Hao xia

When Kong's Lau's marriage is interrupted by Hoi Sang Lee for revenge -- Kong's father had stolen the villa from him -- Kong befriends Pai Wei, a notable fighter with no friends, who offers to go kill Kong's enemy. Damian Lau, a hard-drinking wanderer joins him on his quest.

It's all of John Woo's operatic and balletic techniques, and a story about professional honor among hitmen, applied to Wuxia, except for the bit where the hero rolls over firing two handguns simultaneously. I got the impression that Woo didn't really believe in what he was doing; he had been directing for about five years at this time, and had recently switched from the Shaw Brothers to Raymond Chow as his producer. Although there's lots of humor in the movie, including a "Sleeping Wizard" who fights in his sleep, this one, while worth looking at -- what John Woo movie isn't? -- is one of those movies that tries to move its genre tropes outside of its usual settings, and winds up awkward for that.

I am a kung fu fan, but not a Woo fan. I have no interest in gangster movies filled with over-the-top gun-play. Now, martial arts; *that's* beautiful! And John Woo surprised me here by producing a highly entertaining kung fu movie, which almost has *too much* fighting, if such a thing is possible! This is good stuff.

Many of the fight scenes are very good (and some of them are less good), and the main characters are amusing and likable. The bad guys are a bit too unbelievably evil, but entertaining none the less. You gotta see the Sleeping Wizard!! He can only fight when he's asleep - it's hysterical!

Upon repeated viewings, however, Last Hurrah For Chivalry can tend to get a little boring and long-winded, also especially because many of the fight scenes are actually not that good. Hence, I rate it "only" a 7 out of 10. But it really is almost an "8".

All in all one of the better kung fu movies, made smack-dab in the heart of kung fu cinema's prime. All the really good kung fu movies are from the mid- to late 1970ies, with some notable exceptions from the late '60ies and early '70ies (and early '80ies, to be fair).

Scott is right. The best 2 person sword duel ever put on film is in the middle of this movie. The sword fights with multiple fighters are not the best although quite good. However, the fight in the middle is the best even compared to Japanese samurai movies. Chinese swordplay scenes in my opinion have never surpassed the Japanese in terms of entertainment value. Especially in scenes where one guy must battle a group of enemies, Japanese movies excel, example being the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Even though duels in Japanese cinema last only seconds or a minute at the most, the sheer intensity of those moments made them better. But, this is one example where Chinese swordplay surpasses the Japanese. The scene in the middle of this film was a five minute long fight with the most amazing choreography ever. The other fights in this movie are good too but even if they sucked this movie would get a 7 for that one scene. If you haven't seen it, you have to. John Woo is the man.

The pros of this film are the astonishing fighting scenes - absolutely incredible sword-moves and martial art show off. A true John Woo masterpiece. The story tends to be a bit week though, but it never overshadows the overwhelming display of acrobatic martial art action. If you are into martial art movies, you are going to LOVE this one!

This is one amazing piece of work! I mean really; when you see a movie in the TV guide about a movie made in 1978 and it is an Asian film, you don't really have high expectations! But I decided to watch it after miserably missing "The Killer" on Showcase (I was going to record it)! But I began watching it and the host of The Showcase Revue said that it was "John Woo with swords and knives", so I gave it a shot. It was excellent! It was in subtitles though. Even so, I enjoyed this movie immensely! It is equally as good as Hard Boiled and The Killer (if not, better)! This is full of Woo's trademark styles. Amazing choreography, action - packed battle sequences, blood, action, and violence. It is set in the samurai era. Just give it a chance - you won't be disappointed!