Also known as Kung Fu Warlord, this is the first of three Shaw Brothers movies based on Louis Cha’s novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. There are also two sort of sequels, The Brave Archer and His Mate and Little Dragon Maiden.

The children of rebels, Guo Jing and Yang Kang are rescued after the deaths of their parents and trained separately in kung fu in an experiment to see who is the best master. Guo learns from the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan while Yang Kang becomes the son of a prince, so this becomes a prince and the pauper situation.

Guo Jing’s adventures include meeting a beggar who ends up being Huang Rong, daughter of Huang Yaoshi, master of Peach Blossom Island. They travel together, as Guo Jing is taught new styles such as the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. To prove himself, Guo Jing must learn several martial arts manuals and increase his abilities.

Directed by Chang Cheh, this film quickly forgets the opening of the two infants and the challenge as to which will be the better martial artist. However, this is a longer adaption between all of the movies, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. There are a ton of things happening here, but if you love wuxia movies, this is a great choice. Some reviewers think that there’s too much that happens, but I was interested by everything that happens in this.