Viewer Comments:The Black Tavern
All Content Used With Permission.
This was a surprisingly good little gem. The student of the Lady Hermit (Shih Szu) tricks bandits into coming to an isolated inn in order to erdicate them. First she lets them fight among themselves, then she jumps in to finish off Ku Feng; which was no easy job. The finale was brutal!
Lots of fights in this one, none of them pretty in any way, but very entertaining.
Shih Szu is one of my favorite old school Shaw actresses and I really wish she had been in the film a bit more. I always enjoying seeing her; whether she is brawling with the big boys or floating around eyeing Ti Lung (and who can blame her)she is always fun to watch.
Good movie, I say go for it.
Now this was an action-packed surprise! Fierce and fast swordplay, acrobatic fights, and the trademark early SB explicit blood letting. Shih Szu (as the Lady Hermit's student) wraps the film up with a show-stopping climax, where almost no one is left unbloodied.
There's enough style in this one film to furnish three Western productions, and that hack of a director, Tarantino, clearly thought highly enough of it to lift the most striking imagery for his cut-and-paste "Kill Bill Vol 1".
Entertaining but not great. Ku Feng (the main bad guy) uses the whip well--reminded me a bit of Tien Feng in THE SHADOW WHIP. The storyline is a bit weak, and sometimes you just don't know why people are stopping at the Inn (The Black Tavern). Some of the secondary villains are just weird (like the guy who wears a helmet with corns, a bit like the Vikings used to). The fights are good though with plenty of bloodshed! However, many of the fights are speed up with overuse of wires. Unfortunately, Shih Szu has a secondary role here and she fights only in the last 10-15 minutes. That's a shame! Overall it is a good movie, typical of the era. Great sets. Good, but not great.
-Roger Judd, Jr. (see my profile)
Excellent Shaw Brothers film. Bloody action. Ku Feng rocks with the whip. Hot tip for all HK fans.
This window is a "pop-up" from The Black Tavern at HKFlix.com.
If you've arrived here from somewhere else,
please CLICK HERE for our home page!
