The movie Quentin Tarantino called a “martial arts extravaganza”
When Pulp Fiction came out and redefined the American landscape during the 1990s, a significant consequence of its success was its impact on Asian cinema. The highly stylised, violent vision of Quentin Tarantino inspired several thrillers from regions like Hong Kong, which tried to follow in its footsteps. For Tarantino, it was undoubtedly a source of pride since he had grown up on a steady diet of brilliant martial arts flicks and Asian crime dramas.
While the influence of Asian cinema can be observed throughout Tarantino’s acclaimed filmography, which spans several genres, one of the greatest examples is the Kill Bill series. An epitome of arthouse action, Tarantino’s own interpretation is viewed by many to be among his greatest artistic projects. It’s more than a simple tribute to his favourite childhood movies since the films are dynamic pastiches of an eclectic range of cinematic sensibilities.
On multiple occasions, Tarantino has spoken fondly about pioneers like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, who brought their own elements to the vast language of action cinema. However, the Reservoir Dogs director once singled out a specific Hong Kong flick from the 1990s as a true “martial arts extravaganza”. That film is none other than Tsui Hark’s The Blade, a refreshingly stylish reinterpretation of the visual frameworks associated with the genre.
During a conversation with Film Comment, the director opened up about the reception of the film: “The Blade didn’t do well at the box office for several reasons,” he said. “I think one of the reasons is we didn’t use really big stars in the movie. But I really like those actors, they were very authentic to me. And it was a little bit different from what I’d done before, it was a different style of action. This style created a very threatening and ugly image of life and death.”
While reflecting on the inspirations for the action sequences in the movie, the filmmaker revealed: “I was influenced by Kurosawa. I think he shot Seven Samurai in a very powerful way. I wanted the audience to look into themselves, to see why we have so much hatred in our world, so much fighting, so much violence. After The Blade, actually, I wanted to continue using the same style on the next project but instead went to Hollywood to do a movie there.”
Starring the likes of Vincent Zhao, The Blade follows a pretty typical story of an orphaned worker who wants to punish the people responsible for his father’s death. What’s interesting is actually the unique visual narrative, beautifully sustained by the dynamism of Venus Keung’s cinematography.
Watch the trailer below.
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