Director: Teddy Yip
Screenplay: Lo Wei, Ni Kiang
Starring: Nora Miao, James Tien, Patrick Tse
Country: Hong Kong
Running Time: 102 minutes
Year: 1971
BBFC Certificate: 15
Having spent a lavish amount of attention on Shaw Brothers with their epic series of Shawscope box sets, Arrow Films turn their sights back to their great breakaway rivals in the form of Golden Harvest, created by Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho. This pair of early wuxia feature films were created as star vehicles for the young pop star turned actress Nora Miao, familiar to martial arts fans the world over from supporting her roles in the iconic Bruce Lee classics The Big Boss and Way of the Dragon.
Golden Harvest were clearly prepared to endorse emerging new talent for their new enterprise. Not only was The Blade Spares None only their second film release, it was also helmed by Teddy Yip, a writer turned director with only one previous credit to his name, as well a leading lady who was only eighteen years old. Nora Miao stars as Ho Li-Chun, a fearless warrior who shows off her deadly abilities by dispatching a score of opponents before the opening credits have left the screen. She is selected alongside three other warriors to be ‘knights’ in the service of Prince Kuei (Chang Chung), an avaricious warlord. Having already crossed swords with fellow fighter Chen Jo Yu (the always brilliant James Tien), his friend Tang Ching Yun (Patrick Tse) startles Ho with a sword reputed to have once belonged to the legendary warrior Sun Tien-Chen, whose treacherous legacy has left a lasting scar on each of the heroes. Their search for this legendary villain is the driving narrative force of this action-packed affair.
 
The Blade Spares None presents Nora Miao as a totally uncompromising badass. With her graceful red robes and bloodied sword in each hand, Miao slashes her way through swathes of opponents with absolute confidence, with a nice line in sarcastic insults to match. The emotional core of the film is left to the friendship between Tien and Tse, who bond via some dramatic rain-soaked exposition scenes. The film enjoys ploughing through some established tropes – every eating establishment endures a fight scene – and employs some nice pieces of plot misdirection that pay off handsomely near its climax. Chang Chung is a suitably dastardly villain whose powers are certainly ferocious. There is a truly spectacular battle sequence where our heroes literally paint the walls of the villain’s palace red, and an extended fight that seems like a clear reference to Sergio Leone westerns, where Tien and Tse battle a squad of ninjas in a deserted village. Despite being a little rough around the edges, The Blade Spares None is a terrific martial arts yarn that gave its young star one of the best roles of her career.
DISC ONE – THE BLADE SPARES NONE
- Brand new audio commentary with Arne Venema & Stefan Hammond
- Deadly Poise, a newly filmed appreciation of Nora Miao’s career by historian Victor Fan
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
The sad loss of the Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns has provided opportunities for new faces to come forward to show their knowledge and experience. The historian Victor Fan makes an excellent impression with an appreciation devoted to Nora Miao. He is enthusiastic and informative, laying out the various pathways of her storied career in popular culture, and her presence in martial arts cinema was a decisive break from the norm, given her musical background.
The commentary by Arne Venema and Stefan Hammond is bright and energetic, their ease with each other makes for a very interesting listen as the reveal a huge amount of information about the production of The Blade Spares None, and enjoy pointing out the various continuity errors and early blink and you’ll miss them appearances by the likes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. They also reference a whole host of Golden Harvest films that they think deserve blu ray reissues. The accompanying image gallery and theatrical trailer more then whet the appetite for the film itself.
 The Hurricane
Director: Lo Wei
Screenplay: Lo Wei
Starring: Patrick Tse, Nora Miao, Sek Kin
Country: Hong Kong
Running Time: 90 minutes
Year: 1972
BBFC Certificate: 15
A year later, Patrick Tse would return to star alongside Nora Miao in The Hurricane. Despite the legendary director and screenwriter Lo Wei being at the helm, it seems to have far less of a profile than The Blade Spares None. Hopefully this reissue will ensure a new audience for this highly enjoyable wuxia spectacle. The plot is deceptively simple; An evil lord (played by Lo Wei himself) schemes with his henchmen to overthrow the powers that be in collusion with their enemies, throwing suspicion onto a famous fighter called the Hurricane (Patrick Tse) in the process. With his raffish air and golden cloak, Patrick Tse is the absolute centre of attention here as the titular hero. Not for nothing was he referred to as ‘The Movie Prince’ throughout his onscreen career.
With a cast that also features the wonderful perennial bad guy Sek Kin (best known to Western audiences as the villain Han in Enter the Dragon), and the veteran actor Stanley Fung Shui Fen as the brilliantly-named rogue Hell’s Snake, Nora Miao is rather sidelined in her role part of the all-female Phoenix Trio, and doesn’t get to show off her acting or fighting abilities until the film’s final stretch. Meanwhile Patrick Tse and his co-star Chin Chuan engage in all manner of battles and escapades, as well as a budding student/master dynamic that verges on bromance. When the final confrontation takes place, we do get a satisfying fight to the finish where everyone shows off their skills, although the film does abruptly conclude in a manner that although was commonplace at the time may jar with modern audiences. The Hurricane is less of a Nora Miao star vehicle, and more a good slice of wuxia escapism from the earliest years of Golden Harvest.
DISC TWO – THE HURRICANE
- Brand new audio commentary with Jonathan Clements
- In the Eye of the Storm, a newly filmed interview with actor and stunt coordinator Mars
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
The interview with actor and stun co-ordinator Mars is one of those extra features that really are a window into a time in cinema history now lost through time. He recounts his beginnings as a stuntman, and the rigours and requirements of that training. He is rather critical of the skills on display in The Hurricane, which is something that Jonathan Clements does makes mention of in his very enlightening commentary, where he notes that the cast of the film were of mixed ability. As a longtime resident of Hong Kong and a scholar of Asian cinema, Clements’ commentary comes from a place of deep affinity and authority, and is a source of tremendous detail relating to the historical roots of the narrative, as well as the socio-political implications of everything from the film’s locations in Taiwan to the linguistic and cultural tensions that still play out in the region to this day.
A suitably grand trailer and an image gallery complete the special features. The booklet accompanying this limited edition blu ray release was sadly not available for review.
 LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 2K restorations by Fortune Star
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of both films
- Original lossless Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Optional newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing from Camille Zaurin and Johnny Burnett (aka The Fanatical Dragon)
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