Plot
The story begins with the exile of a young boy who grows up to meet his destiny as a great warrior. After his father, a Han loyalist and hero, is betrayed by the Emperor and sentenced to death, Yuan Chengzhi is spirited away to the reclusive master of the Lung Yau school of martial arts. Having grown into a righteous young man of considerable martial skill, Yuan sets out on his own. He discovers the hideout of a long-dead martial arts master known as Golden Snake Xia Xueyi and lays claim to his buried martial arts manual, sword, and collection of darts. He also discovers the whereabouts of a lost treasure and instructions to deliver a portion of it to a certain woman. Cheng-chih sets out to find her in order to honor the dead man's wishes and ends up meeting a spoiled and not-so-cleverly disguised young woman posing as a man named Wen Qingqing. It's enough to fool the naive Yuan Chengzhi, who befriends Wen after she takes a liking to him. She brings him into her household, which is home to a wealthy clan of martial artists known for their mastery of the Five Element Array. Yuan's stay grows unsettling, first when jealous quarreling sparked by his presence erupts between Wen and her cousin. Things get a lot more complicated when a trio of angry martial artists storm the household and accuse Wen of theft. It turns out that they are members of Yuan's school and just as the situation threatens to turn into a full-scale battle, he intercedes in order to find a peaceful solution. As a result of his intervention, Yuan's skills draw the attention of the master of the house, who recognizes the kung fu techniques of his arch-enemy. As hidden truths about the Wen clan and their dark part are revealed through flashbacks, Yuan finds himself forced to fight their infamous Five Element Array in order to complete his quest and escape in one piece.
Tommy Tam Fu-wing, known professionally by his stage name Ti Lung, is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly The Blood Brothers, The Avenging Eagle, Clans of Intrigue, The Duel, The Sentimental Swordsman and its sequel, as well as the classic John Woo film A Better Tomorrow and its sequel.
Lau Kar-leung, was a Chinese actor, filmmaker, choreographer, and martial artist from Hong Kong. Lau is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. His most famous works include The 36th Chamber of Shaolin starring Gordon Liu as well as Drunken Master II starring Jackie Chan.
Jimmy Wang Yu was a Hong Kong-Taiwanese martial artist, actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. Initially a contract player for Shaw Brothers, he rose to fame for his starring role in One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and its sequels, and was one of the first major stars of martial arts and wuxia cinema. At the height of his fame in the 1970s, he was the highest-paid martial arts actor in the world. According to The New York Times, Wang was "the biggest star of Asian martial arts cinema until the emergence of Bruce Lee."
Sword Stained with Royal Blood is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. It was first serialised in the Hong Kong newspaper Hong Kong Commercial Daily between 1 January 1956 and 31 December 1956. Since its first publication, the novel has undergone two revisions, with the latest edition being the third. Some characters from the novel play minor roles or are simply mentioned by name in The Deer and the Cauldron, another of Jin Yong's novels.
Lo Wei was a Hong Kong film director and film actor best known for launching the martial arts film careers of both Bruce Lee, in The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, and Jackie Chan, in New Fist of Fury.
Shek Wing-cheung, better known by his stage name Shih Kien, Sek Kin, or Sek Gin or Shek Kin(Chinese: 石堅; pinyin: Shí Jiān; Jyutping: Sek6 Gin1), was a Hong Kong–based Chinese actor and martial artist. Shih is best known for playing antagonists and villains in several early Hong Kong wuxia and martial arts films that dated back to the black-and-white period, and is most familiar to Western audiences for his portrayal of the primary villain, Han, in the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon, which starred Bruce Lee.
The Venom Mob is the colloquial title of a group of actors from the Shaw Brothers Studio, popular creators of martial arts films in the 1970s and 1980s. Most were friends since childhood and attended the Fu Sheng Drama School in Taiwan before meeting director Chang Cheh and moving on to the Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong.
Walter Tso Tat-Wah was a film actor of Hong Kong, most famous for the roles he played in a number of Wuxia films in the 1950s and 1960s.
Philip Kwok is a Hong Kong-based Taiwanese actor, martial artist, and stuntman. He rose to fame as a member of the Venom Mob, an ensemble of highly-talented martial arts actors that starred in several films for Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1970s and 1980s.
Filmography for the Indo-Chinese Hong Kong film actor and martial artist Lo Lieh:
Chan Shen was a Taiwanese-born Hong Kong film actor. He is best known for his roles as gangsters or villains in Hong Kong action cinema in the 1970s.
Legend of the Bat, also known as Bat Island Adventure or Clans of Intrigue 2, is a 1978 Hong Kong wuxia film adapted from Bianfu Chuanqi of Gu Long's Chu Liuxiang novel series. The film was directed and written by Chor Yuen, produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, and starred Ti Lung as the lead character. It was preceded by Clans of Intrigue (1977) and followed by Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman (1982).
Sword Stained with Royal Blood is a 2007 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on CTV in Taiwan in 2007.
Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain is a 2006 Hong Kong-Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novels Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain and The Young Flying Fox. Directed by Andrew Lau and Tam Yau-yip, the series is a co-production by the Hong Kong companies ATV and TVB and Ciwen Pictures, with Wong Jing as producer, starring Nie Yuan, Athena Chu, Gillian Chung, Ady An, Alex Fong, Anthony Wong and Patrick Tam. It was first broadcast in Hong Kong on ATV in 2006.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is a Taiwanese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on TTV in Taiwan in October 1984.
Kwan Shan was a Hong Kong film actor. Kwan appeared as a romantic lead actor in Mandarin-language films created in Hong Kong, especially during the 1960s. His roles included several Shaw Brothers Studio productions.
Have Sword, Will Travel is a 1969 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chang Cheh and starring Ti Lung, David Chiang and Lee Ching.
Miao Tien was a Chinese film actor mostly active in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Huang Tsung-hsing was a Chinese Hong Kong actor. He appeared in two films with superstar Bruce Lee such as Fist of Fury as Cook Tien and The Way of The Dragon as Uncle Wang. Huang married actress Lisa Chiao Chiao. Huang also acted with fighting instructor Han Ying-chieh in Fist of Fury. Huang also acted in 70 other movies, many of them about martial arts.
