Seven Swords

I can't believe how some of the viewers thinking works today... some believe that we watch movies just to see something without imagining it ourselves? what?! has the IQ decreased really so much over the years, I mean that definitely was not the reason why the cinema was invented in the first place and why people are watching movies at all, if we can't imagine or in other words use the brain, we can't feel the suspense, we can not predict or form our own ideas and feelings about characters and situations, that would be very boring experience watching movies. If you want just stupid entertainment where's everything just spelled out for you, don't watch the real movies like this one. Even Hitchcock believed in the power of imagination, which is one of the most important things that allow us to be creative, there's lying the essence of the art itself. As a matter of fact, a lot of films offer certain portions of imagination, simply put, if there was none i would be just reading books, but the movies always try to incorporate some of that to get closer to this potency of the books. This movie is even more vigorous and successful in it and most of the people grown up on the Hollywood generic movie-making seem to be very confused and find it very hard to get used to this eccentric new film-style. My point is that the film Seven Swords is just a brilliant example of an absolutely challenging cinema! When you decide just to pass through the film without paying attention to little tiny details offered to connect with the screen or imagining what you don't see like in reality you'll obviously find the film very boring. This film offers the reality possibly unlike any film you've seen before, the reality is not as clear-cut and obvious, we also are not part of every event happening around us, there are not always explanations to what we see in reality. That's the biggest strength of the the film and the reason why it's leaving several paths for the viewer to solve out something what's not on the screen. Don't come to this film expecting a mindless entertainment, in all probability you'll just end up bored and confused. Keep in mind that this is a pure art that demands a certain effort from the viewer to connect with the given reality of the film and help you to properly appreciate its merits. First of all the action sequences were probably the most creatively shot in a very long time, something what can not be surely compared to what you still see nowadays. The stylistic way how are shot certain scenes is undoubtedly far ahead of our time. What's very impressive about the fight scenes in particular is the given exuberance and richness in its complexity, each movement of the warrior was connected to the essence and limitation of the particular sword but also each sword was clearly resonating with the personality of its holder. The unique strength of the film is also the visual stylishness that incorporates the jagged, disorienting camera and editing in order to create the confusing reality especially in the middle of the furious fight (with the camera right in some characters face or even under the water) so as to give the feeling as if you were part of the actual fight to the point you'd feel the attacks, pain and sweat on yourself. This was close to the most realistic fight scenes that were ever filmed. The movie absolutely exceeded my expectations, it's already one of the best epic films i've ever seen in my life. Thus far i can go here because Seven Swords is a film one of a kind that you don't see every year and as a moviegoer grown upon the most essential martial art films in Asian history, i can fully assure you that you will hardly find better martial art film in terms of the character development, visual virtuosity, art direction, story-line. It's easily one of the best films out there... get it! 10/10

I saw ZU:Warriors from the Magic Mountain and found that one incredibly too fast for both my eyes and my brain. Nevertheless, it was a great spectacle that left me shouting all the way from beginning to the end "WOW!!" Then I saw Legend of Zu, and I went "God I don't want to watch this.. pleaseee!" Then I rented 7-Swords and thought it would be something either in the first category (really fast editing, you don't know who's who, or who's fighting with who, etc) or in the second one (lots of special effects, bad music, no story - yes I'm talking abt the Legend of Zu) But, 7-swords exceeded my expectations! It give nice backgrounds to the characters and their motivation, the editing was a nice flow, at some points I even thought that the movie was going too slow, considering that it's Tsui Hark who made Zu, whenever he took time to develop stories between characters. I talked to a friend and he said "It's not worth watching, just another commercial film". HELLO? From the very beginning, Tsui Hark had always made commercial films, what did you expect? Duh.. In terms of storytelling and kungfu fighting, i think 7-swords is much much better than Hero or House of Flying Daggers. I can't say if its better than Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon because I personally didn't find that movie special enough.. but it won an Oscar anyway, so... 7-Swords reminds me of the golden times when kungfu flicks are based on good choreography and not just colorful costumes and international stars. I was very disappointed with Legend of Zu because it's filled with bad can music and cg-animation. But 7-swords.. waow.. it's back to the original Tsui Hark. Overall, its a nice comeback, good to see some real Chinese kungfu films again :)

Movies that are purely action based are exciting for a time, but ultimately unsatisfying for me. This film is different, Tsui Hark has included enough back-story for the main characters to explain their motivation. I felt like I understood what was behind their actions and that allowed me to be part of what they were going through. The action sequences were exciting and sometimes brutal but they were only there to provide jeopardy for the victims and motivation for the heroes to act and overcome the dangers. Constant danger is also the context for the final climactic fight scene. Honglei Sun who plays Fire-Wind is a superb bad guy with an arrogant sense of humour. I found myself understanding that he too had some sadness and tragedy that was driving his cruelty. Something else that strikes me about this movie is that I felt I was in amongst the action - rather than watching it from a distance. Zhang Yimou's Hero and House of Flying Daggers were very beautiful but more like theatre where the audience is definitely separate and a little distant from the action. Seven Swords is more immediate and that makes it a stronger film I think. In short, it is an epic story set in an unforgiving landscape, a struggle where courage and integrity fight against greed and brutality.

All the negative critics read on this site just gave me a big laugh... This truly masterful film of Tsui Hark contains more powerful scenes than the majority of the films I've seen in these last five years. When I read somewhere someone even daring to say that this film has not any soul and depth, I wanted to cry... How can anyone neglecting the unrelenting power coming from the magnificent visual compositions and framing and clever editing as much as the intensity of the acting performances by Donnie Yen, Sun Hong Lei, Charlie Young or Zhang Jingchu; the constant impacts on our all senses by the exhaustive scenes filled with an incredible amount of love and sensuality equally paralleled by the peace, honesty and responsibility, that are conversely also contradicted by the violence, hate and greediness. In its entire complexity of the indispensable sub-plots (that i figure are supposed to be the driving force behind the whole series) and colorful characters all the heroic themes are given more intensity and such a greatness that one would hardly find even in "The Magnificent Seven" or "Seven Samurai". The whole narrative structure and the cinematic presentation speaks volumes of the genius of Tsui Hark's that never yields to the artificial and commercial tone and appeal of Zhang Yimou's sell-out efforts. A very unusual narration is not so extraordinary as the depth of the approached themes and the emotional power of the film (due to the multiplications of the characters and sub-plots, therefore make their own space in the film, just for the inner feelings of the characters and their interactions) making "Seven Swords" one of the most intelligent and unforgettable films of Tsui Hark's career. Add to it a very reassured touches of the majestic beauty probably last seen in the films sometime in the 70's, and you have one of the essential films of the year 2005 and one of if not Tsui Hark's biggest achievement ever. If you want to see the true Wuxia film, and i mean the Wuxia as is supposed to look like in its truest form, watch this masterpiece. Don't listen to anyone who badmouths this film, they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and what's even more hilarious that all of their comments start with a ridiculous line how they watched many Chinese movies as if it would all of a sudden gave them any more credibility or what, they could have seen thousands and thousands of movies but it'd be absolutely pointless because many people can guarantee you that no one has seen before anything resembling the breath-taking majestic quality of "Seven Swords", this is a spiritualistic heroic movie that has more soul and depth than any movie made in the last decade or even more... Finally to put it in a nutshell. Let me tell you that Seven Swords is a revelation for eyes of a moviegoer, a magnificent film of beauty and violence with breathtaking moments that might be stuck in your mind forever. I'm happy as you that we're possibly talking about a milestone of Chinese cinema and Tsui Hark's long career. He made what he wanted to and to tell you the truth i'm not interested in any other longer version of this movie now. It'd only spoil this otherwise absolutely perfect enough film. "That's what the "MOVIES" are about" is the first i uttered at the end credits that had me otherwise sitting silent and speechless.

I did not dare to move or leave for a pee when the movie was playing because it was so awesome! The story is simple but the characters and "Kungfu" scenes were so awesome that compensate the simple plot! O my god this movie is far more better than whatever I have seen. The focus is on "Kungfu" but the story between Donnie Yen and the korean girl was the most touching and emotional! If the movie does nto have the korean girl, I think I won't remember how Donnie Yen could act like a star with her!I hope "Seven Swords 2" will have all the same characters and Donnie Yen should be more awesome!! His Kungfu is the best between Jet Li and Jackie Chan!!

Just finished watching Seven Swords. I have no idea why people are so against it. Sure, at 2 and a half hours length, it is still missing over an hour, but I had no trouble understanding the story, and to me the characters were pretty fleshed out. For some reason people are dead set against this film, and I wonder if it has to do with Crouching Tiger, Hero and Daggers? Maybe these people haven't seen The Bride With White Hair, The Blade or films like that. I get the impression that many complaints are leveled by Hollywood trained fans who don't yet understand the context of this film. Whatever the case, this film deserves accolades for it's imagination and for hewing so close to sword fight movie tradition. The action was fantastic and the fights were creative and very clever. Yes, they did it with wires. That's why we keep coming back. The swords themselves rules, and the cinematography had that Tsui Hark attention to detail. The middle of the film has mostly dramatic elements, building up to a huge finale. I never thought it dragged on, and I found myself rapt until the final credit rolled. Seven Swords was beautifully shot, the characters embodied the fantasy perfectly and acting was full of heart. Get it.

First thought was also Kurosawa's Seven Samarai, but anyway ... I don't know how Western audience views this movie but this is so much better than those made by Zhang Yi Mou (i.e. Hero, Flying Daggers). This one isn't art-house *pretending* to be a kungfu movie. The fighting scenes are innovative, well-choreographed and absolutely entertaining. It's kungfu movie at its best. Some memorable scenes - mostly those involving Charlie Yeung (personal bias). Leon Lai and Donnie Yen also showed great chemistry. Another memorable Tsui Hark movie in the likes of Swordsman and Once Upon A Time in China. Complaints: Either the editors or censors did a poor job. The soundtrack kept skipping and it felt like watching with someone pressing fast forward occasionally.

The East Asian film industry has always been strong in it's own right, but recently it has clearly been exploding in terms of its appeal to a Western audience. The older Jet Li movies have attained a sort of cult status, but perhaps starting with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Oriental cinema has really hit the mainstream. Hayao Miyazaki has even brought anime to the fore. "Seven Swords", I believe, is a great movie that marks yet another strong phase in the "easternization" of Western cinema. Given that Hollywood has failed recently to impress as much as it has in the past, it's key source material being old TV-shows, biopics and remakes largely of Eastern films, the shift of our attention east is not surprising. As with movies like "Hero", "Seven Swords" possesses some remarkable cinematography and even more remarkable fight choreography. To an extent the extremely well designed fight scenes are superior to many before it, specifically because of its rejection of wire-stunts. The result are some intense and believable fights that are far more aesthetically pleasing then, for example, watching Chow Yun Fat sail through the air. Many will appreciate, and rightly so, the strong ensemble cast featuring all round fine performances. Essentially I find very little to fault in this superb film!!! Hollywood can may attempt to defend their claim as the masters of cinema, but I'll eagerly await the day when they can produce a martial arts film of even nearly this ones quality. Until then, I'll continue to appreciate with great pleasure the steady flow of truly entertaining work coming from most notably China, Japan and Korea.

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