Hong Kong Synopsis
風流斷劍小小刀
Leaving behind an inch of sword in the spent corpses of his opponents, Tuan Changqing is known as the Deadly Breaking Sword. After barely surviving a duel, one of his foes is treated by the diabolical Dr. Kuo, who uses his powers of mind control to transform the man into a somnambulistic killer. After Tuan Changqing teams up with Rabelaisian gambler Xiao Dao, the story proceeds as a comical kung fu buddy flick.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with The Deadly Breaking Sword. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Shaw Brothers
Action + Drama in Hong Kong
136 Hong Kong titles in our catalog blend the Action and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding The Deadly Breaking Sword itself).
The 1978–1980 Hong Kong Window
In the crowded 1978-1980 Hong Kong release window, The Deadly Breaking Sword sits at #55 of 58. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1970s Hong Kong Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1970s in Hong Kong, 122 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Deadly Breaking Sword premiered alongside 21 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 21 other Hong Kong films in 1979.
The 130th Hong Kong title from Hong Kong we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1955).
Our Hong Kong catalog contains 836 titles in total (828 films).
Audience Engagement
14 audience reviews — more than 25% of Hong Kong films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 7th percentile among Hong Kong films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #723 of 836 Hong Kong films indexed here (14th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.9 points below the Hong Kong average of 6.3/10.
Among Hong Kong Action productions specifically: #461 of 516 (top 89%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Chinese |
| Production Companies | Shaw Brothers |
| Runtime | 1h 41m |
| Release Date | December 4, 1979 |
| IMDb | tt0079148 |