Blade 4K UHD + Blu-ray
'The Blade' Director: Tsui Hark (1995) Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray | Cantonese or English audio w/ English subtitles
Among the boldest accomplishments of Hong Kong cinema’s golden age, this uniquely visceral martial-arts movie puts a gritty new spin on the story of the one-armed swordsman, an iconic figure from the moment he was introduced by the Shaw Brothers studio in 1967.
Composed in a whirlwind of immersive close-ups and fractured editing, The Blade follows ayoung sword-maker , who, after losing an arm in an ambush, transforms himself into a furious avenger.
With its intentionally disorienting stylization and starkly brutal tone, The Blade has since been reclaimed as one of Hark's most radical visions—a tour de force of action expressionism, and a scathing reappraisal of the wuxia genre’s code of masculinity, that achieves a feverish intensity.
Special features include:
- Audio commentary featuring Hong Kong cinema expert and producer Frank Djeng
- Action et vérité (2006), a documentary featuring director Tsui Hark, coscreenwriter Koan Hui, and actor Xiong Xin-xin
- Video essay by filmmakers Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou (Every Frame a Painting)
- New York Asian Film Festival Q&A with Tsui from 2011
- International-version opening and end credits
- Essay by author Lisa Morton
