Flying Fighters of Taiwan

A film season of sword-wielding warriors and epic wuxia action

Following the success of King Hu’s Union Film Company production Dragon Inn (1967), Taiwan cinema produced a series of wuxia films – period pieces with plenty of swordplay. Many displayed acrobatic performance skills in fantastical historical settings, wowing audiences with their sheer energy.

As part of HOME’s Taiwan film series across 2022, this short season of wuxia films brings together some of the most notable titles of the era, reclaiming them from the fuzzy images of home video and putting them back on the big screen where they belong, including a brand-new restoration of Joseph Kuo’s Swordsman of all Swordsmen (1968) courtesy of the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.

Some of the titles also go on tour to venues across the UK in 2022:

Watershed in Bristol screens Swordsman of all Swordsmen on Sat 23 Jul and A Touch of Zen on Sat 17 Sep.

Showroom Workstation in Sheffield screens Swordsman of all Swordsmen on Sun 25 Sep and The Ghost Hill on Fri 30 Sep.

DCA in Dundee screens A Touch of Zen on Sun 2 Oct, Swordsman of all Swordsmen on Sun 9 Oct and The Ghost Hill on Sun 16 Oct.

This season is programmed by Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator: Film.

With thanks to the Taipei Representative Office in the UK, the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.) and the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.