Angela Mao had a good career in martial arts movies with her best output being with Golden Harvest. Broken Oath is one of her best and sadly the last she did for the studio.
Buddhist nuns raise orphaned baby Lotus (Mao) before she is exiled for her violent tendencies – always skipping classes to improve her martial arts skills. Finding herself alone in the world, she quickly comes to discover the truth of her past: that her father was once a respected member of the Imperial Court who was murdered in cold blood, and that her mother gave birth to her in a jail cell after being unjustly imprisoned. With revenge on her mind and a newfound accomplice in tow (Bruce Leung), she sets out to track down the men responsible for tearing her family apart.
A sort of remake of the Japanese classic Lady Snowblood this is a much faster-paced film with Angela Mao showing her sexy/feminine side as well as a deadly fighting one. It has a slow-paced start but gets into gear pretty quickly once Angela is on screen.
Typical of the films of this era Broken Oath stands out for the great performance of the star Angela Mao as well as the great supporting cast which includes Bruce Leung, Chan Wai Man and Sammo Hung.
Angela had great on-screen charisma and excellent fighting skills, and you can see why Bruce Lee chose her to play his sister in the earlier Enter the Dragon. She shows great kicking ability and use of weapons such as the staff and has a wicked way with scorpions!
Praise must also go to the Korean director Cheng Chang Ho who is very underrated, he also directed the first film to go big in the West, King Boxer (5 Fingers of Death).
The choreography from Yuen Woo Ping and Hsu Hsia is complex and very satisfying to watch, Bruce Leung gets to show his great kicking ability and look out for Sammo Hung as a villain at the climax.
This new Blu-ray ray is from Eureka and is from a new 2K remaster. It looks great, with a solid image, and clean colours and has never looked better. You get an Audio option in Mandarin language with English subtitles and an English dubbed track. (Also you have a choice to watch the slightly longer cut of the film).
Extras include – Brand new audio commentary by Frank Djeng, a brand new audio commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. Patrick Macias on Lady Snowblood – new appreciation by film writer Patrick Macias | Trailer | PLUS: A Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kung Fu Cult Masters author Leon Hunt.
They did try and get an interview with Bruce Leung but that sadly did not make this release.
Released in the UK and the USA this is a must-buy for fans of classic kung fu cinema.
FILM – 9 PICTURE – 9 AUDIO – 8 EXTRAS – 6