AKA: Da ci ke, Daai chi haak, 大刺客
This costume drama with wuxia elements from writer/director Chang Cheh is set during China’s Warring States period and centers on a commoner (Jimmy Wang Yu) trained in sword fighting who abandons a quiet life with his lover to attain notoriety by assassinating the prime minister of the Han state.
The film is based directly on the “Biographies of the Assassins,” a chapter in Sima Qian’s “Records of the Grand Historian.” This ancient text dates back to roughly 100 BC and among many topics, gives an account of the lives of six unrelated assassins and their attempts to each kill a head of state at different periods in history. The same text also provides the basis for Zhang Yimou’s 2002 wuxia film HERO, starring Jet Li as a different assassin.
Chang Cheh’s 1967 film adaptation stars his favored leading man of the day, Jimmy Wang Yu, as Nie Zheng, a commoner with uncommon skill in sword fighting and dreams of doing something great one day. After his sword master is accused of treason by a former student, Nie Zheng is forced to flee his home state of Wei with his sister and mother while leaving behind his lover Xia-ying (Chiao Chiao). Nie Zheng settles in the neighboring state of Qi where he becomes a butcher to support his family. One day Yan Zhong-zi (Tien Feng), a wealthy court official in exile from the Han state, approaches Nie Zheng after learning of his great character and fighting skill. He offers Nie Zheng an oath of brotherhood and a large sum of money. Nie Zheng eagerly swears an oath but fearing the life debt he would undoubtedly owe while still providing for his family, refuses the money.
Three years later, Nie Zheng’s mother passes away and his sister marries, leaving him free to perform whatever great deed Yan Zhong-zi should wish of him. Yan requests that Nie Zheng train assassins to kill Han Kui (Huang Chung-hsin), the Han state’s prime minister. Instead, Nie Zheng volunteers to perform the job alone. Before setting out on his mission, he returns to his lover to enjoy several days of bliss.
Posing as an emissary from the powerful Qin state, Nie Zheng infiltrates the Han court and strikes out at the prime minister. The initial attempt fails, resulting in a protracted battle as Nie Zheng fights his way through dozens of court guards in a desperate bid to reach his target.
THE ASSASSIN is the first of many films from Chang Cheh to set emerging, stylized martial arts heroics against the backdrop of large scale historical events. The film moves at a slower pace than most of Chang’s other, more action-oriented martial arts films while saving most of the action for the third act. Yet it still showcases the vibrant production capability of Shaw Brothers studio and the increasingly sophisticated choreography of action directors Tang Chia and Lau Kar-leung.
Genre: Wuxia, Drama
Companies: Shaw Brothers
Release Date: December 22, 1967
Producer: Run Run Shaw
Director: Chang Cheh
Action Director: Tang Chia, Lau Kar-leung
Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu (Nie Zheng), Chiao Chiao (Xia-ying), Li Hsiang-chun, Chiao Hsin-yen, Huang Chung-hsin (Prime Minister Han Kui), Tien Feng (Yan Zhong-zi), Chang Pei-shan (Xu Shi), Cheng Lei (Du Po)
