The One-Armed Swordsman

The One-Armed Swordsman
Hong Kong film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	獨臂刀
Simplified Chinese	独臂刀
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dú Bì Dāo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Duk6 Bei3 Dou1
Directed by	Chang Cheh
Written by	Chang Cheh Ni Kuang[1]
Starring	Jimmy Wang Lisa Chiao Chiao Angela Pan[1]
Cinematography	Yuen Chang-sam Kuang Han-lu
Edited by	Chiang Hsing-lung
Music by	Wang Fu-ling[1]
Production company	Shaw Brothers Studio
Distributed by	Shaw Brothers Studio
Release date	26 July 1967 (1967-07-26)
Running time	117 minutes[1]
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Mandarin[1]

The One-Armed Swordsman is a 1967 Hong Kong wuxia film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio.^[2] Directed by Chang Cheh, it was the first of the new style of wuxia films emphasizing male anti-heroes, violent swordplay and heavy bloodletting. It was the first Hong Kong film to make HK$1 million at the local box office, propelling its star Jimmy Wang to super stardom.

This film eventually became the first in the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy. A sequel was released in 1969 called Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, followed by The New One-Armed Swordsman in 1971, all directed by Chang Cheh. It has since achieved classic status in Hong Kong cinema. In the Hong Kong Film Award's 2005 poll, The One-Armed Swordsman was voted as the 15th best Chinese-language film.