King Hu
From contemporary reviews, Tony Rayns reviewed "The Fate of Lee Khan" in "Sight &amp; Sound" finding the film "always strikingly beautiful" and that its "bald narrative outline risks suggesting that "Lee Khan" would sit more comfortably within the Chinese martial arts genre than in fact it does. Its vividly stylised clashes" were "far from being the film's "raison d'etre" as they are from being mere set-pieces.". Rayns concluded that the film was a "remarkable , and not just by the standards of Hong Kong cinema. One can only hope that its appearance here (mercifully subtitled, not dubbed) may herald more of King Hu's work." Verina Glessner of the "Monthly Film Bulletin" stated that director King Hu "comes closest of all currently active Chinese directors to fitting our notion of an art film director" noting that he "isn't averse to check-mating audience expectations as much as his characters' moves." Glessner also noted the script by King Hu and Wang Chung that "like the direction and the gallery of performances, shows a rare sharpness and sophistication."