Celestial, Tencent Partner For THE MAGIC BLADE Remake
Chinese media conglomerate, Tencent, has been busy making making headlines as of late, especially with their equity stake in Legendary’s upcomig epic, Warcraft, and now with its film arm, Tencent Pictures, making room with Celestial Pictures in recent weeks for a new remake of a kung fu classic. That title is The Magic Blade, directed by Chor Yuen and released in 1976, and it’s also the latest in several titles Celestial Pictures has been involved in remaking since pairing with The Weinstein Company on at least two others back in 2013 – The Avenging Fist and Come Drink With Me.As all kung-fu fans know, action is supreme but a good story helps keep things moving. Ku Lung, the most famous marital arts novelist, provides The Magic Blade with just the right plot to give the brilliant swordplay an interesting context, and director Chu Yuan, an acknowledged master of the genre, provides the style to make this one shine above its kung-fu competitors. Of course, having martial arts superstars Ti Lung and Lo Lieh as the heroes doesn’t hurt. They play rival swordsmen in imperial China who battle it out with a power-hungry villain for possession of the Peacock Dart, a secret weapon which must never fall into the wrong hands. But that is precisely what happens, and the rivals must unite to wrest the magic blade from their common enemy. There are plenty of brilliantly choreographed fights, leading up to a final showdown that stands out as a highpoint in kung-fu cinema.
Stay tuned!
