A period sword fighting (Wu-xia) ('flying people') film set at the end of Ming Dynasty (late 16th century) in Southern China. The story relates the vendetta between a martial outcast known as Golden Snake Lord and Castle Wan. A princess and a thief-catcher is caught in the midst. The action sequences in this movie have a strong visual impact and made good use of some truly spectacular scenery. Good casting, interesting characters and an intelligent script made this the finest movie adaptation of a Jing Yong's work in recent years. I would recommend this film without reservation to anyone with an interest in this genre of Hong Kong movies. [Note on title: Bi4 Xue3 (azure or blue-green blood) has a colloquial meaning of blood shed in a just cause (by a martyr), so the title could also be "Sword Stained with Blood Shed in a Just Cause," or "Martyr's Sword". "Royal" flows better, and may result from mistranslating "blue blood" to mean royal.]

[Reviewed by Christopher Fu]