Prolific film maker, Chu Yuan, dished out this masterpiece of a Shaw Brothers wuxia (Martial Chivalry) movie in 1976. My memories of this movie is somewhat hazy since I watched it as a kid. But with Celestial Pictures' recent digital restoration of classic Shaw Brothers movies on dvd, I grabbed a copy of Killer Clans for a total recall. Almost 30 years later, the movie still dazzles.

The movie opens with a prostitute receiving a post-coitus request from a mysterious client to assassinate Sun Yu Bo (fondly known as 'Uncle' in the pugilistic circle, played by Gu Feng), the patriarchal leader of the Dragon Gate Clan. In reality, the prostitute is the proprietress of an assassin's guild. She despatches her top assassin, Meng Xing Hun (Zhong Hua), to infiltrate the Dragon Gate Clan and find an opportune time to kill Uncle.

Meng discovers that his is an uphill task. Uncle is constantly under the protection of his son (Wang Zhong), his right-hand man (who's skilled in using 72 deadly concealed weaponry, played by Yue Hua) and an elusive but deadly pugilist (Luo Lie). Before Meng can carry out his orders, the Roc Society wages war on the Dragon Gate Clan for supremacy and one by one, Uncle's loyal cohort are aced by a traitor. While Meng makes a temporary exit to re-evaluate his strategy, he wanders into the Butterfly Valley and chances upon a beautiful girl and falls in love with her. She turns out to be Uncle's daughter. Ironically, Meng turns out to be the only person Uncle can trust in his darkest hour, as he aptly puts it:"Sometimes you would rather trust an enemy than a friend."

L to R: Zhong Hua, Jing Li, Yue Hua, Gu Feng, Ling Yun, Chen Ping and Wang Zhong

The traitor finally reveals himself when he thinks he has outsmarted Uncle but it's more than meets the eye...

Despite being branded as an 'old-school' wuxia movie (compared to Dragon Inn or Swordsman), Killer Clans intoxicates with its brew of romance, suspense and gratuitous blood-spilling sword fights choreographed by Tang Jia. It also exudes brilliance with its star-studded cast, opulent sets and costumes. A remake of Killer Clans (Butterfly and Sword) was filmed in the early 90s starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Michelle Yeoh and Joey Wong. But that version vastly pales in comparison. Killer Clans deserves a place in every wuxia fan's dvd cabinet.