With a cast loaded with big name stars and legendary Hong Kong director Tsui Hark making a long awaited return to the director’s chair Seven Swords was one of the most anticipated films of last year and, consequently, one of the largest disappointments when it failed to live up to lofty expectations. The main problem was a simple one: the story was far too large, far too sprawling, with far too many characters for it to be done justice in two and a half hours. The edit was rushed and cramped and far too many supposedly key figures – including most of the titular heroes – slipped by the wayside doing little more than poking their heads on screen to remind people that they were still around. No such problem with the Hark-produced, made for TV, similarly titled Seven Swordsmen. Tackling the same source material as the theatrical release this version spreads the story over thirty nine forty minute episodes, giving the material plenty of room to breathe and all of their many characters their chance to shine.
For those unfamiliar with the plot line here it is. An unpopular and illegitimate Emperor has ascended the throne and is ruling China with an iron fist. Believing, correctly, that the common people would like nothing more than to do away with him the Emperor has banned the practice of the martial arts and has sent his army out on a mission to eradicate any who refuse to comply while also seeking out the young, legitimate heir to the throne. The army has done their job well and only one significant pocket of resistance remains, the aptly named Martial Village where the entire population proudly refuses to comply while also harboring the young heir. The army is on the way and, noble or not, there is simply no way that the village can withstand an onslaught of the Emperor’s full military force. Seeing the way things are going the aged Master Fu travels up Mount Heaven to seek the help of an old friend – a master martial artist and sword maker – and recruits the sword maker’s four young disciples – masters all with almost supernatural martial arts abilities – while also securing three additional swords, one for himself and two that will later be given to citizens of the Martial Village. The swords, of course, are themselves supernaturally strong weapons, each with a distinct design and a distinct power that reflects the personality of its bearer. Armed with these swords the seven titular heroes then take up the protection of the villagers and resistance of the Emperor.
Seven Swordsmen is a remarkable achievement, a television series executed on a grand scale with high style. Though it lacks the budget to afford all the bells and whistles of the theatrical release – the special effects are notably lacking – it nonetheless captures the epic feel of the story through the use of some truly stunning locations, excellent and plentiful martial arts, and a lengthy run time that allows viewers to really dig in to the characters. That said the show, and this release, are still both something of a mixed bag.
On the down side Seven Swordsmen is played every inch as a soap opera. While there are some solid actors in the cast the characters are written in the broadest possible terms and the scripts frequently fall into the standard soap opera trap of talking a lot while actually saying very little. Expect lots of posturing and repetition. And as already mentioned the digital effects are not up to par with current standards, which is a little surprising considering the high grade effects employed in the 2005 remake of The Return of Condor Heroes - another epic story produced at roughly the same time as this - that shows that the technology to get the effects right on a budget is certainly available in Hong Kong and China. The other significant negatives come as part of the Tai Seng DVD release: the show is presented with a letterboxed widescreen transfer rather than anamorphic and while the subtitling is better than ‘Engrish’ quality, they are only marginally so. You’ll understand what is happening with no problems, but don’t expect to get much sense of individuality from the translation, for that you must pay attention to the performances.
On the plus side the show enjoys an engaging young cast and it uses them well. Fight sequences are plentiful and pleasingly old school thanks to the widespread use of experienced martial artists who – gasp! – actually know how to fight and wire crews devoted to doing things the old fashioned way. The show is also surprisingly bloody in places, particularly for something aired on television. And while the show is very respectful of the old traditions it also has a good sense of humor to it with little grace notes thrown in from time to time, the most notable in the early going being the spaghetti western music tossed in during a confrontation between Master Fu and the enemy general.
While it stops short of being a classic or essential viewing and is not without some serious shortcomings Seven Swordsmen represents a significant step forward over the theatrical Seven Swords in the area where fans felt it needed it most: in the story. Very similar in tone to the theatrical release this version gives fans far, far more in terms of characters. While Swords often felt cramped and rushed Swordsmen has ample space for everyone to stretch out and get their moment.