Swordsman II
| Swordsman II | |||||||||||
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Theatrical poster | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 笑傲江湖之東方不敗 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 笑傲江湖之东方不敗 | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | Ching Siu-tung | ||||||||||
| Screenplay by | Hanson Chan Tang Pik-yin Tsui Hark | ||||||||||
| Based on | The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Louis Cha | ||||||||||
| Produced by | Tsui Hark | ||||||||||
| Starring | Jet Li Brigitte Lin Rosamund Kwan Michelle Reis | ||||||||||
| Cinematography | Tom Lau | ||||||||||
| Edited by | Marco Mak | ||||||||||
| Music by | Richard Yuen | ||||||||||
Production companies | |||||||||||
| Distributed by | Golden Princess Amusement | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes (HK) 99 minutes (U.S) 112 minutes (Taiwan) | ||||||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Languages | Cantonese Japanese Sichuanese Mandarin-dubbed version | ||||||||||
| Box office | HK$34,462,861 | ||||||||||
Swordsman II, also known as The Legend of the Swordsman, is a 1992 Hong Kong wuxia-martial arts film very loosely adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. It was the second part of a trilogy: preceded by The Swordsman (1990) and followed by The East Is Red (1993). Directed by Ching Siu-tung, Swordsman II starred Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis in the leading roles. None of the original cast from the previous film return except Fennie Yuen.
Set in the Ming dynasty, the plot follows Ling Wu-chung (Li), a swordsman from the Wah Mountain school, who travels the Chinese countryside with his female sidekick Kiddo (Reid) who secretly loves him. Caught in the war between the invading Japanese and the Sun Moon Sect, they discover that Master Asia (Lin), the evil Sun Moon leader, has located the Sacred Scroll, which has transformed him into a woman while allowing him a near invincible array of magical powers. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.