Swordsmen & swordswomen fight with impressive wuxia combat in two early Golden Harvest films, The Blade Spares None & The Hurricane. Both films feature Nora Miao and are now available as a Blu-ray set from Arrow Video.
The Films
Arrow Video bundles two Nora Miao-led, early Golden Harvest films for high-flying, sword-twirling, altogether smile-inducing wuxia fantasy fighting flicks. Both are highly entertaining, with awesome sword fights, but neither is particularly special; they do what they do very well. Let’s take a look at both together, as they spin and spell almost as one.
The Blade Spares None (1971, directed by Wing-Cho Yip) and The Hurricane (1972) make up the pair. Both star Noah Miao and Patrick Tse Yin. Funny enough, She’s more the lead in The Blade Spares None, and he’s more the lead in The Hurricane. Fitting, as they play the title characters in either. Both spin, twirl, fly, do awesome things, and so do everyone around them in one awesome fight sequence after another. And since it’s Golden Harvest in the early 70s: both Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung are around in generic fighter roles, but nice to see them.
Taking the lead as the woman known as The Blade Spares None (what a giallo-like title), Nora Miao is freakin awesome. She’s a master of the sword in so many great fights. When The Blade Spares None starts with her laying waste- and, well, sparing… one- due to a pause with his unique sword (guess what connects to the plot), in a ten-minute sequence we’re in for a good time. It’s a tournament by a prince to get a new set of fighters to work for him. What he asks of them might not be well-intentioned, and his history may be more sordid. It gets twisty as to who’s good and who’s not, and the fights that come all around. The shorter version is that she realizes the prince might not be so nice when she runs into the guy she let live and finds he and his bestie are trying to avenge his family’s death.
The Hurricane, written and directed by The Big Boss’s Wei Lo, starts awesome too, with so many great fights. The credit sequence of The Hurricane is really cool. Swirling paint stop motion (matching the Hurricane’s whirring battle movements). It’s very Saul Bass, and I’m all for it. The plot is pretty threadbare. Another devious ruler uses a ruse, aiming heroes, including Nora Miao and a pair of women, at the titular character, Patrick Tse Yin, to cover a coup attempt. More betrayals, shifting allegiance, and massive fights occur. A long ribbon fight is particularly cool.
Being wuxia movies, they have plenty of high-flying action, fantastic like with some monsters, weird sequences, over-the-top bits. And get so confusing with double and triple crosses, tons of exposition, and overacting. Lots of weird ass moments. So it’s what you expect and want when popping in a pair of early Golden Harvest flicks as they started to find their own voice, separate from the Shaw Brothers.
The Packaging and Presenation
Arrow Video puts the pair of films on two Blu-ray discs, each with its own specific title and art. They fit within a clear Blu-ray case, with a reversible sleeve. Each side features art unique to one of the films by Ilan Sheady. A booklet fits in. An O-ring slipcover combines the two pieces.
Both films receive 2k restoration by Fortune Star. As Golden Harvest wuxia films, they were made on a threadbare budget but make the most of what they had with impressive visuals and plenty of color. Other parts are a bit fuzzy, with noticeable grain and fade. So a little miss. Audio is in Mandarin for both films. Sometimes a slight hiss comes through, and the sound mix is a little odd. But it’s all clear enough. English subtitles are available.
The Features
Each disc has a commentary, a second special feature, a trailer, and an image gallery. All are new.
The Blade Spares None
Commentary by Arne Venema & Stefan Hammond is a good one. Much of the focus is on the start of Golden Harvest and how they were finding their voice. Of course, we look at the details of the movie, noting some of the odd elements along with historical context. A fine, informative, and entertaining discussion.
Deadly Poise
Historian Victor Fan gives a great discussion of Nora Miao’s career (30 m)
Trailer
Image Gallery.
The Hurricane
Commentary by Jonathan Clements
As The Hurricane is semi-based on history, Clements gets into what’s accurate and what isn’t, and how films fudge history and eras to make their stories work. Very enlightening. He also gets into the standards, hows, whos, and whys of the film.
In the Eye of the Storm
Stuntman and action coordinator Mars talks about his career and, in my favorite, a broader view of Hong Kong stunts and how they shifted over time: from backflips being cool, to wuxia, to the over-the-top nature of Chan and the safety issues that come with it. Highly fascinating. In Mandarin. (21m)
Image Gallery
Trailer
Booklet
Arrow includes a bound 32-page booklet. Along with the standard cast/crew/photos, it has two essays: Shaw vs Golden Harvest: Golden Harvest in 1971 by Camile Zaurin & From the Peking Opera Stage to the Silver Screen: The Evolution of 1970s Wuxia Cinema in Hong Kong by The Fantastical Dragon. Both articles are fantastically researched and detail-driven. Much knowledge is imparted and well told. I love the overview historical take of the pair with great depth on 70s Hong Kong cinema.
Final Thoughts
The pair of high-flying, sword-clashing big action flicks will appeal to those who dig wuxia of the 70s. If you’re a fan of the kinda-fantasy fighting flicks of Golden Harvest or Shaw Brothers, you’ll have a good time with both of these Nora Miao-led flicks. The transfers are fine, not bad, and teh features are a little lighter than normal for Arrow but do their job well. A solid set for fans of the subgenre.