Published Feb 2, 2026, 7:00 PM EST
Nicholas Raymond is an author and journalist based out of Alabama, where he proudly roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism.
Swordsman and Enchantress is a highly underrated martial arts epic, and one that should certainly be sought out by those who appreciate Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ang Lee's 2000 wuxia film is regarded as one of the best martial arts movies of the 21st century - and for good reason.
Starring Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon revolutionized the martial arts genre, renewing interest in films sets in this particular subgenre. Its appealing visual style, combined with excellent wirework and the way in which it weaved romantic tales for its four lead characters made it a truly beautiful film.
But as great as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is, it's not one of a kind. There's several other movies out there that check many of the same boxes, including some that precede Ang Lee's film by decades.
Swordsman And Enchantress Is One Of Shaw Brothers' Best Martial Arts Romance Movies
Swordsman and Enchantress is a 1978 wuxia epic built around four main characters. In the movie, Ti Lung plays Xiao Shi Lang, a wandering, carefree swordsman and one of the best two fighters in the martial arts world. The other is Tony Liu's Lian Chengpi, a noble and well-respected hero married to the beautiful and reserved Miss Shen.
Xiao finds himself roped into a fight over the Deer-Cutting Knife, a highly-coveted sword meant to be gifted to Lian Chengpi. A mysterious female fighter known as Little Lord frames Xiao for stealing it, purposely igniting a feud between the top two swordsmen. Their rivalry is further complicated by a love triangle, as Xiao and Shen fall in love with each other.
With this premise, Swordsman and Enchantress is able to pack into a movie a slew of the best tropes associated with the best martial arts romance movies. A bitter martial arts rivalry, a forbidden romance, excellently choreographed swordplay, a ton of worldbuilding, and a powerful weapon for the main character to pursue to drive the film's story.
This is exactly the formula that made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon such an endearing piece of cinema. And like Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh in Ang Lee's film, Ti Lung and Ching Li put in a great deal of emotion into their performances, with Ti Lung brilliantly pulling off the tortured swordsman trying not to steal another man's wife and Ching Li portraying a woman torn by conflicting loyalties.
Another aspect of Swordsman and Enchantress that it shares with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is its emphasis on female characters. Both lean heavily on not one, but three, strong female characters. In the case of Swordsman and Enchantress, none are stereotypical heroines, which each a more nuanced character with complicated motives.
While the narrative itself may seem par for the course for a wuxia film, Swordsman and Enchantress rises above that with a few unorthodox choices, a gripping mystery, and some compelling character drama. Some surprising twists and betrayals along the way also make movie an entertaining ride through the wuxia genre from start to finish.
English (US) ·