# The New One-Armed Swordsman

The New One-Armed Swordsman is a 1971 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chang Cheh and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring David Chiang. Chiang replaced Jimmy Wang, the star of the two preceding films in the series, The One-Armed Swordsman and Return of the One-Armed Swordsman.

## Plot

Lei Li, a skilled but prideful rising star in the martial arts world, is framed for robbery and murder. In reality, the crimes and coverup were committed by Hero Lung and his students, a respected martial artist who secretly leads Tiger Mansion, a martial arts school and criminal organization, using his reputation to conceal his crimes. Lung plans to defeat Lei Li in order to blame him for the crime and further his own fame. Lung challenges Lei Li to trial by combat, and the two men swear that the loser will cut off his right arm and retire from the martial arts world. Using a three-section staff, Lung defeats Lei Li with a special technique designed to counter his twin sword style. Lei Li cuts off his right arm in disgrace and leaves.
Dejected, Lei Li takes a job as a helper at Boss Li's eatery. He uses his martial arts skills to complete his work with one arm, throwing items in the air and juggling them. Customers mock him for his disability, though Ba Jiao, the blacksmith's daughter, treats him with respect, realizing he is a skilled martial artist.
Hero Fung, another swordsman who fights with two swords, is approached by two men claiming to have been robbed by students from Tiger Mansion and Fung promises that he will confront the robbers. The men are revealed to be working with Tiger Mansion to trap Fung. At the eatery, two Tiger Mansion students bully Lei Li, who refuses to fight back, and harass Ba Jiao. Fung arrives and beats them. Despite Lei Li's refusal to fight, Fung shows admiration for Lei Li's martial arts prowess and reputation. Lei Li rejects Fung's friendship, not wanting to return to martial arts. The defeated students return to Tiger Mansion, reporting their defeat by Fung to Chief Chan, their teacher. Lung and Chan concoct a plan to call for a gathering of martial artists at Tiger Mansion, where they will challenge Fung.
Ba Jiao asks her father to give a powerful sword in his possession to Lei Li, but her father refuses, explaining that the sword had previously been owned by a great swordsman who was killed and that Lei Li is better off without it. Despite this, Ba Jiao steals the sword and sneaks off at night to give it to Lei Li. Though he rejects it, Ba Jiao refuses to take it back and returns home, but is kidnapped by students of Tiger Mansion. Lei Li calls on Fung, who saves Ba Jiao, and kills one of the men. Lei Li accepts Fung's friendship and the two become sworn brothers.
Fung receives an invitation from Tiger Mansion and decides to attend in order to denounce Tiger Mansion for their crimes. Knowing Lung's reputation as a hero, Fung hopes Lung will side with him, but Lei Li warns that Lung may not be trustworthy. Fung promises Lei Li that after the gathering, he will retire from martial arts and live a peaceful life with Lei Li. At Tiger Mansion, Fung denounces Chief Chan, but Lung sides with Chan and denounces Fung, accusing him of wrongfully killing Chan's student. The two duel, and Lung wins using the same technique he used against Lei Li. Lung offers Fung clemency in exchange for cutting off his right arm, but Fung refuses and dies fighting Chan and his students.
Learning of Fung's death, Lei Li attacks Tiger Mansion for revenge, killing Chan and his students. Lung meets Lei Li on a nearby bridge, and the two duel. Using the skills he learned after the loss of his arm, Lei Li counters Lung's technique by throwing three swords into the air and catching each one by one to use against Lung. Lei Li cuts off Lung's right arm and pushes him off the bridge, killing him. His revenge complete, Lei Li reunites with Ba Jiao.

## Cast

* David Chiang as Lei Li of Han Dynasty
* Ti Lung as Feng Junjie / Hero Fung
* Lee Ching as Ba Jiao
* Ku Feng as Long Yizhi / Lung Er Zi
* Chan Sing as Chief Chan Chun Nam
* Wang Chung as Tiger Mansion Leader Jin Fen
* Liu Kang as Tiger Mansion Leader Jin Yi
* Huang Pei-Chih as Tiger Mansion Leader Chen Jie
* Wang Kuang-Yu as Tiger Mansion Leader Fan Yun He
* Wong Ching-Ho as Boss Li
* Shum Lo as Blacksmith Ba
* Cheng Lei as Chieftain Ho Wai

## Release

The New One-Armed Swordsman was distributed in Hong Kong on February 7, 1971.
Guo Tinghong won the award for Best Editing at the 9th 1971 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.

## Reception
### Box office

It grossed a total of HK$1,596,530 domestically. Overseas in France, the film sold 564,061 tickets upon release in 1973, making it the year's 64th highest-grossing film in France.

### Critical response

From contemporary reviews, Tony Rayns of the Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed an 86-minute version of the film. Rayns noted the introductory scene involving a severed limb decaying in a tree set "an uncharacteristically Gothic tone for this Shaw production; and the tone is maintained by the sombre production design, the under-lit interiors and the setting of several key scenes at night." Rayns found that "despite these distinctive inflections The New One-Armed Swordsman is rather poorly directed and photographed (with a Michael Winner-like reliance on 'dramatic' zooms), but the genre is strong enough to withstand the handicap and heroic fantasy wins out."