Japanese author Kazuo Koike created and wrote the story for a manga called Lady Snowblood, about an orphan who grows up to be an assassin who takes revenge on the men who killed her father and raped her mother. This was adapted into a film starring Meiko Kaji in 1973. Although the film had some success in Japan, it remained relatively obscure in America. Naturally, Quentin Tarantino managed to see it and love it and it became the inspiration for his Kill Bill films. The Bride is loosely based on the main character in Lady Snowblood and the fight sequence with O-Ren Ishii in the snow is a direct homage to a similar scene in the Japanese film. Because of that Lady Snowblood has become a cult favorite, even garnering a release by the Criterion Collection.
Buy Broken Oath Blu-rayBroken Oath is an unofficial Hong Kong remake of Lady Snowblood released by Golden Harvest Studios. It was made in 1977 so Tarantino had nothing to do with it, and it remains unclear whether or not he’s ever seen the film. It isn’t nearly as visually stunning as Lady Snowblood, or as blood-soaked, but it has some great kung fu action and is well worth checking out.
The story follows Lady Snowblood pretty closely in the early goings, establishing the character and her reasons for seeking revenge, then it goes in its own direction giving it plenty of chances for lots of martial arts fighting.
Angela Mao stars as Liu Chieh Lien, the orphan bent on vengeance. The film begins with her mother in prison. Flashbacks show that four men killed her father and raped her mother. Rather than live as one of the men’s concubines, the mother kills him thus landing herself in prison. Knowing she’ll never be let out, she sleeps with every guard who’ll have her so that she’ll become pregnant. She dreams of having a son who will avenge her dead husband and the wrongs bestowed upon her. Instead, she has a daughter who is more full of anger and aggression than any son could be. The birth kills her and little Liu Chieh is raised in a Buddhist nunnery.
There she learns kung fu but shuns the peaceful teaching of the religion. When she kills a couple of ruffians after they attack her, she is kicked out of the nunnery. Reluctantly, her godmother relays the story of her parents and Liu Chieh sets out for revenge.
And holy crap, is she ever good at it. She kicks all sorts of ass. She beats dudes up with a stick, with her hands, and with a blade. But her favorite weapons are homegrown, deadly scorpions she keeps in her scarf and throws at evildoers like they were throwing stars (or she slips them on their back when they aren’t looking.)
Angela Mao is magnificent. She handles the fight scenes like the pro she is but also demonstrates a full range of emotions. Every second she is on screen is terrific. Unfortunately, the film takes a few detours into side plots and political intrigue. These are mostly dull and somewhat confusing. There is something about one of the bad dudes trying to overthrow the King and some other official doesn’t like it so he helps out Liu Chieh. Or something. Like I say, it was confusing and anytime the film slipped into those side plots, I just wished it would get back to Angela Mao kicking ass.
The villains, once they are in fight mode, are pretty great. They come at her with blades of all types, and a Freddy Krueger-style glove with knives for fingers, some kind of chain with bulky blades on the ends. One dude even breathes fire! The fight choreography by Tyrone Hsu and Yuen Woo Ping is altogether wonderful. The final fight is a massive blow-out that must be seen to be believed.
All together, Broken Oath is one of the best kung fu films I’ve ever seen.
Eureka Entertainment presents Broken Oath in a lovely looking brand new 2K restoration. It comes with both Mandarin and English language audio tracks plus new English subtitles. Extras include two new audio commentaries, one with Frank Djeng and another with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. There is an interview with actor Bruce Leung, and writer Patrick Macias discusses Lady Snowblood and its connections to this film. The booklet comes with essays on the film by Gina Marchetti and Kung Fu Cult Masters author Leon Hunt.
