The Lady Hermit Blu Ray Review (Imprint Asia)

The Lady Hermit (aKa Zhong Kui Niang Zi) is a 1971 martial artist film directed by Meng-Hua Ho (Black Magic franchise, Killer Darts, Lady of Steel, The Kiss of Death, The Oily Maniac, The Vengeful Beauty, and Swift Sword). It was written by I. Fang Yeh (San Xiao,The Black Tavern, The Skyhawk, Village of Tigers, The Thunder Kick, and The Jade Raksha). It was produced by Runme Shaw (Vengeance!, Big Brother Cheng, Human Lanterns, Bewitched, Haunted Tales, Hex, The Ghost Story, The Devil’s Mirror, and Have Sword, Will Travel) for the Shaw Brothers. The young swordswoman Chui-ping (played by: Shih-szu from The Criminals, The Revenge Ghost of the Tree, The Shadow Boxer, The Avenging Eagle, Shaolin Temple, and The Black Tavern) idolises the great and mysterious Lady Hermit (played by: Pei-Pei Cheng from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Mulan, The Golden Sword, Flying Dagger, Brothers Five, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) but no one knows what happened to her. She’s a master of kung fu and Chui-ping enlists her help and tutelage to defeat the evil Black Demon (played by: Hsieh Wang from A Better Tomorrow, Iron Angels, Wu Tang Swordsman, Black Falcon, Valley of the Fangs, Brothers Five, A Taste of Cold Steel, and Infra-Man) plus all of his goons. Fellow swordsman Chang-cun (played by: Lo Lieh from Supercop, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Untold Story III, In the Line of Duty 5, Tiger Cage II, The 14 Amazons, Black Magic franchise, and Human Lanterns) decides to joins them, it starts complicating their brutal fight for victory after facing death!!!! The Lady Hermit kinda plays out like a superhero film but with martial arts. Her real identity is unknown and she’s been in the shadows trying to heel but she’s forced to come out of hiding to save someone. She decides to train and mentor a young woman. You know something is about to be very entertaining when that Shaw Brothers logo pops up before it. The script is really good and it has all kinds of different elements to it. There’s drama, comedy, action, suspense, and plenty of violence. Shih-szu is fantastic as the ambitious Chui-ping. She wants to learn more about her craft and she’s already deadly when it comes to fighting. Pei-Pei Cheng is great as the mysterious Lady Hermit. She’s been blending in the community while she recovers from her last battle. Her secret alias is threatened when a young student goes looking for her to become her student. She doesn’t really want to teach or mentor at first but they are both after the same person. Lo Lieh as Chang-cun has a solid relationship with Lady Hermit under her normal disguise and he doesn’t realize who she really is. He wants to learn more from the highly acclaimed warrior just like Chui-ping. All 3 of them have excellent chemistry together. Hsieh Wang steals the show as Black Demon. This nasty villain will do whatever it takes to keep his power. He has an army that follows his every command. He’s responsible for killing so many unlucky people over the years. The supporting cast includes Mien Fang (Five Fingers of Death), Hsiung Chao (One-Armed Swordsman), Yuan Chuan (Vengeance!), Tien-Hsi Tang (Ghost Nursing), Hsiao-Chung Li (The Long Chase), Ling Han (The Snake People), Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (IP Man), Chien Szu-Ying (Bewitched), and Han Lo (The 14 Amazons). This 70’s production is loaded with action, fights, and graphic violence. The fight and stunt choreography is top notch. The various battles are the best moments in The Lady Hermit. This one deserves more attention and appreciation, I feel like it’s kinda flew under the radar for the sub-genre. It’s cool to see it get various home video releases lately. It’s so much fun and there’s never a dull situation in it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Imprint Asia! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is from a newer 2K restoration from the original camera negative courtesy of the Hong Kong Film Archive. It’s a very impressive improvement over the previous low quality DVD version that I watched in the past. It’s basically same version as the Arrow Video one from Shawscope Volume 3 home video release. Everything from the cinematography, production design, and locations are much sharper now. It has a few different audio options which includes Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono and English: LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks on the disc. The Lady Hermit sounds way better than expected for an obscure 70’s martial arts movie especially during the fight scenes. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the action is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with film historian Samm Deighan. She brings up how it starts out like a horror movie. She goes over some other Shaw Brothers catalog while revisiting this one. She brings up the sub-genre and where The Lady Hermit fits in it. She talks about the time it was made, the cast, characters, director, the production, and it’s story. It has the brand new exclusive almost 16 minute “The Greatest Swordsman: Ho Meng Hua vs. King Hu”. It’s an interview with film scholar Dr. Wayne Wong. He breaks down the martial arts film. He goes over the director and the cast for The Lady Hermit. He shares his thoughts and he provides all kinds of information about the production. If you want to learn more about this 70’s action revenge movie then this appreciation video will feed your knowledge for it. It has the “Trailer” for The Lady Hermit. It comes with a high quality slipcase with different artwork underneath. It’s available everywhere in Australia right now including select spots in the states, CHECK IT OUT!!!!