The Blade - The Criterion Collection (4K Ultra HD)

The Blade - The Criterion Collection4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Restored)Genre: Action & AdventureLabel: Criterion CollectionDescription: Among the boldest accomplishments of Hong Kong cinema's golden age this uniquely visceral martial-arts movie puts a gritty new spin on the story of the one-armed swordsman an iconic figure from the moment he was introduced by the Shaw Brothers studio in 1967. Composed in a whirlwind of immersive close-ups and fractured editing The Blade follows the young sword-maker Ding On (Vincent Zhao) who after losing an arm in an ambush transforms himself into a furious avenger. With its intentionally disorienting stylization and starkly brutal tone The Blade was a rare commercial disappointment for Tsui Hark but it has since been reclaimed as one of the director's most radical visions - a tour de force of action expressionism and a scathing reappraisal of the wuxia genre's code of masculinity that achieves a feverish intensity.