A Touch of Zen
Hu King / TW, 1970 / 180 min.
King Hu is a master of the martial arts cinema. A Touch of Zen is a majestic blend of ghost story and political thriller, featuring numerous classic wuxia fighting scenes.
In A Touch of Zen a woman fleeing from the secret police is aided by a Buddhist priest. The long shots of elegant fights and the sumptuous nature shots prepare the viewer for a memorable and metaphysical apotheosis that raised the film to the status of an absolute martial arts classic. The most legendary scene is that of a sword duel in a bamboo forest, which inspired Ang Lee to produce a similar scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Hu's stunning visual feat was made for the mainstream market, but rejects the strident commercialism of Hong Kong's film industry. The extraordinary editing and photography turned A Touch of Zen into a milestone of the martial arts genre. It was the first title in the wuxia genre to receive international recognition. Filmmakers like Ann Hui, John Woo and Tsui Hark are great admirers of Hu's work and would later expand the stylistic innovations introduced by Hu. A Touch of Zen won the Technical Grand Prize Award at the Film Festival of Cannes in 1975.A Touch of Zen was restored in 4K by the Taiwan Film Institute and L’Immagine Ritrovata from the 35 mm original camera negative.
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Director
Hu King
Production year
1970
Country
TW
Original title
Xia nü
Length
180 min.
Language
Mandarin Chinese
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP - encrypted
Part of
Eye Classics
Eye’s collection includes a wealth of classics. With the Eye Classics series, Eye brings film history even closer. Every week, we screen at least three classics from the collection under one recognisable name: Eye Classics.
Share your love for film and become a member of the Eye Society.