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Starring
:
Chiang
Ming
Bak
Yue
Ma
Kei
Hon
Kong
Sun
Yueh
Tai
Leung
Director
:
Chen
Kan Chuan
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SWORDSMAN
WITH AN UMBRELLA (1981)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
After
seeing his parents mercilessly slaughtered, a young child only
just manages to evade the killers, but is therefore alone in
life. Thankfully he is rescued by a peculiar old man known as
Iron Man who then teaches him how to protect himself.
Following the lengthy training and his own development from
child to adult, the student is now Iron Umbrella - a swordsman
who fights with a steel-tipped umbrella. When his master kills
himself Iron Umbrella is assigned the task of hunting down
those responsible for the death of his parents and master.
Along the way he manages to provoke the wrath of a local clan
who decide to frame him for a series of murders. A mysterious,
yet friendly woman comes to his aid more than once during his
travels and begs him to forget his ruthless quest. However,
with the enemy closing in on him and vengeance still his main
goal, Iron Umbrella must end the chain of events that he has
started.
Included
among the bargain buy 10 film pack 'Fists Of Fire, Swords Of
Death', 'Swordsman With An Umbrella' is a production that
would cause sleepless nights for anyone foolish enough to have
bought it on its own. From its tired opening frames to the
inept finale, this is the kind of film that creates the
familiar misconceptions about the genre. The plot is riddled
with holes and over-wrought characterisation while the
'action' mainly consists of lifeless actors leaping over each
other. Although not the film-makers fault, the atrocious
dubbing deserves a special mention for its sheer stupidity;
littered with inappropriate cackles and ridiculous dialogue,
the dubbing drives the final nails into the coffin. There are
no redeeming features to this amateurish kung fu melodrama.
One of the subtitles (yes, it's dubbed and subtitled)
proclaims that one character 'suicided himself'. After viewing
'Swordsman With An Umbrella' you may be tempted to mimic his
actions.
Rating:
 
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