Swordsman II
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Swordsman II (Xiao ao jiang hu zhi dong fang bu bai, 笑傲江湖之東方不敗) is a Hong Kong action film made in 1991. It was directed by Siu-Tung Ching and Stanley Tong and written by Hanson Chan, Jin Yong, Tang Pik-yin and Tsui Hark. This movie was the second in a trilogy of films.
Swordsman II is one of the most popular adaptions of a series of books by Jin Yong called The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. It stars a young pre-fame Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan and Michelle Reis. Many earlier and later adaptations of the book exist, including several tv shows and movie versions.
This movie adaptation barely followed the actual book series. The movie created a love affair between the main character and the antagonist, which never existed in the book. The main character in the movie seemed to chase women all the time, which is not how the main character in the book series was characterised. Finally, the ending in the movie is different than the book series. The movie ends with the main character and his lover sailing to Japan, while the book series ends with the main character becoming the most powerful Wuxia and spending the rest of his days having an instrumental duet of the song Xiao Ao Jiang Hu with his lover.
[edit] Box Office
The film's Hong Kong gross was HK $34,462,861