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{{Use Hong Kong English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
| name = Swordsman II
{{About|the Hong Kong film|the Canadian film sometimes subtitled The Swordsman II|Gladiator Cop}}
| image =
{{Infobox film
| image_size =
|name = Swordsman II
| caption =
|image = Swordsman II.jpg
| director = [[Ching Siu-Tung]]<br>[[Stanley Tong]]
|caption = Theatrical poster
| producer =
|native_name = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|t = 笑傲江湖之東方不敗
| writer = [[Jin Yong]]
|s = 笑傲江湖之东方不敗
| narrator =
|p = Xiào Ào Jiāng Hú Zhī Dōng Fāng Bù Bài
| starring = [[Jet Li]]<br />[[Brigitte Lin]]<br />[[Rosamund Kwan]]<br />[[Michelle Reis]]
|j = Siu3 Ngou6 Gong1 Wu4 Ji1 Dung1 Fong1 Bat1 Baai6}}
| music =
|director = [[Ching Siu-tung]]
| cinematography =
|screenplay = Hanson Chan<br>Tang Pik-yin<br>[[Tsui Hark]]
| editing =
|based_on = {{based on|''[[The Smiling, Proud Wanderer]]''|[[Jin Yong|Louis Cha]]}}
| distributor =
|producer = Tsui Hark
| released = [[1992 in film|1992]]
|starring = [[Jet Li]]<br>[[Brigitte Lin]]<br>[[Rosamund Kwan]]<br>[[Michelle Reis]]
| runtime =
|cinematography = Tom Lau
| country = {{flagicon|Hong Kong|colonial}} [[Cinema of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]
|editing = [[Marco Mak]]
| language = Cantonese
|music = [[Richard Yuen]]
| budget =
|studio = [[Film Workshop]]<br>Long Shong Pictures<br>[[Golden Princess Film Production]]
| gross =
|distributor = Golden Princess Amusement
| preceded_by = ''[[The Swordsman (film)|The Swordsman]]''
|released = {{Film date|1992|6|26|df=y}}
| followed_by = ''[[The East is Red (film)|The East is Red]]'' aka ''[[Swordsman III]]''
|runtime = 107 minutes (HK)<br>99 minutes (U.S)<br>112 minutes (Taiwan)
|country = Hong Kong
|language = Cantonese<br>Japanese<br>Sichuanese<br>Mandarin-dubbed version
|budget =
|gross = HK$34,462,861
}}
}}
'''''Swordsman II''''' ({{zh|first=t|t=笑傲江湖之東方不敗|s=笑傲江湖之东方不敗|p=Xiào Ào Jiāng Hú Zhī Dōng Fāng Bù Bài|cy=Siu3 Ngou6 Gong1 Wu4 Ji1 Dung1 Fong1 Bat1 Baai6}}) is a [[Cinema of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] [[action film]] released in [[1992 in film|1992]]. It was directed by [[Ching Siu-Tung]] and [[Stanley Tong]] and written by [[Hanson Chan]], [[Jin Yong]], [[Tang Pik-yin]] and [[Tsui Hark]]. This movie was the second in a trilogy of films. It stars a young [[Jet Li]], [[Brigitte Lin]], [[Rosamund Kwan]] and [[Michelle Reis]].


'''''Swordsman II''''', also known as '''''The Legend of the Swordsman''''', is a 1992 Hong Kong [[wuxia]] film very loosely adapted from [[Jin Yong|Louis Cha]]'s novel ''[[The Smiling, Proud Wanderer]]''. It was the second part of a trilogy: preceded by ''[[The Swordsman (1990 film)|The Swordsman]]'' (1990) and followed by ''[[The East Is Red (1993 film)|The East Is Red]]'' (1993). Directed by [[Ching Siu-tung]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=62|title= Swordsman 2 (1992)|access-date= May 16, 2015|work= [[Hong Kong Cinemagic]]|archive-date= 13 October 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013040846/http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=62|url-status= live}}</ref> ''Swordsman II'' starred [[Jet Li]], [[Brigitte Lin]], [[Rosamund Kwan]] and [[Michelle Reis]] in the leading roles. None of the original cast from the previous film return except Fennie Yuen.
''Swordsman II'' is one of the most popular adaptions of a series of books by [[Jin Yong]] called ''[[The Smiling, Proud Wanderer]]''. Many earlier and later adaptations of the book exist, including several tv shows and movie versions.


Set in the [[Ming dynasty]], the plot follows Ling Wu-chung (Li), a swordsman from the Wah Mountain school, who travels the Chinese countryside with his female sidekick Kiddo (Reid) who secretly loves him. Caught in the war between the invading Japanese and the Sun Moon Sect, they discover that Master Asia (Lin), the evil Sun Moon leader, has located the Sacred Scroll, which has transformed him into a woman while allowing him a near invincible array of magical powers. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
The character Asia the Invincible, played by actress [[Brigitte Lin]], is a man who has castrated himself because of instructions in the Sacred Scroll on achieving supreme power.<ref>{{Citation
| last = Hammond
| first = Stefan
| last2 = Wilkins
| first2 = Mike
| title = Sex and Zen & a bullet in the head
| publisher = Simon and Schuster
| year = 1996
| page = 80
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=-a3AFvoy8-QC&pg=PA80
| isbn = 9780684803418}}
</ref>


==Plot==
This movie adaptation barely followed the actual book series. The movie created a love affair between the main character and the antagonist, which never existed in the book. The main character in the movie seemed to chase women all the time, which is not how the main character in the book series was characterized.{{fact}} The role of the antagonist, Dongfang Bubai (東方不敗), was greatly expanded in film. Finally, the ending in the movie is different than the book series. The movie ends with the main character and his lover sailing to Japan, while the book series ends with the main character becoming the most powerful [[Wuxia]], retiring from the worldly affairs and spending the rest of his days having an instrumental duet of the song Xiao Ao Jiang Hu with his lover.
Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan and members of the [[Mount Hua School]] are planning to retire from the ''[[jianghu]]'' (martial artists' community). They learn that [[Dongfang Bubai]] has seized control of the Sun Moon Holy Cult and is secretly plotting with some Japanese ''[[rōnin]]'' to rebel against the [[Ming dynasty|Ming Empire]] and dominate China. Dongfang Bubai had castrated himself in order to master the skills in the ''Sunflower Manual'', and his appearance has become more feminine, even though he is now a formidable martial artist.


Linghu Chong meets Dongfang Bubai by chance without knowing his true identity, mistakes him for a beautiful young woman, and falls in love with "her". Dongfang Bubai knocks out Linghu Chong while he is not looking and imprisons him in an underground dungeon. In the dungeon, by coincidence, Linghu Chong meets Ren Woxing, Ren Yingying's father and the former leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. They escape from captivity together. One night, while Linghu Chong is distracted by Dongfang Bubai's lover Shishi, Dongfang tracks down his Mount Hua School fellows and kills them.
The speech of Ren Ying Ying and Lan Feng Huang in the movie belongs to the China Sichuan local dialect. Their pronuciation is far different from the Mandarin, and this Sichuan accent / pronunciation is supposed to bring a Miao Race flavour.


Linghu Chong brings Yue Lingshan, Ren Yingying, Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian with him to confront Dongfang Bubai at Black Woods Cliff. In the ensuing battle, Dongfang Bubai apparently dies after refusing Linghu Chong's help and falling off the cliff. Ren Woxing regains control of the cult and starts killing the traitors who defected to Dongfang Bubai. Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan secretly escape with help from Xiang Wentian and Ren Yingying because they know that Ren Woxing cannot tolerate them.
==Alternate versions==
*The US version released from Dimension is cut by 9 minutes.It's dubbed in English and still contains the original music score from the Hong Kong version.It is entitled Legend of the Swordsman.


==Cast==
*The H.K version released from Mei Ah contains the original Cantonese dub and it has already restored 9 minutes of extended footage and gory violence.
{{further|List of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer characters}}
* [[Jet Li]] as Linghu Chong ({{small|Ling Wu-chung}}), the most senior member in the [[Mount Hua School]].
* [[Brigitte Lin]] as [[Dongfang Bubai]] ({{small|Invincible Asia}}), the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult.
* [[Michelle Reis]] as Yue Lingshan ({{small|Kiddo}}), Linghu Chong's junior.
* [[Rosamund Kwan]] as Ren Yingying, Linghu Chong's love interest and Ren Woxing's daughter.
* [[Waise Lee]] as Hattori Sengun, the ''[[rōnin]]'' chief and Dongfang Bubai's ally.
* [[Chin Kar-lok]] as Sarutobi Kazuki, Hattori's henchman.
* Lau Shun as Xiang Wentian ({{small|Zen}}), an elder of the Sun Moon Holy Cult who remains loyal to Ren Woxing.
* [[:zh:袁潔瑩|Fennie Yuen]] as Lan Fenghuang ({{small|Blue Phoenix}}), Ren Yingying's subordinate.
* Yen Shi-kwan as Ren Woxing ({{small|Wu}}), the former leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult who was overthrown and imprisoned by Dongfang Bubai.
* [[Candice Yu]] as Shishi ({{small|Cici}}), Dongfang Bubai's lover.
* Cheung Kwok-leung as Eunuch Hong


==Alternative versions==
*The Taiwanese DVD released from Long Shong T.W contains an additional 4 minutes of rare extended and gory footage which was cut from the US and H.K releases.The run time is 112mins
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2013}}
The United States version has nine minutes of the original film cut and was released under the title ''Legend of the Swordsman''. It is dubbed in English and retains the original music score.


The Hong Kong version is in Cantonese and it retains the nine minutes of extended footage and gory violence.
Some cut scenes from the H.K version cut from the US R-Rated version:


The Taiwanese version, which is dubbed in Mandarin, contains an additional four minutes of rare extended and gory footage that was removed in the United States and Hong Kong releases, bringing the total runtime to 112 minutes. It has some different music scores and features [[Jet Li]]'s original voice. It has aired on [[Chinese Television System]] many times.
1.After Asia the Invincible takes the guys head off the title sequence is written in Chinese instead of English.


==Production==
2.The scene where Ling Wu Chung and Kiddo burn the dead horse is cut from the U.S version.
In the Mandarin-dubbed version of the film, [[Rosamund Kwan]] and [[:zh:袁潔瑩|Fennie Yuen]] speak [[Sichuanese Mandarin|Sichuanese]] instead of [[Standard Mandarin]]. This was meant to enhance the fact that their characters are of the [[Miao people|Miao ethnic group]].


==Music==
3.Ren Ying Ying sings Heroes of Heroes.
The original soundtrack album for the film, "Ching Hsia Lin/ Swordsman 2" ([[Traditional Chinese characters|traditional Chinese]]: 東方不敗 － 林青霞 電影音樂紀實; [[Simplified Chinese characters|simplified Chinese]]: 东方不败 －林青霞 电影音乐纪实; pinyin: Dōngfāng bù bài - línqīngxiá diànyǐng yīnyuè jìshí) was released by BMG Music Taiwan in 1992. It contains 20 tracks with 3 sound recordings at the scene.{{Infobox album
| name = Ching Hsia Lin/ Swordsman II OST<br/>東方不敗－林青霞 電影音樂紀實
| type = soundtrack
| artist = Various artists
| cover =
| caption =
| border = yes
| alt = Swordsman II OST
| released = 1992
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| language = Mandarin<br>Cantonese
| label = BMG Taiwan Music Inc
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
{| class="wikitable"
!No.
!Traditional Chinese title
!Simplified Chinese title
!Pinyin
!English translation
!Remarks
|-
|1
|"東方不敗就在附近"
|"东方不败就在附近"
|Dōngfāng bù bài jiù zài fùjìn
|"Dongfang Bubai is nearby"
|Sound recording at the scene.
|-
|2
|只記今朝笑（粵語）
|只记今朝笑（粤语）
|Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào
|Only remember the smile today
|Ending theme; Cantonese version (vocals by Rosanne Lui).
|-
|3
|退隱
|退隐
|Tuìyǐn
|Retirement
|
|-
|4
|斷弦（粵語）
|断弦（粤语）
|Duànxián
|Broken string
|Cantonese version (vocals by 周小君).
|-
|5
|"原來是你"
|"原来是你"
|Yuánlái shì nǐ
|"It's you"
|Sound recording at the scene.
|-
|6
|伏擊
|伏击
|Fújí
|Ambush
|
|-
|7
|邂逅
|邂逅
|Xièhòu
|Encounter
|
|-
|8
|燒寶典
|烧宝典
|Shāo bǎodiǎn
|Burning the scroll
|
|-
|9
|濃情
|浓情
|Nóng qíng
|Passion
|
|-
|10
|天地醉（音樂版）
|天地醉（音乐版）
|Tiāndì zuì
|Drunkenness of heaven and earth
|
|-
|11
|"望青霞"
|"望青霞"
|Wàng qīng xiá
|"Looking at Brigitte"
|Sound recording at the scene.
|-
|12
|天地醉（國語）
|天地醉（国语）
|Tiāndì zuì
|Drunkenness of heaven and earth
|Mandarin version performed by [[Brigitte Lin]] (not in the film).
|-
|13
|告別
|告别
|Gàobié
|Biding farewell
|
|-
|14
|比劍
|比剑
|Bǐ jiàn
|Sword match
|
|-
|15
|只記今朝笑（國語）
|只记今朝笑（国语）
|Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào
|Only remember the smile today
|Ending theme; Mandarin version performed by Brigitte Lin.
|-
|16
|圍攻
|围攻
|Wéigōng
|Laying siege
|
|-
|17
|傾心
|倾心
|Qīngxīn
|Admiration
|
|-
|18
|曲諧
|曲谐
|Qū xié
|Harmonic tune
|
|-
|19
|斷弦（國語）
|断弦（国语）
|Duànxián
|Broken string
|Mandarin version
|-
|20
|只記今朝笑（音樂版）
|只记今朝笑（音乐版）
|Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào
|Only remember the smile today
|Music version
|}


The theme song from ''[[The Swordsman (1990 film)|The Swordsman]]'', ''Chong Hoi Yat Sing Siu'' ({{zh|first=t|t=滄海一聲笑|s=沧海一声笑|p=Cānghǎi Yī Shēng Xiào|j=Cong1-hoi2 Jat1 Sing1 Siu3|l=A Sound of Laughter in the Vast Sea}}), performed in Cantonese by [[Samuel Hui]] in the first film, was played in a few scenes in ''Swordsman II''.
4.Invincible Asia's blood spurting is totally gone from the U.S version.


==Reception==
5.A head rolls down the stairs.
=== Critical reception ===
Brigitte Lin's performance was listed as one of the "Great Performances" by Richard Corliss under TIME magazine's "All-TIME 100 Movies".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2005/02/12/all-time-100-movies/slide/brigitte-lin-swordsman-ii/|title=All-TIME 100 Movies|last=Corliss|first=Richard|newspaper=Time|issn=0040-781X|access-date=2016-08-25|archive-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226001119/http://entertainment.time.com/2005/02/12/all-time-100-movies/slide/brigitte-lin-swordsman-ii/|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 6.79/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/legend_of_the_swordsman|title=THE LEGEND OF THE SWORDSMAN (XIAO AO JIANG HU ZHI: DONG FANG BU BAI) (SWORDSMAN II)|website=rottentomatoes.com|access-date=2020-10-19|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112040120/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/legend_of_the_swordsman|url-status=live}}</ref>


=== Box office ===
Some more additional scenes from the Taiwanese version cut from the H.K versions.
The film grossed HK$34,462,861 at the Hong Kong box office and remains Jet Li's highest-grossing film in Hong Kong to date.


=== Accolades ===
1.Instead of Hattori (Waise Lee)chopping the soldiers in half at 2 minutes and 30 seconds past the film in the H.K and U.S versions.There is an alternate scene where hattori and his army are charging to the soldiers and killing them.The Director didn't keep this scene in his version he put this scene in the Taiwan version even though he originally first shot this scene instead of the chopping in half scene in the HK & US prints that he re-shot.
{| class="wikitable"

!Award
2.A scene of Invincible Asia taking a guys head off was trimmed from this version for print damage and gore.
!Date of Ceremony

!Category
3.The title sequence Swordsman 2 was shown two times.First it shows the Opening Tile in Chinese without the English title Swordsman 2 underneath it.
!Recipient(s) and Nominee(s)

!Result
4.When Ren Ying Ying sings her song in Mandarin the subtitles are all Chinese characters.
|-

| rowspan="7" |[[12th Hong Kong Film Awards]]
5.Ling cooking his scorpion he caught earlier and asking one of his brothers to try it.
| rowspan="7" |23 April 1993

|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
6.A scene when one of Lings brothers is naked in the shower which was omitted from this version for nudity.
|[[Brigitte Lin]]

|{{Nom}}
7.After when Asia kills Chimp.A short shot of Ci Ci looking whats on the floor then cuts to CiCi being scared.
|-

|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Editing|Best Film Editing]]
8.A very long and rare deleted scene is shown.Ling plays his guitar for a little while then cuts to Ren Ying Ying thinking about Ling,then cuts to Ling and remembering how he secluded.It shows a cameo from Swordsman 1 with Ling,Kiddo and their brothers.Instead of Jacky Cheung playing his role of Ling.The master gets angry then fights with the students.Ling shouts "Master"!.Ling,Kiddo and the rest of the brothers come to the masters grave and decided to retreat,a shot of Kiddo and the brothers putting their swords down and yelling "To retreat"!.,Then cuts to Ling having his eyes closed and guarding the house.This is how the Director originally intended it to be in the Taiwanese version he saw that the scene was too long so he cut it out and the scene was lost and nowhere and rarely to be found for a few years so Long Shong received this scene from the Director in a roll of 35mm film then they decided it to convert it to a Laser disc.
|[[Marco Mak]]

|{{Nom}}
9.While Asia was thinking about CiCi there are few shots of Ling resting beside CiCi during this sequence some scenes were re-arranged.
|-

|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction]]
10.Master Wu squeezing or sucking blood from Hattoris head by Wu's hand was totally gone for gore and print damage.
|James Leung, Chung Yee-fung

|{{Nom}}
11.After Ling's brothers were dead.Ling finds out they were dead,an extended shot of him of putting his brothers corpses falling in the dirt.A deleted shot of Kiddo sitting,a little shot of one of the corpses then cuts to her riding her horse.
|-

|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Costume Make Up Design|Best Costume Make Up Design]]
12.Invincible Asia's blood spurting was shown in the H.K version but one shot of Asia's blood spurting out even more
|[[William Chang]], Bruce Yu
was cut from the H.K version and is only present in the 4 minute longer Taiwanese print which is currently out of print.
|{{Won}}

|-
The Taiwanese version has some different music scores and contains Jet Li's original Mandarin voice.
|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography|Best Action Choreography]]

|[[Tony Ching]], Yuen Bun, Ma Yuk-sing, Cheung Yiu-sing
==Cast==
|{{Nom}}
* [[Jet Li]] - Ling Huchong
|-
* [[Brigitte Lin]] - Asia the Invincible (Dong Fang Bu Bai)
|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Score|Best Original Film Score]]
* [[Michelle Reis]] - Kiddo
|Richard Yuen
* [[Waise Lee]] - Hattori
|{{Nom}}
* [[Rosamund Kwan]] - Ren Ying Ying
|-
* [[Chin Kar Lok]] - Saru
|[[Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song|Best Original Film Song]]
* [[Fennie Yuen]] - Lan Feng Huang
|只記今朝笑—''Swordsman II''
* [[Yen Shi-Kwan]] - Wu
* Composer: [[James Wong (lyricist)|James Wong]]
* [[Bill Yan]] - Yi Qun
* Lyricist: James Wong

* Singer: Rosanne Lui
==Box office==
|{{Nom}}
The film's Hong Kong gross was HK $34,462,861
|}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
* {{imdb title|0103295|Swordsman II}}
* {{IMDb title|0103295}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|legend_of_the_swordsman}}


{{The Smiling, Proud Wanderer}}
{{Ching Siu-tung}}
{{Tsui Hark}}
{{Tsui Hark}}
{{CinemaofHongKong}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Swordsman II}}
[[Category:Hong Kong films]]
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:1992 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1992 action films]]
[[Category:1992 martial arts films]]
[[Category:1990s Cantonese-language films]]
[[Category:Sichuanese-language films]]
[[Category:Films based on Chinese novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Jin Yong]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ching Siu-tung]]
[[Category:Films set in the Ming dynasty]]
[[Category:Hong Kong action films]]
[[Category:Hong Kong LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Hong Kong martial arts films]]
[[Category:Hong Kong sequel films]]
[[Category:Transgender-related films]]
[[Category:Works based on The Smiling, Proud Wanderer]]
[[Category:Wuxia films]]
[[Category:Wuxia films]]
[[Category:Adaptations of works by Jin Yong]]
[[Category:1990s Hong Kong films]]

{{HK-film-stub}}


[[ja:スウォーズマン#スウォーズマン／女神伝説の章]]
[[fr:Swordsman 2]]
[[nl:Swordsman II]]
[[zh:笑傲江湖II東方不敗]]

Revision as of 12:59, 15 December 2024

This article is about the Hong Kong film. For the Canadian film sometimes subtitled The Swordsman II, see Gladiator Cop.
Swordsman II
Theatrical poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese笑傲江湖之東方不敗
Simplified Chinese笑傲江湖之东方不敗
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiào Ào Jiāng Hú Zhī Dōng Fāng Bù Bài
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingSiu3 Ngou6 Gong1 Wu4 Ji1 Dung1 Fong1 Bat1 Baai6
Directed byChing Siu-tung
Screenplay byHanson Chan
Tang Pik-yin
Tsui Hark
Based onThe Smiling, Proud Wanderer
by Louis Cha
Produced byTsui Hark
StarringJet Li
Brigitte Lin
Rosamund Kwan
Michelle Reis
CinematographyTom Lau
Edited byMarco Mak
Music byRichard Yuen
Production
companies
Distributed byGolden Princess Amusement
Release date
  • 26 June 1992 (1992-06-26)
Running time
107 minutes (HK)
99 minutes (U.S)
112 minutes (Taiwan)
CountryHong Kong
LanguagesCantonese
Japanese
Sichuanese
Mandarin-dubbed version
Box officeHK$34,462,861

Swordsman II, also known as The Legend of the Swordsman, is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia film very loosely adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. It was the second part of a trilogy: preceded by The Swordsman (1990) and followed by The East Is Red (1993). Directed by Ching Siu-tung,[1] Swordsman II starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis in the leading roles. None of the original cast from the previous film return except Fennie Yuen.

Set in the Ming dynasty, the plot follows Ling Wu-chung (Li), a swordsman from the Wah Mountain school, who travels the Chinese countryside with his female sidekick Kiddo (Reid) who secretly loves him. Caught in the war between the invading Japanese and the Sun Moon Sect, they discover that Master Asia (Lin), the evil Sun Moon leader, has located the Sacred Scroll, which has transformed him into a woman while allowing him a near invincible array of magical powers. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan and members of the Mount Hua School are planning to retire from the jianghu (martial artists' community). They learn that Dongfang Bubai has seized control of the Sun Moon Holy Cult and is secretly plotting with some Japanese rōnin to rebel against the Ming Empire and dominate China. Dongfang Bubai had castrated himself in order to master the skills in the Sunflower Manual, and his appearance has become more feminine, even though he is now a formidable martial artist.

Linghu Chong meets Dongfang Bubai by chance without knowing his true identity, mistakes him for a beautiful young woman, and falls in love with "her". Dongfang Bubai knocks out Linghu Chong while he is not looking and imprisons him in an underground dungeon. In the dungeon, by coincidence, Linghu Chong meets Ren Woxing, Ren Yingying's father and the former leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. They escape from captivity together. One night, while Linghu Chong is distracted by Dongfang Bubai's lover Shishi, Dongfang tracks down his Mount Hua School fellows and kills them.

Linghu Chong brings Yue Lingshan, Ren Yingying, Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian with him to confront Dongfang Bubai at Black Woods Cliff. In the ensuing battle, Dongfang Bubai apparently dies after refusing Linghu Chong's help and falling off the cliff. Ren Woxing regains control of the cult and starts killing the traitors who defected to Dongfang Bubai. Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan secretly escape with help from Xiang Wentian and Ren Yingying because they know that Ren Woxing cannot tolerate them.

Cast

Further information: List of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer characters
  • Jet Li as Linghu Chong (Ling Wu-chung), the most senior member in the Mount Hua School.
  • Brigitte Lin as Dongfang Bubai (Invincible Asia), the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult.
  • Michelle Reis as Yue Lingshan (Kiddo), Linghu Chong's junior.
  • Rosamund Kwan as Ren Yingying, Linghu Chong's love interest and Ren Woxing's daughter.
  • Waise Lee as Hattori Sengun, the rōnin chief and Dongfang Bubai's ally.
  • Chin Kar-lok as Sarutobi Kazuki, Hattori's henchman.
  • Lau Shun as Xiang Wentian (Zen), an elder of the Sun Moon Holy Cult who remains loyal to Ren Woxing.
  • Fennie Yuen as Lan Fenghuang (Blue Phoenix), Ren Yingying's subordinate.
  • Yen Shi-kwan as Ren Woxing (Wu), the former leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult who was overthrown and imprisoned by Dongfang Bubai.
  • Candice Yu as Shishi (Cici), Dongfang Bubai's lover.
  • Cheung Kwok-leung as Eunuch Hong

Alternative versions

The United States version has nine minutes of the original film cut and was released under the title Legend of the Swordsman. It is dubbed in English and retains the original music score.

The Hong Kong version is in Cantonese and it retains the nine minutes of extended footage and gory violence.

The Taiwanese version, which is dubbed in Mandarin, contains an additional four minutes of rare extended and gory footage that was removed in the United States and Hong Kong releases, bringing the total runtime to 112 minutes. It has some different music scores and features Jet Li's original voice. It has aired on Chinese Television System many times.

Production

In the Mandarin-dubbed version of the film, Rosamund Kwan and Fennie Yuen speak Sichuanese instead of Standard Mandarin. This was meant to enhance the fact that their characters are of the Miao ethnic group.

Music

The original soundtrack album for the film, "Ching Hsia Lin/ Swordsman 2" (traditional Chinese: 東方不敗 － 林青霞 電影音樂紀實; simplified Chinese: 东方不败 －林青霞 电影音乐纪实; pinyin: Dōngfāng bù bài - línqīngxiá diànyǐng yīnyuè jìshí) was released by BMG Music Taiwan in 1992. It contains 20 tracks with 3 sound recordings at the scene.

Ching Hsia Lin/ Swordsman II OST
東方不敗－林青霞 電影音樂紀實
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released1992
LanguageMandarin
Cantonese
LabelBMG Taiwan Music Inc
No. Traditional Chinese title Simplified Chinese title Pinyin English translation Remarks
1 "東方不敗就在附近" "东方不败就在附近" Dōngfāng bù bài jiù zài fùjìn "Dongfang Bubai is nearby" Sound recording at the scene.
2 只記今朝笑（粵語） 只记今朝笑（粤语） Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào Only remember the smile today Ending theme; Cantonese version (vocals by Rosanne Lui).
3 退隱 退隐 Tuìyǐn Retirement
4 斷弦（粵語） 断弦（粤语） Duànxián Broken string Cantonese version (vocals by 周小君).
5 "原來是你" "原来是你" Yuánlái shì nǐ "It's you" Sound recording at the scene.
6 伏擊 伏击 Fújí Ambush
7 邂逅 邂逅 Xièhòu Encounter
8 燒寶典 烧宝典 Shāo bǎodiǎn Burning the scroll
9 濃情 浓情 Nóng qíng Passion
10 天地醉（音樂版） 天地醉（音乐版） Tiāndì zuì Drunkenness of heaven and earth
11 "望青霞" "望青霞" Wàng qīng xiá "Looking at Brigitte" Sound recording at the scene.
12 天地醉（國語） 天地醉（国语） Tiāndì zuì Drunkenness of heaven and earth Mandarin version performed by Brigitte Lin (not in the film).
13 告別 告别 Gàobié Biding farewell
14 比劍 比剑 Bǐ jiàn Sword match
15 只記今朝笑（國語） 只记今朝笑（国语） Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào Only remember the smile today Ending theme; Mandarin version performed by Brigitte Lin.
16 圍攻 围攻 Wéigōng Laying siege
17 傾心 倾心 Qīngxīn Admiration
18 曲諧 曲谐 Qū xié Harmonic tune
19 斷弦（國語） 断弦（国语） Duànxián Broken string Mandarin version
20 只記今朝笑（音樂版） 只记今朝笑（音乐版） Zhǐ jì jīnzhāo xiào Only remember the smile today Music version

The theme song from The Swordsman, Chong Hoi Yat Sing Siu (traditional Chinese: 滄海一聲笑; simplified Chinese: 沧海一声笑; pinyin: Cānghǎi Yī Shēng Xiào; Jyutping: Cong1-hoi2 Jat1 Sing1 Siu3; lit. 'A Sound of Laughter in the Vast Sea'), performed in Cantonese by Samuel Hui in the first film, was played in a few scenes in Swordsman II.

Reception

Critical reception

Brigitte Lin's performance was listed as one of the "Great Performances" by Richard Corliss under TIME magazine's "All-TIME 100 Movies".[2] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 6.79/10.[3]

Box office

The film grossed HK$34,462,861 at the Hong Kong box office and remains Jet Li's highest-grossing film in Hong Kong to date.

Accolades

Award Date of Ceremony Category Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) Result
12th Hong Kong Film Awards 23 April 1993 Best Actress Brigitte Lin Nominated
Best Film Editing Marco Mak Nominated
Best Art Direction James Leung, Chung Yee-fung Nominated
Best Costume Make Up Design William Chang, Bruce Yu Won
Best Action Choreography Tony Ching, Yuen Bun, Ma Yuk-sing, Cheung Yiu-sing Nominated
Best Original Film Score Richard Yuen Nominated
Best Original Film Song 只記今朝笑—Swordsman II
  • Composer: James Wong
  • Lyricist: James Wong
  • Singer: Rosanne Lui
 Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Swordsman 2 (1992)". Hong Kong Cinemagic. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ Corliss, Richard. "All-TIME 100 Movies". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. ^ "THE LEGEND OF THE SWORDSMAN (XIAO AO JIANG HU ZHI: DONG FANG BU BAI) (SWORDSMAN II)". rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
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