The One-Armed Swordsman is a 1967 Hong Kong martial arts movie starring Jimmy Wang Yu as titular One-Armed Warrior. While produced by the Shaw Brothers, the movie is Darker and Edgier than the Shaw Brothers's prior wuxia works as its lead is a male hothead Anti-Hero who gets into violent sword fights against his enemies.
The success of this movie led to a 1969 sequel Return of the One-Armed Swordsman where Fang Kang once again needs to take on a villainous kung-fu organization. In 1971, Fang Kang will make his final appearance in the crossover movie Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman where Kang takes on the blind Japanese swordsman Zatoichi. The third movie The New One-Armed Swordsman, also released in 1971 alongside Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman, is completely unrelated to the previous installments, this time focusing on former mercenary and current waiter Lei Li (David Chiang).
The Shaw Brothers would quit creating One-Armed Swordsman movies after The New One-Armed Swordsman, but multiple spiritual successors would soon pop up, starring the same lead actors as the one-armed warriors; for example, Jimmy Wang Yu took on the role once more in One Armed Swordsman Against Nine Killers. In another notable case, One-Armed Swordsmen (plural) was released nearly a decade after the original film. Reuniting the two original actors of the eponymous swordsmen, this movie stars Jimmy Wang Yu as Fong Ping and David Chiang as Li Hao, two swordsmen, each with one arm, stumbling into each other while on their respective quests for vengeance.
See also One Armed Swordswoman, a Taiwanese adaptation with a Distaff Counterpart.
The first movie provides examples of:
- Big Bad: Long-Armed Devil, who wants to wipe out the entire Golden Sword school to avenge his defeat against Qi decades ago.
- The Dragon: "Smiling Tiger" Cheng Tianshou
- Big Good: Qi Rufeng, master of the Golden Sword School
- But Now I Must Go: After defeating all the villains, Fang Kang retires from martial arts to be a farmer with Xiaoman.
- Crippling Overspecialization: The sword-lock that the Big Bad and his students use. Since it was made specifically to disable Qi Rufeng's Golden Sword, it is useless against any other weapon. Only Fang Kang exploits this with his broken sword. Upon realizing this, the Big Bad drops his sword-lock and switches to his other weapons.
- Dual Wielding: To counter the Golden Sword style, the Big Bad's style utilizes his specialized sword-lock in the off-hand to trap the opponent's Golden Sword, then a dagger with the other hand to finish them off.
- Easily Forgiven: Fang Kang makes a promise to Xiaoman that he wouldn't get involved any further in the martial arts world, but breaks it by going to the final battle. After he returns, she welcomes him back without further issue.
- Evil Laugh: Long-armed Devil and Smiling Tiger are fond of this especially while scheming together. This leads to the Big Bad's undoing. After one of his javelins hits Fang Kang, he gloats and laughs when he has the upper hand, allowing Fang Kang time to recover and catch him off-guard, ending him once and for all.
- Exact Words: In preparation for the final battle, Long-Armed Devil forbids Smiling Tiger's sons from taking the sword-lock outside of their headquarters to prevent anyone else from knowing about it. So instead, they lure several Golden Sword disciples inside and use the sword-lock to kill them.
- Faux Affably Evil: Smiling Tiger is always polite and smiling, putting on the charm when inviting Qi's daughter into his house before abducting her. He finally drops the act when confronting Fang Kang in revenge for his sons.
- The Faceless: The Big Bad's face is only shown in final battle.
- Hate Sink: Pei-er, the Spoiled Brat daughter of Qi who causes Fang Kang much pain and suffering, up to and including the loss of his arm. Everything she does makes her the least sympathetic character in the movie, and unlike her two fellow students who end up falling victim to the Big Bad's mooks, she doesn't get any comeuppance for her actions.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: Xiaoman nurses Fang Kang back to health after he loses his arm. They later fall in love.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Fang Kang's former school bullies eventually regret how they treated him. Then get killed 2 scenes later.
- Held Gaze: Multiple times between Fang Kang and Xiaoman.
- I Owe You My Life: In the intro, Qi Rufeng is poisoned by bandits but his servant gives his life to protect his weakened master. In gratitude, Qi takes the servant's son, Fang Kang, as one of his students.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Smiling Tiger's sons attempt to have their way with Pei-er before Fang Kang interrupts and rescues her.
- Jerkass:
- Several students at Fang Kang's school belittle him because his father was a servant.
- Smiling Tiger's sons, who harass girls and bully Fang Kang after he loses his arm.
- Kung-Shui: The fight at the restaurant between Fang Kang and Smiling Tiger's Hired Guns ends with the whole place wrecked.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Fang Kang disarms Smiling Tiger's sons when rescuing Qi's daughter from their clutches. Lampshaded:Fang Kang: "You bullied me because I'm maimed. Now you know what it's like!"
- Leave No Witnesses: To prevent Qi Rufeng from knowing about the sword-lock, the Big Bad and his disciples usually ambush Golden Sword students in remote areas and make sure they don't escape alive.
- Mook Chivalry:
- Averted by the villains who ambush wandering Golden Sword students when they are alone.
- Played depressingly straight in the final battle. The Golden Sword students fight one-on-one duels with the Big Bad and his 2 disciples instead of swarming them with superior numbers. This gets most of them killed before Fang Kang arrives.
- Multi-Ranged Master: Long-Armed Devil uses javelins and a whip alongside his sword-lock.
- No Place for Me There: When the story begins, Fang Kang decides to leave the school to avoid causing trouble for his master due to his poor background. Unfortunately, his snobbish fellow students (and Qi's daughter, Pei-er) use this opportunity to 'teach him a lesson'.
- The Obstructive Love Interest: Xiaoman does not approve of Fang Kang practicing martial arts because her father died protecting a kung fu manual. Out of pity, she reluctantly gives it to Fang Kang.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Fang Kang wears a mask to disguise himself while saving Pei-er from Smiling Tiger's sons. They all recognize him anyway; the missing arm doesn't help.
- Pyrrhic Victory: The bad guys are defeated, but the Golden Sword School is effectively lost, with most of its disciples dead and Fang Kang retiring, leaving no one succeed the school. Qi Rufeng breaks his own sword as a symbol of this.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: The masters on both sides put up a much better fight than their students do.
- Retirony: Qi Rufeng planned to retire from martial arts after his 55th birthday. By the end, he doesn't die, but he has no one to succeed him.
- Revenge: Long-armed Devil seeks vengeance on Qi Rufeng for defeating him decades ago, and plans to eliminate the entire school to prevent any retribution in turn. Later, Smiling Tiger wants revenge on Fang Kang after his sons lose their arms. In contrast, Xiaoman lives peacefully and doesn't try to avenge her father, knowing she'd only be killed.
- Smug Smiler: Every villainous character. The Golden Sword students who mistreated Fang Kang fit this too (though they eventually grow out of it).
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Qi's 55th birthday celebration has a feast set out, but the entire school sits in silence without touching it, awaiting the arrival of the Big Bad.
- Too Clever by Half: A pair of Golden Sword disciples figure out the method behind Big Bad's sword-lock, despite his attempts to keep it secret. They are killed only a short while later, but one of them is able to pass the news to Fang Kang before dying.
- Took a Level in Badass: Fang Kang, after losing his arm, learns a new style of one-armed fighting from a manual given to him by Xiaoman
- Tragic Keepsake: Fang Kang keeps his father's broken sword. Also Xiaoman and her father's kung fu manual.
- Woman Scorned: Qi's daughter chops off Fang Kang's arm after being rejected one too many times. Though she regrets it immediately afterwards.
- Weapon Specialization: Qi Rufeng and his disciples use a distinctive, specially designed sword. Deconstructed since the Big Bad creates a specific tool to counter it. Later, the Big Bad's tool suffers from Crippling Overspecialization since it doesn't work against Kang's broken dao sword.
- Wrecked Weapon: Fang Cheng's sword breaks when he is protecting his master. After losing his arm, the broken sword becomes Fang Kang's main weapon.
