We’ve had an abundance of far-ranging Shaw Brothers box sets in the past few years, but this one narrows the scope, presenting just three wuxia films by director Lo Wei. While the films aren’t connected to each other storywise, they all feature actor Yueh Hua in such prominent roles that one might assume he’s the director. Lo Wei went on to new heights in the wake of his direction of Bruce Lee’s international hits The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, marking these films as some of his final traditional output before transitioning into kung fu.
Buy Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World Blu-rayThe Black Butterfly presents a gender-swapped take on Robin Hood, with a purple-clad ninja girl robbing from the rich and redistributing to the poor. Her calling card is a black butterfly that she leaves at the scene of each crime, increasing her legend and the terror level of her victims with each theft. Yueh Hua investigates the crimes, eventually unmasking the mysterious ninja after much searching and fighting. Unfortunately, the film is overlong and slow, with not enough action to sustain its nearly two hour runtime.
In Death Valley, the local lord (Lo Wei in front of the camera) is murdered by his niece (Angela Yu Chien), setting off a scramble to claim his estate culminating in a showdown between a mercenary and the heir apparent (Yueh Hua). I found myself a bit confused about the plot direction at times, but the film benefits from a tighter 100-minute length and the masterful treachery of the niece, playing multiple parties against each other as she sits back and hopes to reap the rewards.
Vengeance of a Snow Girl has some truly inspired totems worn by various combatants, including long gold cat gloves with deadly nails, jade crutches with a sword built into one of them, and a shockingly bright red hood and cape providing no anonymity to one player. The action kicks off when a crippled young woman wipes out the principals of a rival clan as vengeance for the murder of her family, setting herself up as a target for retribution. Just when things seem to be wrapping up, a complex multistage quest is introduced at the midpoint, basically restarting the plot as the stars set out to complete their tasks. Yueh Hua’s swordsman character ends up in love with the Snow Girl (Li Ching), accompanying her to the end of the deadly quest. Watch for a teen Sammo Hung in a bit part as a henchman, and enjoy the most wire fu of the three films.
The films are all presented in their original 2.35:1 ShawScope aspect ratio and benefit from restorations that provide super clean transfers with stunningly vibrant color saturation. Sound is crisp and clear as well, and English subs are well done on all three films. New audio commentaries have been produced for each film by a pair of action-cinema experts, while the sole bonus feature presents cinema scholar Wayne Wong discussing Vengeance of a Snow Girl. The 2000-copy limited edition also includes a collector’s booklet with new writing on all three films by a Hong Kong cinema expert.
