Review for A Touch of Zen

Widely regarded as the greatest martial arts epic of all time, A Touch of Zen won awards worldwide (including at Cannes), smashed box-office records and had an incalculable influence on the genre as a whole. Until relatively recently, fans of the film endured poor transfers of worn prints, or drive-in style grindhouse theatrical presentations. Until the big clean up (with the help of the Taiwanese government), the film’s bewildering beauty had been lost on all but a few.


Originally released in two parts (of roughly 90 minutes apiece) this really is a film of epic proportion – visually stunning and with some of the finest martial arts stunts and effects ever committed to celluloid in the pre-CGI age. In fact, it pretty much set the bar for anything that followed, though few would capture the sheer magic of ‘Zen’.


An unambitious painter named Gu (Shih Jun) lives with his mother in the vicinity of an abandoned mansion rumoured to be haunted. In actuality, the mansion has become a hiding place for the warrior Yang (Hsu Feng) and her own mother, both taking refuge following the assassination of their loyal minister father by the wicked eunuch Wei of East Chamber. After the eunuch sends an army to pursue the escapees, the Gu shows his value to the warriors, despite having no ability to fight, using his creativity and strategic thinking to use psychological warfare by setting in motion a rumour that the mansion is haunted and then backing that up with traps and gizmos that seem to confirm the worst. With Yang and her team’s incredible fighting skills and Gu’s ingenuity, they might just stand a chance, even against the might of the eunuch’s army.


But each time a battle is won, the relief is temporary and before long Gu is on an epic journey, fleeing from the eunuch’s army and doing all he can to protect Yang, with whom he has fallen hopelessly in love. The battles are superbly choreographed (although you’ll need to suspend your disbelief at some of the leaps and bounds) and the more contemplative moments with the Buddhist monks for example, are a great contrast.

Whilst the first 60 minutes or so is a little-slow moving, there is never a dull moment. It’s just so much fun to watch that there’s never a danger of the film dragging.
The iconic set pieces, including the central bamboo forest battle, must have been a huge influence on films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers. There is just so much of those films in this one.


It’s also worth reflecting that the film’s central ‘hero’ is, unusually for the time, a sword-fighting woman. This was an age in cinema where women were beginning to be portrayed as anything but wall-flowers. The sword wielding maiden has become an essential ingredient in the genre to this day. Indeed, her power is made relatively all the greater by contrast to Gu’s comparative weakness. Yin and yang, baby.

The Blu-Ray transfer is jaw-droppingly good – perhaps the best vintage release I have ever seen to show the best of the high-definition format; incredible wide-screen detail and crispness from a virtually flawless print.


There are some very decent extra features too. Eastern cinema expert Tony Rayns provides an informative commentary for five scenes – a good touch as a three hour commentary would have been just too long for most tastes. He talks about the impact of Buddhist thinking within the film as well as detailing King Hu’s career to date. On another disc, there’s also a 17 minute ‘video essay’ (or ‘appreciation’) by David Cairns which is well worth a watch, providing great context and the set also houses a 50 minute featurette on King Hu and his movie-making career.



Finally there’s a 36 page booklet which includes - A 1975 interview with King Hu by Tony Rayns, the original short story the film is based on, the eight characteristics of "the swordswoman" in King Hu's films and a bunch of archival images.

The three disc set has been strictly limited to 3000 so if you want a copy (and why wouldn’t you?) you’ll need to get an order in pronto. Fantastic by any measure.