Taiwan / 1971 / 180 min. / Directors: King HU
A sublime work that won the Cannes Film Festival’s Technical Grand Prize, and became a landmark achievement in Asian action cinema. In late Ming-era China, lowly scholar Ku meets a mysterious and beautiful woman in a deserted house which is rumored to be haunted. Eventually, it comes to light that she is the daughter of a government official who was driven to death by a eunuch, and is secretly plotting revenge... This expansive drama engages many stars from King HU’s films, including HSU Feng, who went on to become a prominent producer; SHIH Chun, who also appeared in “Dragon Gate Inn”; PAI Ying; and Hong Kong star Roy CHAO, who subsequently became a regular cast member for HU. In particular, it would be no exaggeration to say that the renowned bamboo forest battle sequence is one of the most beautiful action scenes in the history of cinema.
