Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Leofwine_draca I see that THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN has garnered quite a few negative reviews on this site and I'd balance that negativity somewhat. This is a fast-paced and colourful Shaw Brothers swordplay romp which places a far greater emphasis on plotting than in a rival Chang Cheh film, for instance. Ti Lung stars as the alcoholic hero who finds himself involved in a hunt for the 'Pink Blossom Bandit' and whose journey leads him to a situation in which he himself becomes the main suspect.This is a dense and complex story which requires close attention throughout. The reason for that is that there's a massive supporting cast all of whom have plenty of screen time. A cast of wandering swordsmen, beautiful femme fatales, Shaolin monks, local lords, and martial arts masters fill the screen in their colourful costumes and take time out to engage in a lot of athletic swordplay at every opportunity.Lung does well in a balanced role that requires more mannered acting than usual. He's given fine support from his cast members which include cameo villain parts for the likes of Fung Hark-On and Yuen Wah. Yee Tung-Shing is very good as the wandering swordsman figure. The plot becomes more engaging as the running time progresses and the climax doesn't disappoint after the careful build-up. Two sequels, RETURN OF and PERILS OF, followed.

ckormos1 The opening scene is like the opening scene of "Pursuit of Vengeance." Enter Ti Lung as Li Chin Huan and Fan Mei-Sheng as his assistant Chuan Jia. Ti Lung carves a doll and buries it in the snow. The back story is ten years ago he gave up his fortune and his woman to a man who saved his life. Next they encounter a man walking. Then at the tea house "Black and White Snake" attack an escort company. The man walking kills them and joins Ti Lung. They go off to the woods to drink and talk. Attack! Everyone is after the package – an armor useful against the Plum Blossom Bandit.Yes there is too much going on in the movie and it is hard to follow. I thought the Plum Blossom Bandit's choice of colors annoying and now I call him the "Pepto-Bismol Bandit". I did find very fun the scene where all were starving but feared poison in all the available food.This movie may have had a landmark first. At about 1:24:45 there is a physical, not a special effects, wipe. The actress goes behind a wall as the camera tracks to the right then the stuntman comes out from behind the wall and does the acrobatics all dressed as the actress. Was this the first time this effect was ever done? I'm surprised it was not done more often but maybe it was and I am just now noticing.

unbrokenmetal Chin Huan (Ti Lung) returns home to his brother after 10 years to defend his family against the mysterious Plum Blossom bandit whose identity is unknown. On his way, he becomes a friend of Ah Fei (Derek Yee); they both have a strong sense of honor and mutual respect for each other. When the local people suspect that Chin Huan himself could be the Plum Blossom bandit, because he is such a skilled fighter, Ah Fei defends him. Together they try to find the actual bandit.This is a colorful and entertaining movie, well directed, and - quite rare - staged in a snowy landscape. Even the smaller characters, for example the drunken doctor, the Shaolin abbot and the master of poisons, are always interesting. Also the story has the unusual twist that the hero is fought most of the time by the good guys, as they mistake him for the villain, so instead of killing everyone, he often tries to avoid fights. Recommended!

poe426 THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN is chock full of intrigue, with Ti Lung as Li being accused of killing at least one relative of most of the characters he meets in the movie. There are several attempts to frame him for yet other murders, but, with the aid of Derek Yee (who, incidentally, makes an excellent sidekick and who dispenses with more than a few of Li's would-be killers), things are set to right. Says Yee at one point: "The one with the quickest sword is boss." The seemingly never-ending backstabbing (and would-be backstabbing) wears on Li. At one point, he offers up his opinion on the whole affair: "We all want to make our own web and live in it. Then we're trapped in it." Although I must confess I figured out who was behind everything fairly early on in the proceedings, THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN is a plot-heavy who-done-it-and-why well worth the time. Li at one point taunts a would-be killer: "I killed your brother? Tell me what he looks like so I can say hello to him when I get to Hell." Sarcastic, as well as sentimental.THE RETURN OF THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN: You can take the martial artist out of The Martial Arts World, but you can't take the martial art out of the martial artist. Feeling guilty about killing The Plum Blossom Bandit, Li (Ti Lung) is in the process of drinking himself into oblivion when he's drawn back into the Martial Arts World. Along the way, he encounters a wide variety of characters, including Hu (Lo Lieh), who trafficks in human beings; Ah Fei (who had actually softened up the Plum Blossom Bandit for Li, though Li never knew it), whose adulterous wife has driven HIM to drink; Ku Feng as the unscrupulous head of The Money Clan (who disowns his own son the moment he's killed, saying: "He no longer bleeds my blood."), who has taken up with Ah Fei's old lady; and Jing (Fu Sheng), The Left-handed Gun- er, Dagger- whose right arm he keeps covered because it's covered with the names of those he's slain ("Only the dead know that secret."). There's also The Silver Halberd, who literally walks away from the Martial Arts World at one point, walking in slow motion into the mist. Like Doc Holiday, Li's suffering from "consumption" (he coughs up blood). (In CLANS OF INTRIGUE, his character has a nasal blockage that literally saves his life when gas is used on him. These types of infirmities aren't at all usual for martial arts heroes.) THE RETURN OF THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN is another of those must-see movies that fans of the genre look for: it's all about the martial arts and boasts interesting characters and some well-integrated fights.