Shaw's Swordplay SagasDuring my teens, I was enamoured by Chinese sword-play movies from Hong-Kong. Every movie was a milestone event in my life. This went on until the kungfu movie took over with the advent of Bruce Lee in the Big Boss.
I know today Shaw's sword-play movies appear rather out of time and place. Some of them have real corny dialogues and lousy plots with holes in them. Watching them at 2.30 pm on NTV7 was mostly a waste of good siesta time.
Last week, I watched The Brave Archer and throughout the movie, there was no archery at all. Most of the actors were just clowning around particularly Fu Sheng.
The only movies I remembered with some affection were the following:
I think Ananda Krishnan obviously made one great mistake by buying the film library rights from Shaw. It did not sell well in either VCD or DVD format. So he salvaged some nominal value of his investment by licensing it to NTV7 to put them on every Saturday afternoon.
Believe me; these movies are just too slow for our techno-savvy youngsters nor are they as appealing to the older folks who had treasured them as screen gems and great moments in film history in years gone by.
I do not know how long we will have to endure Shaw Brothers movies on NTV 7 but there could be some that may bring back some long lost nostalgia of bygone days.
Heartsong
I know today Shaw's sword-play movies appear rather out of time and place. Some of them have real corny dialogues and lousy plots with holes in them. Watching them at 2.30 pm on NTV7 was mostly a waste of good siesta time.
Last week, I watched The Brave Archer and throughout the movie, there was no archery at all. Most of the actors were just clowning around particularly Fu Sheng.
The only movies I remembered with some affection were the following:
- The One-Armed Swordsman
- Dragon Inn
- Come Drink with Me
- Return of the One-Armed Swordsman
- Zaibatsu and the One-Armed Swordsman
- Temple of the Red Lotus
- Twin Swords
- The Sword and the Lute
I think Ananda Krishnan obviously made one great mistake by buying the film library rights from Shaw. It did not sell well in either VCD or DVD format. So he salvaged some nominal value of his investment by licensing it to NTV7 to put them on every Saturday afternoon.
Believe me; these movies are just too slow for our techno-savvy youngsters nor are they as appealing to the older folks who had treasured them as screen gems and great moments in film history in years gone by.
I do not know how long we will have to endure Shaw Brothers movies on NTV 7 but there could be some that may bring back some long lost nostalgia of bygone days.
Heartsong
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