THE HIDDEN SWORD: Xu Haofeng’s Long-Awaited Martial Arts Epic Stands The Test Of Time With An Official Trailer
It’s been the longest, most agonizing experience waiting for Xu Haofeng’s The Hidden Sword to finally see a release. The Final Master was a pure genre blast and I managed to acquaint myself with most of his work from years prior, and Xu also managed to direct a second film to our knowledge called The Weary Poet.
I suspect 2019/2020 will be when we see a lot more Xu as a result, and news of a July 19 release for The Hidden Sword is a humbly welcome conversation piece going forward. The official trailer is finally online as of last week and looks just as explosive and promising as the intial teaser from a few years ago, and I sincerely hope a certain Plano, Texas film distribution firm is aware of this movie by now.
In 1933, Chinese soldiers led by heroic officer Shen Feixue defeat a Japanese attack on the Great Wall using only swords. But Shen disappears, and an imposter seduces Shen’s widow, the sword-wielding beauty Zhihui. Together, they try to steal Shen’s teacher Master Kong’s ultimate sword techniques, and manage to establish a flamboyantly despotic rule over their small town. But heroic young Kong Dingyi, Master Kong’s grandson and prize student, stands in their way. Complications ensue in the person of an exotic female dancer/acrobat, who appears as a travelling saleswoman. And the Kongs adopt orphaned wastrel Qingqing, who grows into a beautiful young woman with eyes for Dingyi. Will he defeat his own longings and enemies both intimate and foreign, and preserve his family’s honour?
The Hidden Sword, like Xu’s prior movies, is based on his own written literary work and stars Chen Kuan Tai, Huang Jue and Geng Le, actressses Summer Xu Qing and Chen Xia, and with fellow Xu cohort, The Final Master co-star, actor Zhang Aoyue, also starring.
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
You must log in to post a comment.