I watched A Touch of Zen (1971) last night. https://boxd.it/SFm 🥰

Oh, mad 💞 for the lordly women of this film, who fling knives and soup, arrange marriages and ambushes; for the loyal retainers who dramatize royally; for the humble bookworm whose learnings actualize gruesomely; and, of course, for the goon-flicking buddhists who stand taller than all the rest.

Originally, two films, here stitched together, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was three or more: it includes its own prequel, sequel and prologue within it. Lovely, lovely photography, with some delightful nature intercutting during later fight scenes that would be difficult or impossible to articulate with today’s hyper-realistic #cinema language.