Ask any martial arts movie aficionado for his or her list of all-time action greats, and there’s a good chance that Killer Clans ranks somewhere near the top. Based on a popular swordplay novel, Killer Clans (whose Chinese title literally translates into the poetic “Meteor, Butterfly, Sword”) has enough conspiracies, stratagems, and sword fights to make even non-action fans happy. They are masterfully staged by Yuen Cheung-yan, brother of Matrix martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. The cast includes some of Shaw Brothers’ leading swordsmen and swordswomen, and they bring to life the novel’s epic battles between underground clans, where the line between good and evil is not always so clear-cut or obvious.
