Film Details

Arguably the greatest martial arts movie ever made, King Hu’s wuxia epic is set in medieval China, where an artist and scholar, and the feisty young woman he loves, battle a band of assassins—first in a haunted castle, later in a bamboo forest, where they are joined by some high-flying Buddhist monks. Political, supernatural, and spiritual, this movie is “a magical metaphysical tour that begins with the understated elegance of a haiku, unfolds into a tension-packed action film, and climaxes with a sense of wonder to rival Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (Chicago Sun-Times). “Jaw-dropping…A superlative series of choreographed action set pieces in fantastic widescreen landscapes.” –J. Hoberman. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 180 min.