SWORD, THE (1980)

Best known as a key contributor to the Hong Kong New Wave as the director of My Heart is That Eternal Rose and the editor of Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time, Patrick Tam began his filmmaking career with The Sword: a love letter to the wuxia genre starring Adam Cheng (Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain).

Believing that he is in possession of a cursed blade, the legendary swordsman Hua Qian Shu (Tien Feng, King Boxer) has retreated from the martial arts world to live in peaceful seclusion. However, his retirement has done nothing to dampen his reputation; a young warrior, Li Mak-jan (Cheng), wishes to challenge the master in order to test his own sword-fighting skill. But as Li searches for the reclusive Hua Qian Shu so that he might face him in combat, he finds himself entangled with old lovers and new rivals. Soon, it becomes apparent that the old master's sword really might be cursed – and will, perhaps, bring nothing but tragedy to those who seek to wield it.

After a period of dormancy, wuxia films resurged in the 1980s as the likes of Duel to the Death, Bastard Swordsman and Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain rejected the realist approach adopted by kung fu cinema in the previous decade. Eureka Classics is proud to present Patrick Tam's The Sword – one of the earliest and best pictures to emerge from this wuxia revival – for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK from a brand new 2K restoration.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• rand new 2K restoration
• Original Cantonese audio and optional English dub tracks (original mono presentations)
• Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
• New audio commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• New audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Andrew Heskins on The Sword – A new interview with film critic Andrew Heskins (easternKicks)
• Forging Ahead – A new interview with martial arts cinema expert Wayne Wong on The Sword and the wuxia genre
• Original theatrical trailer
• A Limited edition collector's booklet featuring an archival interview with director Patrick Tam and a new essay by East Asian cinema expert Leung Wing-Fai
• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)