# The Trail of the Broken Blade (断肠剑)
**The Trail of the Broken Blade** (断肠剑; *Duanchang jian*) is a 1967 Hong Kong wuxia film directed and written by Chang Cheh and produced by Run Run Shaw for Shaw Brothers, starring Jimmy Wang Yu as a fugitive swordsman hunted for killing the official who had his father wrongly executed.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) • [2](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade/) It premiered in Hong Kong on 4 March 1967 and runs about 104 minutes.[3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/) • [1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 断肠剑 (*Duanchang jian*), also romanized Duan chang jian[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) |
| Director and writer | Chang Cheh; producer Run Run Shaw[4](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_trail_of_the_broken_blade) |
| Release | 4 March 1967 (Hong Kong); Shaw Brothers, Mandarin language[3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/) • [5](https://www.moviemusichk.com/products/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade-%E6%96%B7%E8%85%B8%E5%8A%8D-1967-shaw-bros-dvd-english-subtitles-region-3) |
| Runtime | 104 minutes (1h 44min)[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) |
| Lead cast | Jimmy Wang Yu (Li Yueh), Chin Ping (Liu Xian), Kiu Chong (Fang Jun-zhao), Lisa Chiao Chiao, Chen Hung-Lieh, Tien Feng[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) |
| Action choreography | Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai[6](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/trail-of-the-broken-blade-1967/) |
| Genre | Wuxia swordplay; action, drama, romance[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Li Yueh (Jimmy Wang Yu) is a righteous swordsman whose father was wrongly executed through the corruption of a court official. Li takes the law into his own hands, kills the man responsible, and becomes a wanted fugitive who hides under a false name, working as a stable hand at an inn.[2](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade/) • [3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/)
The chivalrous Wudang swordsman Fang Jun-zhao (Kiu Chong) meets Li and, struck by his bearing, befriends him despite the difference in their stations. Fang is searching for the lost fiancé of a woman named Zhen'er (Chin Ping, credited as Liu Xian in English cast listings), and he confesses to Li that he has fallen in love with her himself but continues the search out of duty. Li, knowing that he is that fiancé and a wanted man, conceals his identity to spare her his fate, and eventually risks his life alone against bandits to relieve Fang and Zhen'er of their worry.[3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/) • [5](https://www.moviemusichk.com/products/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade-%E6%96%B7%E8%85%B8%E5%8A%8D-1967-shaw-bros-dvd-english-subtitles-region-3)
The two men become sworn brothers, and Li still does not reveal who he is until Fang's life is endangered by swordsmen from Flying Fish Island, pirates seeking revenge.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) The film ends tragically, in keeping with Chang Cheh's preference for heroes who die in a grand, sorrowful manner.[3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/)
## Place in Chang Cheh's career
The film belongs to the first wave of Shaw Brothers' "colorful wuxia century" program, the studio's mid-1960s push into new-style swordplay cinema, and it is counted among the representative early works of Chang Cheh's Wang Yu period.[7](https://www.prdculture.org.cn/prdculture/xgwhzx/201412/42537d042ef7456fb6bb31a9fdbb2bb0.shtml) • [3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/) Chang released it in 1967, the same year as his breakthrough *One-Armed Swordsman* and *The Assassin*; the blood-soaked martial arts choreography across these films was unlike anything previously seen in Mandarin or [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) cinema, and Chang described the athleticism and masculinity of his films as *yanggang*, tough masculinity.[8](https://mvd.cloud/press/ARROW/BOOKLETS/48273_7_SHAW_BROTHERS_BOOK_INNER_PAGES_WATERMARKED.pdf)
The story closely parallels [Wang Dulu](https://www.edgepedia.org/wang-dulu)'s novel *Baojian Jinchai* (宝剑金钗), the novel tradition behind *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*: Kiu Chong's role corresponds to Li Mu Bai, Chin Ping's to Yu Shu Lien, and Wang Yu's to Meng Si Zhao, the fiancé whose existence keeps the two lovers apart.[3](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/) Critics have described the film as a sword-hero tragedy similar to *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, made 34 years earlier and without special effects.[5](https://www.moviemusichk.com/products/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade-%E6%96%B7%E8%85%B8%E5%8A%8D-1967-shaw-bros-dvd-english-subtitles-region-3)
## Style and reception
The martial arts choreography is by the celebrated team of Lau Kar Leung and Tong Gaai, though the film predates the kung fu boom and the later refinement of fight direction. It remains more of a wuxia fantasy than the harder swordplay films that followed, with occasional rooftop flights and feats such as fusing two halves of a die with the fingertips, and its focus rests more on the romantic tragedy than on spectacular action.[6](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/trail-of-the-broken-blade-1967/) Reviewers have noted early traces of Chang Cheh's later trademarks, including touches of blood punctuating battle moments and swords driven violently into bodies, alongside remnants of the studio's musical-film style such as song montages.[9](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2011/07/20/mini-review-trail-of-the-broken-blade-1967/)
Assessments vary in emphasis. A Far East Films review rated it 3.5 of 5, crediting the film's spine of loyalty and friendship while faulting an uneven opening and dated wirework.[2](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade/) A Chinese-language retrospective describes it as combining literary drama with wuxia, a male-dominated romance in which a four-cornered love entanglement ends in tragedy.[7](https://www.prdculture.org.cn/prdculture/xgwhzx/201412/42537d042ef7456fb6bb31a9fdbb2bb0.shtml) On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.2.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade)
## Availability
The film can be bought or rented digitally on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play), with no free streaming options as of the most recent availability checks.[1](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade) A restored Region 3 DVD with English and Chinese subtitles was released by IVL (H.K.) in 2003, and the film has also appeared in Chang Cheh Blu-ray box sets.[5](https://www.moviemusichk.com/products/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade-%E6%96%B7%E8%85%B8%E5%8A%8D-1967-shaw-bros-dvd-english-subtitles-region-3) • [10](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/furious-swords-and-fantastic-warriors-the-heroic-cinema-of-chang-cheh-5-disc-blu-ray-review) A US copyright registration records publication on June 9, 1967, with Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong), Ltd. as claimant.[11](https://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/the-voyage-of-emperor-chien-lung-heaven-sword-dragon-sabre/)
## References
1. [The Trail of the Broken Blade streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade)
2. [The Trail Of The Broken Blade (1967) Review, Far East Films](https://fareastfilms.com/review/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade/)
3. [断肠剑 Trail of the Broken Blade (1967), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2088347/)
4. [The Trail of the Broken Blade, Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_trail_of_the_broken_blade)
5. [The Trail Of The Broken Blade 斷腸劍 1967 (SHAW BROS) DVD, MoviemusicHK](https://www.moviemusichk.com/products/the-trail-of-the-broken-blade-%E6%96%B7%E8%85%B8%E5%8A%8D-1967-shaw-bros-dvd-english-subtitles-region-3)
6. [Review: Trail of the Broken Blade (1967), Heroic Cinema](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/trail-of-the-broken-blade-1967/)
7. [电影资料馆回顾邵逸夫的传奇梦工场](https://www.prdculture.org.cn/prdculture/xgwhzx/201412/42537d042ef7456fb6bb31a9fdbb2bb0.shtml)
8. [Shaw Brothers booklet, Arrow Video](https://mvd.cloud/press/ARROW/BOOKLETS/48273_7_SHAW_BROTHERS_BOOK_INNER_PAGES_WATERMARKED.pdf)
9. [Mini-Review: Trail of the Broken Blade (1967), Silver Emulsion Film Reviews](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2011/07/20/mini-review-trail-of-the-broken-blade-1967/)
10. [Furious Swords And Fantastic Warriors Blu-ray Review, GenreGrinder](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/furious-swords-and-fantastic-warriors-the-heroic-cinema-of-chang-cheh-5-disc-blu-ray-review)
11. [Trail of the broken blade, US Copyright registration record](https://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/the-voyage-of-emperor-chien-lung-heaven-sword-dragon-sabre/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Martial arts films › Released 1943 to 1985*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license