Shui yue shi san dao (1982) Online

I saw this Taiwanese wuxia movie under the title EVERLASTING DUEL. It's a fast-paced little effort that feels just about adequate for the genre, although it's worth commenting that it's not one of those films to go out of your way to get hold of. It's resolutely ordinary, with a big mismatch between the aspirations of the director and the actual budget, which renders the whole thing a bit disappointing.

As with many films in the wuxia genre, there's a big tapestry of character to get to know, and plenty of action to keep things moving along. The main character is an expert swordsman called Snowy White who receives a challenge from an old one-armed opponent he beat years before. The plot becomes more complex as the two characters realise that somebody is setting them up and female fighters are added to the mix.

The action is rather unspectacular and the film is saddled with the usual poor dub job, with one of the female British accents really grating. There are some bizarre elements in the story including dwarfs, vampires, and a random tattooed Japanese Yakuza woman, but none of it really blends together very well. Bog standard is what this film is.

aka An Everlasting Duel aka Liquid Sword II aka Lone Ninja Warrior.

The movie starts out with Snowy White (Tien Peng) and his partner Jade Stone (Chan Sing) receiving a message via messenger pigeon requesting a challenge from Eagle (Tin Hok). Snowy suggests the he and Jade exchange clothes to hide their true identity. Then we jump to the forest where Eagle and his sister Little Wren (Ha Ling-Ling) are hunting and receive a message via carrier pigeon with a challenge from Snowy. They arrive at the meeting place but both are smart enough to realize that someone else has sent these messages as a setup. We learn that 7 years earlier, Eagle and Snowy had a duel and Eagle lost an arm. Overall, Eagle and Snowy are friends but also enemies. How will this end? Will they fight each other or join forces?

The main plot behind the story is that Snowy White has the magic sword of the 13 moons and the one who defeats him can take over the sword, so everybody is after him. The movie is all over the place and will often keep you confused in a guessing game. In addition there are vampires, ridiculous woman disguises, false teeth anyone would be ashamed of and fighting midgets. At times, It simply makes little sense.

The fight scenes are solid, but nothing more, beautiful scenery to look at, but usually quite short staged fights and most things happen quickly. You will notice where the cuts are. Some will love the cheese and others will hate it. I've seen better, and I've seen worse.

I guess I'm biased since I grew up with the Kung Fu movies on TV every Saturday. I This movie takes itself too seriously to be in "so bad it's good" territory, but the action sequences and scenery are actually pretty decent. The actors aren't bad either, but the story, well ... your experience will depend on which version you watch.

This film has also been cut as "An Everlasting Duel" and "Blade of Doom". This review addresses the "Blade of Doom" release.

The movie follows a roving swordsman named Snowy White. Snowy is the best swordsman in the land, and carries the Lunar 13 sword, which brings with it the reputation of being the best warrior - and a host of duels and other challengers. It turns out that life has become quite complicated for Snowy in recent times; a lot of people seem to want him dead for reasons other than the Lunar 13 sword.

**** SPOILERS AHEAD ****

While the dubbing is generally OK, the problem (at least with the "Blade of Doom" release) is that the lines introduce a few minor plot inconsistencies. For example, Eagle's sister is kidnapped, but later he says it's his "friend". Also, in a conversation with Master Lim and Al Young Flowerless, Snowy refers to Flowerless as "Master Lim". Also, it's known that Snowy White has the Lunar 13 sword and the matching technique, but the Weirdos gang believes that he received the the Book of Heart and Mind from "Monk Purified"; the Monk only gave Snowy a bag of rice as (maybe) a clue to the book's whereabouts.

The biggest problem with this movie is that the plot spans in too many directions. Everybody wants Snowy White dead for various reasons, and there's also an indirectly related murder mystery going on at the same time. It almost feels like the cast filmed two movies that were spliced into one.

Despite those things, you can probably put the rest of the plot together, so the movie is watchable. A remake with today's technology and a simplified plot would make a good direct-to-video release.

Here's a rundown of the principles in the film: Flint Stone - Snowy's companion for the entire movie, he actually wants to duel Snowy to the death, and protects him from others so that he can eventually defeat Snowy himself.

Eagle - he lost his arm to Snowy and wants a rematch.

Wild Wolf, Sunshine, Moonshine, Starshine - Wild Wolf and the sisters of Sun Valley want Snowy dead because their father committed suicide after losing a duel to Snowy. Oddly enough, it seems the father insisted that a reluctant Snowy duel him, and now the kids want revenge because their dad couldn't handle losing a fight that he started. Wild Wolf appeared at the first meeting between Snowy and Eagle, and it's implied that he sent the fake invites to them.

The Weirdos Gang - a hit was put out on Snowy White to reclaim the Book of Heart and Mind, a tome sacred to the gang.

Al Young Flowerless - also known as the Scorpion, he kidnapped Eagle's sister, Little Wren, to force him to duel Snowy White. It looks like he's the head of the Weirdos Gang, though the plot implies that someone behind them (i.e. him) is running things. He and his top lackeys are martial arts experts who can teleport.

Master Lim - his daughter Wendy's fiance is killed after dueling with Snowy, though apparently someone from Weirdos gang is implied to have tripped him during the duel, leading to a fatal fall. Lim wants Snowy to marry Wendy, fearfult that no other man will marry her after the controversial events with the Weirdos and her fiance's murder. It's later exposed that some of the murders around town were actually committed by Lim.

Snowy the Vampire - Master Lim's eldest daughter, she's the reason for all - and the culprit of some - of the murders in town. She has a vampiric condition that worsened to the point that she must drink blood every few days. Master Lim begin secretly killing travelers at night to get blood for her to drink. Lim declares that Snowy White's presence has exposed her secret, and decides that he must kill her and himself to hide her secret. She accidentally kills him while resisting his attempt to strangle her, and then decides that it's all Snowy White's fault and vows to kill him in revenge. The end of her fight with Snowy White is ... different.

The Hunchback - not so much an enemy, he's working for Eagle's ex-girlfriend, who wants him back. She's part of the plot by Wild Wolf, and he helps her. He's also part of the big fight at end against the Weirdos Gang.

**** ENDING BELOW ****

In the end, Wild Wolf (blinded during the attack on the Weirdos) returns with Little Wren to find out who won the duel. Eagle "wins" his rematch with Snow White, after which Snowy leaves Eagle his sword and departs with Sunshine (the lead Sun Valley sister), not Wendy.

Snowy determined that Eagle - now the fastest sword in the land and the only one who saw the Lunar 13 technique - is the perfect person to take his place. Immediately, Eagle is accosted by a trio of thugs who want to claim the sword and its fame.