It is obnoxious that the US DVD release is full-screen pan 'n' scan only. But don't blame the movie for the video company's cluelessness. The pictorial dimension of vast landscapes and dusty streets is crucial, as it is in the Westerns of Sergio Leone and Budd Boetticher, the latter and especially apt comparison for He Ping's terse, minimalist style. It's the treatment of the finale that drives some people up the wall. Avoiding spoilers let's just say it doesn't deliver the visceral pay off we might expect. The world could probably be divided into a group of people who find that annoying and those who think it's really cool...
Review of The Swordsman in Double Flag Town
