The Lady Hermit (1971)

People are voting emotionally.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

THE LADY HERMIT is a fine swordplay effort from the Shaw Brothers studio, notably starring COME DRINK WITH ME's Cheng Pei-Pei in one of her last roles for the studio. She plays a master swordswoman who takes on a young disciple, as played by yet another Shaw regular Shih Szu. Trouble arises when both women end up falling in love with Lo Lieh (in a rare romantic interest role). Meanwhile, the machinations of a master criminal called the Black Demon threaten to spell disaster for all involved. The unusual love triangle storyline keeps this film moving along well for the first hour or so, and if I'm honest it's the calibre of the acting from the three leads which makes it interesting. Then, in the last half hour, director Ho Meng Hua (responsible for such gruesome horrors as BLACK MAGIC) lets rip with the set-piece action. Limbs are severed, bodies slashed, eyes impaled. The action comes thick and gory in an extraordinarily satisfying way, with massive set-piece towers and rope bridges to add to the fun. It's one of the best endings I've seen in a Shaw film, and is certainly worth the wait.

Lady Hermit (Pei-pei Cheng) was injured in a fight against a man called Black Demon 3 years ago. Avoiding the rematch, she hides disguised as a serving maid in the house of Master Wang where Chang Chun (the ubiquitous Lo Lieh) also works. Young Cui Ping (Szu Shih) comes to town, as she wants to become Lady Hermit's student in the martial arts. Of course, she does not recognize the maid. But rumors come to Black Demon that Lady Hermit is back, and after he kills Master Wang, Lady Hermit and Cui Ping want revenge - but the problem is, they are both in love with Chang Chun and have to settle this matter between them first...Wonderful movie. Everything you'd expect from a genre classic of the early 70s is there, blood and tears, love and hate, fights and drama. Not unusual for the time period, violence is close to the edge of cartoon style. Pei-pei Cheng has one scene when she tells 3 rogues she will cut an arm, a leg and the head off one of them each. A few seconds later - whoosh, slash, aaargh - guess what's lying on the floor? An arm, a leg and a head. But there are always the emotional moments, too, which make the characters interesting, for example the storm scene, when the roof is torn off and Lady Hermit offers shelter to Chang Chun. Memorable and highly recommended.

This is a subtle, clever film that is almost as good as it gets. The first two thirds of the film are strongly character driven with the two strong female leads and Lo Lieh interacting very well. There are a few fights and given Cheng Pei Pei showed herself a master of the whip in SHADOW WHIP it is surprising that it is Shih Szu who uses it here - though she switches to the sword for the almost AZUMI like ending. Here no quarter is given and the set pieces on the wooden bridge and the pagoda are very bloody and terrific action. One of the great martial arts films and worth adding to any collection. Unusual for having two strong, almost equal female leads and a real love story. The Celestial DVD is very well done with for example the fight in the misty bamboo forest showing as well as any modern film. An few interviews would have been nice to give some background as it must have been an interesting film to make. This was Cheng Pei-pei's second-to-last Shaw Brothers film. It is also fun to try and spot Sammo Hung who appears briefly as one of the villains several times.

THE LADY HERMIT (1971) offers two wonderful swordswomen for the price of one. Shaw Bros.' top female martial arts star of the late 1960s, Cheng Pei Pei (COME DRINK WITH ME, GOLDEN SWALLOW), stars as the title character, a famous veiled crusader who fights bad guys with her sword but has dropped out of sight when the film opens. Shih Szu plays an eager, whip-wielding aspiring swordswoman who seeks to track down Lady Hermit and become her student. To make a long story short, the master-student relationship is forged and Lady Hermit does indeed teach the young girl her skills, including "flying tiger" style. This is a rare martial arts film in which both master and student are female. Lo Lieh (FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH) plays a young man who is in love with Cheng's character and who is, in turn, loved by both women. During the time he spends with them, he learns new techniques as well.The villains are a gang of evil Taoist monks, led by Lady Hermit's old adversary, Black Demon, who operate a racket whereby they sell Taoist charms at high prices to households seeking to ward off ghostly nighttime attacks. The gang then goes out in the dead of night to raid houses that have refused to buy the charms. Lady Hermit and her two followers engage the gang in a series of extremely lively sword battles which are spread throughout the entire film. There are several great setpieces, including a bit where the characters fight on one of those perilous rope bridges across a gorge and the bad guys cut the ropes and Shih Szu has to hang on to the dangling remains of the bridge and climb and fight her way to the top. The climactic battle in a towering pagoda is quite spectacular. There is a good mix of location work with studio sets.Fans of Cheng Pei Pei from films such as DRAGON SWAMP, THAT FIERY GIRL, THE THUNDERING SWORD and the two mentioned above will, of course, enjoy this one just as much. But the real find here is Shih Szu, who starred in a number of martial arts films in the late 1960s and early '70s, beginning when she was still a teenager. She is bright-eyed, round-faced, beautiful and all smiles, as well as being quite an agile and energetic fighting performer. She appeared in the Hammer Films/Shaw Bros. collaboration, LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES. Curiously, after a few good starring roles, she was relegated to supporting roles at Shaw Bros. for the rest of the 1970s. Which makes this film all the more valuable for providing a rare opportunity for fans of female martial arts performers to discover this delightful unsung star.