Now available from Eureka Entertainment
In this unofficial Lady Snowblood remake, orphan Lotus Lin wants revenge for her mother who died while giving birth to her in jail following her father’s killing and mother’s jailing.
Written by Kang Shih and directed by Chang-hwa Jeong, Broken Oath will feel incredibly familiar for fans of Lady Snowblood and while it has enough changes to not be officially a remake, it will feel like so to her fans (this fan in particular, the Lady Snowblood tattoo on the rib case should say plenty here) while the story will feel somewhat familiar to others who may not have seen Lady Snowblood. In terms of development, the story has similar beats and elements, the main ones in particular, in common with the revered film. However, there are enough items here that are new or shown in new ways that it makes the film feel fresh while watching it. The writing works here and so does the direction, making a film that is somewhat its own thing with enough changes and plenty of the same themes and ideas.
The cast here is decent with the First Lady of Martial Arts Angela Mao in the lead part of Lotus Lin. She’s great here and entertaining to watch kicking butts, slicing people, and refusing to give up until she’s found and killed the four men she holds responsible for her parents’ demises. Mao is usually a treat to see on screen and this is no different. Joining her here are Michael Wai-Man Chan, Shan Kwan, Siu-Lung Leung, and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (yes, him again, and thankful for him again, the man has over 200 credits on his resume). Of course, Hung is the one many will want to see here, but the other cast members are just as good and support or villainy to the story in their own way, making this a rather entertaining film on the acting front.
The cinematography by Tieh Wang and Yung-Lung Wang is fairly good with a few moments that are a bit off, but enough good moments and even a few great ones to pretty much forget the not great ones. The work here is showcased in this new release from Eureka Entertainment in 1080p for the theatrical cut from a new 2K restoration of the film.
This release has a decent amount of extras including highlights such as the two new audio commentary tracks, a new interview with Bruce Leung, and a new film appreciation piece on Lady Snowblood (a puzzling choice, but one this viewer is not mad at). The art on this new release is also lovely and the included booklet has new writing by Leon Hunt.