One of director Chu Yuan's crowning achievements, The Sentimental Swordsman epitomizes the lone, virtuous, heroic swordsman with a twist. The film uses melodrama as a vehicle for swordplay and Chu bamboozled audiences by infusing the Oedipus complex. Swordsman Li Hsin-Huan, magnificently played by the highly respected and popular Ti Lung, is also a hero with a weakness: he drinks too much and believes in love and emotion. Shaw Brothers’ fiery yet worldly femme Ching Li plays Li's girlfriend given in the name of tricked honor. It's finally payback time. Yet it's Li's oneness with nature that wins the day. Chu's swordsman films created romantic worlds lavishly infused with flamboyant atmospheric settings as evident by the film receiving the Special Award for Best Cinematography at the 1978 Golden Horse Awards.
