Review of Seven Swords

Introduction

Chinese cinema has surreptitiously made its way onto the multiplex screens. I`m talking about Mainland China of course, as the movies of Hong Kong have had a dedicated niche audience in the UK for years now. However, a few years back, a movie called Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon practically took the world by storm, presenting an elaborate historical fantasy, with stunning visual presence and a story to match. Chinese cinema had arrived and with style, even scooping a few Oscars into the bargain. Since then, hardly a year goes by without another visual feast offered up from China, with films like Hero and House Of The Flying Daggers trying to beckon us towards our nearest cinema. None seem to have had the same degree of success as Crouching Tiger though; so last year`s Seven Swords had a more cosmopolitan pedigree. Keeping the beautiful locations of Mainland China, it`s directed by Hong Kong`s Tsui Hark, has a score from Japan`s Kenji Kawai (Ghost In The Shell), and effects work from WETA Digital (Lord Of The Rings). Will it make more of an impression?

An Imperial Decree announces that Martial Arts are now outlawed on pain of death in 17th Century China. A bounty is put on all practitioners, and murderers and psychopaths see it as a good way to make some easy money. The army of Fire-Wind is one such group, cutting a swathe through rural China, taking the heads of all in their path for 300 pieces of silver each. No one is safe, as the court isn`t asking questions as to whether the executed are guilty, they`re just counting heads. This isn`t good news for Martial Village, whose inhabitants are next in line to be culled. Fortunately for them, there are defenders sent forth from Heaven Mountain to protect them, seven swordsman whose skills with the blade are peerless.

Video

Seven Swords gets an outstanding 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The image is clear and well defined throughout doing justice to the sublime visuals. Like Crouching Tiger, Seven Swords is replete with stylish imagery, with scenes that you could pause and hang on your wall in terms of sheer beauty. When it comes to locations, sets and costumes, this film is lavish. The action and effects are more of a mixed bag. Most of the special effects are of high quality, although there are one or two ropey CGI moments. The action at it`s best is stylish, with jaw dropping stunts and wirework, however all too often it boils down to fast cuts and close ups. It can get incoherent, and there were moments that I was hard pressed to make out what was going on.

Audio

You have a choice between DD 5.1 and DTS Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. The sound is good, making effective use of the surround for ambience and effects. With the propensity for swords to sing, to roar, or to throb, this film needs good sound design, and that comes across well on this disc. The layer change could have been better placed though.

Features

You get the animated menus of course, and disc 1 has trailers for 8 further titles. The HKL section seems to be having a run on Wong Fei-Hung movies on this disc.

With Bey Logan having departed for greener pastures, there is no commentary with Seven Swords.

The bulk of the extras are on disc 2.

The Promotional Gallery contains 5 trailers, as well as an International Press Footage Featurette that gives a 3-minute look behind a charity premiere in Hong Kong.

The Interview Gallery gives a collection of 11 interviews with the cast and director. The total running time is over 90 minutes, although you can only watch them individually. They are informative, but are best in small doses as each interviewee is asked the same questions.

Forging the Sword collects the featurettes regarding the film`s production. The Making Of Seven Swords lasts 18 minutes and is your usual making of featurette, with behind the scenes footage, film clips and interview snippets. Unfortunately the interviews are taken from the same source as the Interview Gallery, so there is a fair bit of repetition here. You also get 4 shooting diaries, running to a total of 19 minutes. These look at the pre-production and the filming, with some nice behind the scenes footage. Finally the Production Gallery is a 4-minute slideshow with production sketches, artwork, storyboards and production stills.

There is not one, but two sections devoted to Deleted Scenes. The UK Version Deleted Scenes contains six such, but are more extended scenes rather than completely new footage. These are presented anamorphically. The Original Version Deleted Scenes contains 4 completely new scenes presented in letterbox format. Given the difference in runtime between UK and Chinese versions, there is a fair amount of excised footage that hasn`t made it to this release.

Conclusion

Does the world need another Seven Samurai clone? Well, we get one anyway regardless of the answer. All the elements are here, a village of lowly peasants trying to get along, threatened by bloodthirsty bandits. Here the bandits are actually working for the government and rather than steal the farmer`s produce, they`ll just take their heads. That way, there is no doubt that they are evil. And to save the villagers` collective bacon, there are seven skilled warriors who arrive just in the nick of time, each with their own distinctive personality as expressed through their blades.

Of course, just because a film is the equivalent of a visit to a used car showroom, it doesn`t mean that you aren`t in for an exciting ride, and early on it seemed that my hopes would be answered when the army of Fire-Wind, led by a female Phil Oakey clone (with apologies for showing my age) paid a visit to another village. What follows is a ballet of death and dismemberment, and I got the impression that the story would take a rather irreverent stab at the genre. That wasn`t to be, as Seven Swords turns out to be rather staid and serious, and at 135 minutes a little strenuous on the buttocks.

The visuals may be breathtaking and certain action sequences make you sit up and pay attention, but the familiar story and uninspiring characters do little to make the most of this work. In fact, I felt that the pretty scenery and slow motion sequences even detracted at times, a sign of indulgent direction, with more in common with a pop video than a period movie. Despite the lengthy running time, the story feels disjointed, the characters underdeveloped and a couple of plot holes apparent. The original cut was (according to IMDB) four hours long, and the version released domestically, as well as on Region 3 DVD is 153 minutes. We get the International version from Contender, which comes in at twenty minutes shorter, and I guess that`s where the character development vanished.

Some of the characters are interesting, and their subplots are developed satisfactorily. Donnie Yen`s Dragon has an interesting relationship with a Korean slave girl rescued from Fire-Wind`s hideout, however a love triangle between three of the villagers seems underplayed. In fact, while I found it difficult to really relate to any of the heroes, I found the villains to be a far more interesting bunch, including Phil Oakey. Fire-Wind is a scenery-chewing villain of the old school, blessed with Muttley laugh. He even seems a little out of place given the utter seriousness with which the story is treated.

Seven Swords is actually a chore to watch. I found it to be visually striking with some great landscapes and action, but it takes itself too seriously. It may just be the International version, but the film feels disjointed, a collection of good bits linked together by moments of tedium. I would just be beginning to nod off, when something good would happen to jerk me awake again. Perhaps the full-length version presents a more coherent movie, but I doubt that it will be any less derivative. This release has good audiovisual quality, but the extras are a case of quantity over quality. I can understand why films get edited when transferred to foreign markets. There is usually an attempt to make a film appeal to a target audience, and here it is the action that is emphasised at the expense of character. A shorter run time also helps cinema receipts by allowing for more showings. But surely that isn`t a question to be considered when it comes to DVD, and the film would have been better served by releasing the original version here.