Best movie ever!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

A lower caste servant gives his life in defense of his master, Qi, master of the Golden Sword school. Qi promises the dying man that he will raise his son; the boy retrieves his father's broken sword (which will prove pivotal later), and grows up to be Wang Yu. Belittled for being the son of a mere servant, the adult Yu decides to leave the school- but Qi's daughter, whose advances Yu has rebuffed, takes it upon herself to amputate his right arm in retribution. This impromptu surgery takes place in a snow-bound forest and is foreshadowed by the chopping off of a tree limb. It's a remarkably bloodless affair, and Yu staggers away to throw himself off a bridge- but he falls, instead, on the (conveniently) passing boat of Miss Xiaoman, who nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, Smiling Tiger (whose smile is deceptive) and Long-armed Devil (whose whip and short spears are "extensions" of his reach, one presumes) have decided to hunt down and kill all of Qi's Golden Sword students. The bad guys have developed a "sword-lock" weapon that, coupled with the use of a dagger, makes them night unbeatable. Yu, meanwhile, gets "better," though he's remarkably proficient with his left hand for a man used to fighting with his right. (He even develops Chi to the point where he can push air (?) hard enough to trim limbs from a tree and leave his palm-print in a tree stump. These two incidents happen back-to-back and both involve tree LIMBS and a tree STUMP. One can only wonder if the symbolism was intentional by director Chang Cheh. My guess would be that it WAS.) All of the foregoing leads to a final confrontation at the Golden Sword school that should not be missed.

I'm not a big expert on Hong Kong cinema, or Martial Arts movies, but I've seen my fair share of Kong Fu flicks, and this remarkable picture is definitely among the best. What it has going for it is first and foremost a great story about a one-handed swordsman who wants to quit the "Martial Arts business" but has one last debt of honor to repay. The film sets up its characters and plot in great detail, so we are involved from the outset. The villains are ferocious and the sword battles (this one has only sword battles, not actual Kong Fu) are great. It's a vicious, violent film, but also very tender. Acting is very good for this kind of picture. The heroes are heroic, the bad guys are sneering. Production design is also top-notch, great scenery and props, and be sure to watch it in "SHAWSCOPE" for its Widescreen glory.

I did not know then that Chinese martial art fighters were distinguished by the myriad schools where they trained. I also learned that hand-clasping (as if in prayer) greeting with a bow that a swordfighter uses to greet his shifu (teacher). How about that peculiar Chinese idiom: "Please don't stand on ceremony" meant to put guests at ease? Neat. So a Chi man has 64 ways of using his sword. Actually the Chinese call it a knife because of its shape and it is much broader than an ordinary sword. Chinese swords tend to be somewhat slim and light. The slightly built Wang Yu seems an unlikely candidate to be a super swordsman but his stance and his moves belie the frail looks. The hero underdog gives not only as good as he gets, but more! Jimmy is a double edged martial arts movie actor. Obviously he knows his martial onions although he is not truly a master like Bruce Lee. BUT, he sure can act.The female lead Chiao Chiao played other swordfighter roles quite credibly but I was disappointed that in some movies she was cast as a femme fatale even with nude scenes.

THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1967) is often cited as Hong Kong's first real martial arts film, i.e. with emphasis on martial techniques, styles and training rather than on clan politics, corrupt officials, and court intrigue. Star Jimmy Wang Yu is much more intense here than in most of his previous starring roles (e.g. TWIN SWORDS and TRAIL OF THE BROKEN BLADE) and his fighting is much more ferocious. Overall, this is a bleak, somber film, with occasional tearjerking and melodramatic moments. The darkly handsome Wang Yu brings the right tone of brooding and melancholy and makes the climactic moments of violent outburst quite satisfying.Wang Yu plays Fang Kang, a martial arts student whose right arm is chopped off in a sudden confrontation with his master's impetuous daughter and then must learn how to fight with his left. He runs off and finds a simple farm girl, Hsiao Man (Chiao Chiao), to take him in and care for him. She has a half-burned old swordfighting manual which she gives to Fang to teach himself left-hand sword techniques. Her father had died after a sword fight (over the book) and her mother had started to burn it. Her mother had warned her to never fall for a sword fighter and she urges Fang never to fight. However, after he is humiliated by some martial arts students when they try to flirt with Hsiao Man, Fang resolves to fight again. Fang is forced into action when his former master, Teacher Chi, and his students are attacked by Long-Armed Devil who has called on evil swordsmen, including Smiling Face and his two loutish students, to raid Teacher Chi's school during Chi's retirement party. Long Arm gets things rolling by sending his two henchmen to kill any students they can waylay. The henchmen have a sword-lock on their swords with which they can trap the opponents' swords and slay the opponent with a right hand dagger to the belly. Ultimately, only Wang Yu's short, broken sword is capable of counteracting the sword-lock. Wang Yu returned to the role of Fang in THE RETURN OF THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN (1968), which is even more focused on swordfights and bloodshed (and is also reviewed on this site). He later left Shaw Bros. to star in ONE-ARMED BOXER (1971), which, along with his last Shaw Bros. film, THE CHINESE BOXER (1970), was a seminal film in the budding kung fu genre.