The Lady Assassin

With a title like The Lady Assassin one would expect Shaw Brothers to put their female stars front and center, but director Tony Lou’s film is a balanced affair that splits its time between rebels and royalty of equal genders.  The studio’s ‘80s output was reliably flashy and this one is no exception. Logic and history take a backseat as  the undercranked action is cut together with no frames spared, colorful combatants leaping, tumbling and soaring through each sequence.  Subtlety be damned, this is Shaw Brothers working the lunch rush, turning tables and cashing checks.

Suspecting he’ll passed over as the next emperor in the line of succession, Fourth Brother forges the official decree to put himself on the throne.  But his broken promises to a gang of Han revolutionaries make him a marked man even behind palace walls.  Rushing to exile or assassinate his enemies before the truth can emerge, the new emperor surrounds himself with lackies and hired men…never suspecting his greatest threat comes from a woman scorned.

Fairly typical in terms of character shuffling and fight scenes, The Lady Assassin is a terrific time waster that keeps the plot moving and blood spurting.  Swordplay is the real selling point with some hyperkinetic two-handed duels that challenge the viewer to keep pace.  Visually things start to expand from the overlit ‘70s stages with flashes of dramatic music-video lighting and a couple of outdoor scenes.  Even though it’s less offbeat and memorable than other entries, The Lady Assassin’s wuxia-on-amphetamines approach is still a pleasant shock to the system.

88 Films Blu-ray premiere includes a 20-minute interview with child actor/fight coordinator Poon Kin-Kwan who talks about the joys of growing up on the Shaw Brothers set plus a still gallery and original trailer.  The packaging, including a high-gloss slipcover, is an incredible-looking candy-coated piece of pop art that also includes a fold-out poster.

 

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