Synopsis

The new era in martial arts films that helped put Hong Kong cinema on the international map was due in no small part to the talent of director Chang Cheh and the swordfighting showcases he developed for his first major discovery, 20-year-old swimming champion Jimmy Wang Yu. One of the best of these showcases is The Magnificent Trio, which reunites the director and cast of Tiger Boy, the movie that elevated Wang to stardom and set new standards for Chinese action pictures. Taking place in the closing years of the Ming Dynasty, the film's magnificent trio of martial artists - Jimmy Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, and Cheng Lei - battle a power-hungry official, at the same time getting involved with a trio of magnificent starlets, Chin Ping, Margaret Tu Chuan, and Fanny Fan. Two magnificent trios plus the imaginatively staged fight scenes that are a hallmark of director Chang Cheh make The Magnificent Trio one of the most memorable historical dramas to come out of Shaw Brothers in the 1960's.