''Rape of the Sword'' is a 1967 Hong Kong ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' film directed by

Yueh Feng Griffin Yueh Feng (; 1909 or July 29, 1910 – March 3, 1999) was a Chinese film director and screenwriter who worked in the Cinema of Hong Kong. He worked at the Shaw Brothers Studio's for many years and directed nearly 90 films. Early life ...

and produced by the

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

, starring

Li Li-hua Li Li-hua (; 17 July 1924 – 19 March 2017) was a Chinese actress, better known as an actress from the Shaw Brothers Studio. In 1957, Li married Hong Kong actor and director Yan Jun (嚴俊) (December 17, 1917 – August 18, 1980).Zhang (1995) ...

Lee Ching Li Ching, also spelled ''Lee Ching'' (; 8 November 1948 – 22 February 2018), was a Hong Kong actress. Early life Li Ching was born in Shanghai as Li Guoying (), and was raised in British Hong Kong after finishing secondary school and an acti ...

Chan Hung-lit Chan Hung-lit (7 June 1943 – 24 November 2009), was a Hong Kong actor famous for portraying villains from the 1960s to 1980s. Background Chan started his acting career after joining Shaw Brothers Studio in 1964. and mainly acted in ''wux ...

, Kiu Chong and

Tien Feng Tien Feng (born Tien Yu-kun, 4 June 1928 – 22 October 2015) was a Chinese actor, who appeared in hundreds of films in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He has acted with Bruce Lee in '' Fist of Fury'' (1972) and with Jackie Chan in '' Little Tiger of Can ...

. This film is believed by many, including Yuen Woo-ping (action choreographer for the 2000 film ''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity, including Ch ...

''), to be a loose adaptation of

Wang Dulu Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thail ...

's 1941 novel ''

'', even though it doesn't explicitly state so. It has been noted that during the early

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

it was impossible for the Shaw Brothers Studio (located in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

) to get in contact with Wang Dulu (who lived in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

) to acquire the film rights.

Plot

The film starts out with two students fighting over the inheritance of their deceased master's sword called the "Green Frost Sword". Eventually, Han kills the other student and takes the sword. Han then brings it back to the king. Later, General Zhong Ki, his daughter Zhong Jiaolong, and her servant Geng Liuniang visit the king. The king later forces the general to make his daughter marry Prince Lu Tianxia. Then at night, Geng, revealing herself to be an expert martial artist, goes to steal the "Green Frost Sword". She brings Jiaolong away to save her from marrying the prince. The prince arrives with his henchmen and a big fight occurs in which Geng seriously wounds the prince. Geng and Jiaolong then go into hiding. Jiaolong becomes Geng's disciple where she teaches her kung fu. The king sees his son wounded and that the "Green Frost Sword" is gone. Han knows who the culprit is and the king sends him to find the suspect. The next day Geng leaves a note to Jiaolong and leaves, but Han finds her. Geng is then revealed to be the widow of the student Han killed in the beginning of the film. They then fight and Han overpowers Geng, heavily injuring her while taking the sword back. Han assumes that she is dead. Jiaolong sets out and manages to find her teacher. One day, Jiaolong goes out and meets a good bandit named Luo Yihu. Jiaolong fights briefly with him before bringing him home where he finds out who her teacher is. Luo turns out to be the disciple of Geng's kung fu elder sister. The three of them revolt against the evil king and get the "Green Frost Sword" back. They also meet a rebellious nobleman Master Liu who joins them. They engage in a big fight where Han is eventually killed but Prince Lu Tian Xia manages to get away. In the end, the heroes decide to retreat and hope to get the prince later.

Cast

as Geng Liuniang, nicknamed "Jade Fox" *

as Zhong Jiaolong (based on Yu Jiaolong in the novel) *

as Prince Lu Tianxia *Kiu Chong as Luo Yihu (based on Luo Xiaohu in the novel) *

as General Zhong Ki *Tang Ti as Chief Instructor Han *Lee Wan-chung as King Wuyi *Yeung Chi-hing as Master Liu *

Ku Feng Chan Sze-man (born 3 July 1930), better known by his stage name Ku Feng, is a Hong Kong actor. Background He studied in Beijing, and has appeared in hundreds of films, many of which were produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers ( ...

as Lo's man *Fan Mei-sheng as Lo's man *Hao Li-jen as Zhong's servant *Tsang Choh-lam as Zhong's soldier *Chui Chung-hok as Lo's fighter *Chow Siu-loi as Lo's fighter *Tung Choi-bo as Lo's fighter *Cheung Hei as Prince's official *Chan Ho as palace guard *

Wu Ma Fung Wang-yuen (22 September 1942 – 4 February 2014), better known by his stage name Wu Ma, was a Hong Kong actor, director, producer and writer. Wu Ma made his screen debut in 1963, and with over 240 appearances to his name (plus 49 directoria ...

as Master Liu's man *Chin Chun as Master Liu's man *Nam Wai-lit as Lu's soldier *Ng Ho as Lu's soldier *Yee Kwan as Lu's soldier *Chu Gam as Lu's soldier *Wong Mei as Lu's soldier * Lo Wai as Lu's soldier *Hsu Hsia as Lu's soldier *Chan Chuen as Lu's soldier *Yen Shi-kwan as Lu's soldier * Yuen Woo-ping as Lu's soldier *Chan Siu-pang as Lo's man *

Lau Kar-leung Lau Kar-leung (28 July 1934 – 25 June 2013), was a Chinese actor, filmmaker, choreographer, and martial artist from Hong Kong. Lau is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. His most famous wor ...

as Han's thug *Wong Ching as Lu's soldier *Fung Hap-so as Lu's soldier *Wu Por as Lu's soldier *Chan Siu-gai as Lu's soldier

References

External links

* *
Rape of the Sword
' at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The websi ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rape of the Sword 1967 films 1960s action films 1960s martial arts films Hong Kong action films 1960s Mandarin-language films Hong Kong martial arts films Kung fu films Wuxia films Shaw Brothers Studio films Films based on Chinese novels Films directed by Yueh Feng