Martial Law: Lo Wei's Wuxia World

While his claim to fame in the modern martial arts world will always likely be introducing Bruce Lee to American audiences in The Big Boss, director Lo Wei had been staging lop-sided battles for Shaw Brothers a full decade earlier. In the thick of the wuxia craze, swordplay was still king, and fantastic elements combined with stunning fight choreography to create uniquely stylized historical brawls. Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World is a pretty self-explanatory collection of three of the director’s films for the studio before he jumped ship to Golden Harvest and kickstarted a streetfighting revolution.

Less poetic but more humanistic than his contemporaries, Lo Wei’s films rarely pitted foes against each other without a good bit of backstory—meaning he took his time to make sure each battle had something worth fighting for. The Black Butterfly (1968) is the most lighthearted of the bunch, as the daughter of a famed swordsman plays Robin Hood in disguise, stealing from the elite and spreading the funds to the needy. But her charity puts her father in hot water once the secret is out. Even if this entry winds up being a bit inconsequential, it’s a fun, flirtatious adventure that paves the way for what comes next.

Death Valley (1968) sets two best friends against one another, both manipulated by a Lady Macbeth-type desperate to cover up the murder of her own father. Recycling much of the same cast, Lo Wei digs the spurs in a little deeper this time, taking inspiration from American westerns and the “bros before hoes” mentality that tests the mettle of male friendship. The film takes advantage of some nice landscape shots that break up the monotony of Shaw’s stagework, but it’s the human element here that rises above the fray. Lo Wei doesn’t create stick figures; he wants his audience to have a reason to care.

And it all comes together wonderfully in Vengeance of a Snow Girl (1971), the director’s final film for Shaw Brothers that finds him working at the top of his visual game and delivering a fitting wuxia send-off. Crippled and orphaned after the death of her parents, Ping-Hung (Ching Lee) swears vengeance upon the four men responsible. But after two heads are already in the bag (literally), she finds herself falling in love with the son of her next victim. The two team up for a mystical side quest to fix her paralyzed legs and bury the hatchet once and for all.

Never one to spend too much time on the cinematic details, Lo Wei brings a surprisingly elegant touch to Snow Girl, with thoughtful compositions, a marvelously mobile camera, and imaginative production design. Even if he’s just dabbling in what other directors did better, Lo Wei seems intent to go out with a bang here. His slow build-up to the mystery behind Ping-Hung’s fury is ingeniously entertaining, and the fight scenes themselves are no half-speed practice run. Snow Girl is the final film of a man who had something to prove.

Eureka’s two-disc limited edition Blu-ray is one satisfying marathon of wuxia goodness. Extras include commentary tracks on all three features, a 20-minute sit-down with HK cinema scholar Wayne Wong, collector’s booklet, and slipcase.