When Shaw Brothers stopped producing feature films during 1985, it was a shock for all those involved. Sir Run Run Shaw made the abrupt decision to transform his Movietown studio complex in Hong Kong to TV City. He let TVB produce content in the studios and backlots that once dazzled the world in cinematic tales of Shaolin. The only good part of this transition is that unlike the slow and painful death of other legendary studios, the movies being produced in the final years weren’t threadbare efforts stitched together with shoestring budgets trying to squeeze out whatever box office value was left in the studio’s legacy. The Lady Assassin arrived at the start of 1983 and has everything you’d received from a Wuxia film in the late ’60s.
Emperor Kang Hsi (Buddha’s Palm‘s Ching Miao) sent a gift out to the various princes in his kingdom. It was not gold, weapons or a bride. They each received guinea pigs (which are subtitled as Rats although they could be guinea pigs playing rats). Many of the princes treated the gift as something to be ignored and passed them onto servants. The 14th Prince (Once Upon A Time In China’s II‘s Max Mok Siu-Chung) welcomes the little furry creatures as honored guests and takes care of them himself. He’s been so good that they’ve already have offspring in their opulent cage. This news pleases the elderly Emperor who decides to make this lowly prince his designated future replacement. This has immediate consequences as masked killers attack the 14th Prince’s compound. Who could have sent them? It’s the 4th Prince (Human Lantern‘s Tony Liu) who isn’t happy on falling off the royalty ladder. He gets serious about moving back up by hiring the deadliest assassin in the kingdom, Tsang Jing (Heroes of the East‘s Norman Chui). He’s a colorful character who is accompanied by two equally skilled women Pearl (Cheung King-Yu) and Jade (Yeung Jing-Jing). He crosses paths with Lui Si Niang (Opium and the Kung-Fu Master‘s Leanne Liu) who proves to have serious martial arts skills. They unwitting contribute to the 4th Prince’s rise to power as he lies about so much to them and other supporters. What will they do when the true face of the royal who desperately wants to be emperor is exposed?
The Lady Assassin is a great movie that’s equally filled with palace intrigue, backstabbing, front stabbing and wuxia fights that fly across the screen. And there is flying as characters defy gravity during sword fights. There’s a lot packed into 90 minutes. While I’m not going to give away the ending, the final shot is perhaps the most brilliant final shot in the history of Shaw Brothers. You’ll immediately hit the rewind button before the movie goes to the main menu. It hits that hard. Director Chin-Ku Lu had a great run in 1983 at Shaw Brothers with this film, Holy Flame of the Martial World, Bastard Swordsman and Return of the Bastard Swordsman. Chin-Ku Lu made sure we don’t think of these final years of Shaw Brothers cinematic output as a decline. The Lady Assassin is as vivid and entertaining as any Venom Mob or Shaolin movie produced at Shaw Brothers at any time.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic properly presented in Shawscope! The 1080p transfer brings out the beauty of the royal sets that get torn apart in the fights. The Audio is Cantonese LPCM 2.0 in mono. You’ll hear all the clanging weapons clearly. The movie is subtitled in English.
From Child Actor to Fight Coordinator – An Interview with Poon Kin-Kwan (23:50) is another fine interview from Fred Ambroisine. Poon started at Shaw Brothers at the age of 9. He was at the same Peking Opera school as Mars, Ching Siu-tung and Alan Chui Chung-san. He’s been working in for over 30 years (when the interview was conducted in 2004). He was in One-Armed Swordsman and Come Drink With Me as a kid. He enjoyed being on the set since he wasn’t back at the school training. He went from child actor to stuntman and choreographer. He talks of the evolution of the stuntman as the movies grew more complicated. It’s also less dangerous thanks to computer technology. He mentions how the Peking Opera schools are gone so there’s no place to find child actors and future stuntmen in Hong Kong. Poon talks about creating a rhythm in the fighting. He was a fighting instructor on The Lady Assassin along with Yuen Tak and Chung Wing. A great thanks to Fred Ambroisine for conducting these interviews decades ago that have been so helpful in understanding the talent that worked at Shaw Brothers.
Trailer (1:17) is from when the film was re-issued in 2005.
Still Gallery (2:58) is a montage with color press photos.
Folded Poster with original artwork and re-issue artwork from Sam Green that’s suitable for framing.
88 Films presents The Lady Assassin: Limited Edition. Directed by Chin-Ku Lu. Screenplay by Chin-Ku Lu. Starring Tony Liu, Norman Chui, Jason Pai Piao, Ku Feng, Leanne Lau Suet-Wa, Max Mok Siu-Chung, Ching Miao, Cheung King-Yu, Yeung Jing-Jing, Yuen Tak, Kwan Fung, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei and Sun Chien. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: Febuary 25, 2025.
