Please note: This was screened in July 2022
Following the success of King Hu’s Union Film Company production Dragon Inn (1967), Taiwan cinema produced a series of wuxia films (period pieces with plenty of swordplay). Many displayed acrobatic performance skills in fantastical historical settings, wowing audiences with their sheer energy.
One of the highlights of this cycle was Joseph Kuo’s Swordsman of all Swordsmen (1968), presented here in a brand new restoration courtesy of the Taiwan Film Institute. The film tells the story of Tsai Ying-chieh, who sees his family killed as a child.
Screening as part of Flying Fighters of Taiwan: Wuxia in the UK, a season curated by HOME in Manchester, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan).
