Seven Swords A Slicing

Tsui Hark first came to the attention of western audiences back in the early 80s with his mind boggling fantasy film Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain. Colourful Kung Fu swordsmen leapt/flew around amidst dazzling special effects.

Following the success of Zu, Hark went on to be involved in many other fan favourites as a Director, Writer and/or Producer, including Once Upon a Time in China, A Better Tomorrow I,II & III, Swordsman, Burning Paradise and The Blade. Like his fellow film maker Ringo Lam, he had a bit of a dip in quality with a couple of Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, before returning to China.

His latest film, Seven Swords, is now available on Region 3 DVD. In this tale of 17th Century China the practice of the Martial Arts has been outlawed. General Fire-wind sends out his army of vicious bastards to kill any practitioners and claim a bounty on their bones. Which is bad news for the folks who live in 'Martial Village' as the army is heading in their direction! The villagers recruit swordsmen from the mystical Mount Heaven and then it's up to Seven people to stop the onslaught of hundreds. Sound familiar?


Seven Swords is a bit of a mixed bag to say the least. The beginning of the film is stunning. As Fire-Wind's army of Goths is introduced, the bloody, fast and furious action is second to none. Anyone who thought that Hero and House of Flying Daggers, whilst great to look at, were a little dull in the fighting department will appreciate the violent choreography that is on show here. Without doubt it is the fight scenes that raise this film above average. However, Kung Fu mayhem and big swords are not enough to make this film a classic of the genre. During its long 140 or so minutes, there a many periods of bland character interaction and lapses of logic. Rumour has it that there is a 4 hour version of Seven Swords and perhaps that might explain why it occasionally feels like pieces have been removed and others poorly stuck together.