"Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters" (1968) [Old School Kung Fu Fest]

by Joseph Perry

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Joseph with a solo review of Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters, a classic-era Taiwanese martial arts film that screened at this year’s Old School Kung Fu Fest.

Synopsis

Three very young sisters are separated and taken to live with different people after their family is slaughtered by the villains Lu Tianba (Kang Ming), Cao Senxiong (Wu Pin-Nan), and Ke Yingqiang (Yi Yuan), who have escaped from prison to exact revenge upon the girls’ father, a retired sheriff who put the men away. Now grown up, two of the sisters — Qingfeng (Mei Chin) and Zhifeng (Ching Liu) — reunite with revenge of their own in mind, while eldest sister Xiufeng (Li Hua-Yang) disguises herself as a man to track down the villainous trio.

The Good

This tale of vengeance set in the distant past doesn’t offer much new in the story department, but it has a definite charm of its own. The black-and-white cinematography is striking and includes some nice handheld work. The characters of the sisters are well written, and there is some fun light comedy when the two younger sisters mistake their older sister for a man. The three actors playing the roles of the sisters all give fine performances, and it is a nice touch that each sister has her own unique set of martial arts skills.

The Bad

As I mentioned above, there isn’t a lot new going on here plot-wise, and seasoned Wuxia aficionados will know where this story is headed starting with the opening scene of the killers attacking the family.

The Verdict

Despite its trope-filled storyline, Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters is an entertaining feature that boasts heroines viewers can get behind, solid cinematography and direction, and several fun fight scenes.

Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters screened as part of the 10th Old School Kung Fu Fest: Sword Fighting Heroes Edition!, which had in person screenings at Metrograph in New York City and remotely on SVOD via Metrograph At Home from April 21–30, 2023.

Vengeance of the Phoenix Sisters