. A past enemy is now out to destroy Golden Swallow and is killing people left and right while attempting to make Golden Swallow the person held responsible. Meanwhile, Golden Swallow Hsieh Wo Yen finds herself in a love-triangle between two men: Silver Roc Hsiao Peng (Jimmy Wang Yu) and Iron Whip Han Tao (Lieh Lo).

 While the love-triangle results in the three eventually pairing up together for action-packed adventure against other martial-arts enemies, the two men are ego-driven and want to fight to the death for the love of Golden Swallow Hsieh Wo Yen. Can Golden Swallow Hsieh Wo Yen choose between her two suitors? Or will a tragic fate befall her?

Pei-Pei Cheng steals the show. Pei-Pei Cheng is a remarkably gifted and engaging star. There is something enormously special about Pei-Pei Cheng and her obvious charisma on screen. Pei-Pei Cheng is mesmerizing in her role and she stuns with impressive stunts in spades. The performance adds spectacle and a sense of wonder. The supporting performances by Jimmy Wang Yu and Lieh Lo are also engaging and add to the film. The co-stars are great in their respective roles and the love-triangle element adds plenty of fun to the film.

The action stunts in The Golden Swallow are spectacular. The stunts are coordinated by Chia-Liang Liu (The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, The Lady Is the Boss) and Chia Tang (Shaolin Intruders, To Kill a Mastermind). The cast does remarkable work with the stunts in the feature-film. Outstanding.

The score composed by Fu-Ling Wang (The Singing Killer, The Big Boss) is a thing of beauty. The score exhilarates with a fantastic sense of majesty. The score is thrilling and it perfectly accompanies the sweeping action scenes. The operatic sense of spectacle is showcased wonderfully with the score.

The cinematography by Hsueh-Li Pao (The Boxer from Shantung, The Battle Wizard) is one of the greatest attributes of The Golden Swallow. There is plenty to appreciate about the visuals. The cinematography highlights the production aesthetic terrifically and the action scenes are given extraordinary scale through the lensing.

Edited by Hsing-Lung Chiang (The Avenging Eagle, Sons of the Good Earth), The Golden Swallow is a fun and well-paced adventure. The editing is top-notch in The Golden Swallow. The filmmaking has a good pace and flow. A quality effort by Chiang.

The art direction by Chi-Jui Chen (Five Fingers of Death, The Winter of 1905) highlights the epic scope of the production. Chen delivers something marvelous from scene to scene. The production aesthetic is grand in scale. The sense of towering artistry in the production adds to the epic filmmaking.

Written by Cheh Chang and Yun Chih Tu (Killer Darts, True and False 007), The Golden Swallow is a fun and engaging action-epic. The script gives great moments to the cast of characters. The storytelling is fun and thrilling.

Directed by Cheh Chang (Shaolin Hellgate, Ninja in Ancient China), The Golden Swallow is a must-see gem for Shaw Brothers fans. The filmmaking is exciting and there are a lot of great action scenes throughout. A wondrous spectacle. Action fans won’t want to miss it.

The Golden Swallow Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory, The Golden Swallow is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The release benefits from a high-bitrate encode. The high-definition presentation looks excellent on the release. The gorgeous cinematography shines radiantly on the release. Color reproduction looks excellent. A pleasing presentation.

The Golden Swallow Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (with English subtitles). The audio quality on the release is excellent. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score sounds great as well. The track provides a nice sense of depth and scale. The audio track is free from having egregious hiss and other such audio-related woes. The quality of the subtitles impress. A good encoding by Shout Factory.

The Golden Swallow Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Filmmaker Gilbert Po

Interview with Actress Cheng Pei-Pei by Frederic Ambroisine (HD, 14:38)

Original Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3:39)

Celestial Trailer (HD, 1:04)

The Golden Swallow Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Golden Swallow is a thrilling action-packed epic. The sense of scale and adventure in the film is enormous. Pei-Pei Cheng is a remarkable action star and she carries the film with her star power. Outstanding filmmaking and sense of scale. The Blu-ray release provides a quality presentation. The release also includes a nice selection of bonus features. Shaw Brothers fans will want to check it out. Highly recommended.