Golden Swallow (1968)

GS 2

From left to right: Jimmy Wang as Silver Roc, Cheng Pei-pei as Golden Swallow

Golden Swallow (Jin yan zi original title) is the sequel to Shaw Brothers hit Come Drink with Me (1966) starring Pei-Pei Cheng who continues her role as Chang Hsuan-yen also known as Golden Swallow.  The film starts with Golden Swallow living a peaceful existence with her friend Iron Whip Han Tao until she finds out that a string of murders has taken place in her name while she has been living in seclusion.

The movie from then on becomes less about Golden Swallow and more about Silver Roc Hsiao Peng and his rivalry with  Iron Whip Han Tao.  The movie is good but the title is deceptive.  Chang Cheh’s vision of Golden Swallow is completely different than King Hu’s amazing version of her in Come Drink with Me. That is not to say that Golden Swallow is a bad film, far from it.  The cast is superb with such names as Pei-Pei Cheng, Jimmy Wang, Lo Lieh, and Wu Ma.  Wu Ma people!!  However you can tell that Chang Cheh had a different idea and direction that he wanted to go with.

GS 3

From left to right: Wu Ma as Flying Fox, Hoh Ban as Golden Dragon Branch chief

The movie is worth seeing but don’t go into it expecting a proper sequel to King Hu’s 1966 classic Come Drink with Me because as stated above it’s less about Golden Swallow and more about her two friends rivalry.  The action scenes are good, the acting is great and it is an enjoyable story on it’s own.

Pei-Pei Cheng (Come Drink With Me, Princess Iron Fan, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) as Chang Hsuan-yen (Golden Swallow)

Jimmy Wang Yu (One-Armed Swordsman, Once Upon a Time in China, Wu Xia) as Silver Roc

Lo Lieh (The Chinese Boxer, One Armed Swordsmen, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Dirty Ho) as Iron Whip Han Tao (sometimes the subtitles will say Golden Whip)

Wu Ma (Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, Mr. Vampire, A Chinese Ghost Story, Once Upon a Time in China, 14 Blades) as Flying Fox.  Wu Ma has acted in over 302 films, directed 49 and I can’t seem to find how many he was the action choreographer for.

Directed by Chang Cheh (The One-Armed Swordsman, The Water Margin, The Brave Archer 1-4, Five Venoms)

 

Love HK Films review

PopOptiq review

29 thoughts on “Golden Swallow (1968)”

  1. Pingback: The Masked Avengers (1981) | wuxiacinema

  2. Pingback: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) | wuxiacinema

  3. Pingback: Executioners From Shaolin (1977) | wuxiacinema

  4. Pingback: Wing Chun (1994) | wuxiacinema

  5. Pingback: Deadly Melody (1994) | wuxiacinema

  6. Pingback: Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) | wuxiacinema

  7. Pingback: The Guillotines (2012) | wuxiacinema

  8. Pingback: The Brave Archer (1977) | wuxiacinema

  9. Pingback: The Kung Fu Master (1994) | wuxiacinema

  10. Pingback: The Brave Archer 2 (1978) | wuxiacinema

  11. Pingback: Full Moon Scimitar (1979) | wuxiacinema

  12. Pingback: The Brave Archer 3 (1981) | wuxiacinema

  13. Pingback: One-Armed Swordsman (1967) | wuxiacinema

  14. Pingback: Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969) | wuxiacinema

  15. Pingback: The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971) | wuxiacinema

  16. Pingback: Shaolin Temple (1976) | wuxiacinema

  17. Pingback: The Water Margin (1972) | wuxiacinema

  18. Pingback: Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1978) | wuxiacinema

  19. Pingback: The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1983) | wuxiacinema

  20. Pingback: Killer Clans (1976) | wuxiacinema

  21. Pingback: Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) | wuxiacinema

  22. Pingback: The Duel of the Century (1981) | wuxiacinema

  23. Pingback: Deadly Silver Spear (1977) | wuxiacinema

  24. Pingback: One Armed Swordsman Against Nine Killers (1976) | wuxiacinema

  25. Pingback: The Shadow Whip (1971) | wuxiacinema

  26. Pingback: Sword Master (2016) | wuxiacinema

  27. Pingback: The Sentimental Swordsman (1977) | wuxiacinema

  28. Pingback: The Flying Dagger (1969) | wuxiacinema

  29. Pingback: Shaolin Kung-Fu Mystagogue (1977) | wuxiacinema

Leave a comment