Press Releases * Proctors

Flying Sword Heroes: Gravity-Defying Tales from Taiwan

Subway Cinema

in association with

Proctors Collaborative
and

Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan)

proudly present

Flying Sword Heroes: Gravity-Defying Tales from Taiwan

Aug. 14-24

Schenectady, NY (Aug. 8, 2025) — In Subway Cinema’s first event outside New York City, the biggest retrospective of Taiwanese wuxia (sword fighting hero) movies ever seen outside of any major U.S. city will arrive at Proctors in Schenectady — flying through the air and chopping down fools. All screenings are completely free! Reserve your tickets in advance by visiting atproctors.org or at the Box Office at Proctors.

Wuxia movies have a very long history in Chinese cinema, yet when King Hu’s “Dragon Inn” premiered in 1967, it kicked off a wuxia revival that reinvented action movies. Flying Sword Heroes: Gravity-Defying Tales from Taiwan celebrates the wuxia movies of King Hu’s homeland by going big with 10 of Taiwan’s gravity-defying best.

Schenectady audiences will be treated to:

  • Director King Hu’s monumental and unmissable “A Touch of Zen,” his equally groundbreaking “Dragon Inn,” and two of his most action-packed works of art, “The Valiant Ones” and “The Fate of Lee Khan.”
  • Director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s celebrated modern deconstruction and celebration of the wuxia genre, “The Assassin.”
  • Directors Su Chao-pin and John Woo’s lush and delightful “Reign of Assassins.”
  • Joseph Kuo’s incredible “Swordsman of All Swordsman,” as well as its wild and woolly follow-up, “Ghost Hill.”
  • Five new restorations! (“Touch of Zen,” “Dragon Inn,” “The Valiant Ones,” “The Fate of Lee Khan,” and “The Swordsman of All Swordsmen”).
  • So many sword-slinging heroines! We’ve got five films starring actress Hsu Feng (“A Touch of Zen,” “Dragon Inn,” “The Fate of Lee Khan,” “The Valiant Ones,” and “A City Called Dragon”), four starring Polly Shang-kuan (“Dragon Inn,” “Swordsman of All Swordsmen,” “Ghost Hill,” and “Grand Passion”), one starring Angela Mao (“Fate of Lee Khan”), one starring Shu Qi (“The Assassin”), one starring Han Hsaing-chin (“Ghost Hill”), and starring in “Reign of Assassins” is Academy Award-winning Best Actress Michelle Yeoh of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Wicked,” and, of course, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!”
  • Lin Ying-Chih (Deputy Director of Administration; Taiwan Film & Audiovisual Institute) is scheduled for Q&As following the 7 p.m. Aug. 15 screening of “A Touch of Zen,” the 4:30 p.m. Aug. 16 screening of “The Swordsman of All Swordsmen,” and the 7 p.m. Aug. 16 screening of “Dragon Inn.”  
  • Film Historian and Author Samm Deighan (“Revolution in 35mm”) will conduct Q&As after “A Touch of Zen” 7 p.m. Aug. 15.
  • Film Historian and Author Chris Poggiali (“These Fists Break Bricks”) will conduct both Q&As with Mr. Lin Aug. 16.

By the time this line-up is over, you’ll have been sliced, diced, hacked, slashed, and blasted into submission with palm power!

Subway Cinema is deeply grateful for the support of Proctors Collaborative and Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan).

We would also like to thank the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute, The Film Movement, Janus Films, King Hu Foundation USA, Sony Pictures Classics, Lionsgate Films, Well Go USA, Taiwanese American Association of the Capital District of New York, Inc., and Taiwanese American Cultural Society of the Capital District.

Reserve your FREE tickets by visiting atproctors.org or contacting the Box Office at Proctors in-person or via phone at (518) 346-6204 12 -6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. For more information on the schedule, visit atproctors.org.

Schedule:

Thursday, Aug. 14
7 p.m. – “The Assassin”

Friday, Aug. 15
7 p.m. – “A Touch of Zen”

Saturday, Aug. 16
2 p.m. – “The Valiant Ones”
4:30 p.m. – “The Swordsman of All Swordsmen”
7 p.m. – “Dragon Inn”

Sunday, Aug. 17
2 p.m. – “Fate of Lee Khan”
4:30 p.m. – “Reign of Assassins”

Tuesday, Aug. 19
7 p.m. – “A City Called Dragon”

Wednesday, Aug. 20
7 p.m. – “The Grand Passion”

Thursday, Aug. 21
7 p.m. – “The Ghost Hill”

Friday, Aug. 22
7 p.m. – “The Assassin”

Saturday, Aug. 23
2 p.m. – “Dragon Inn”
4:30 p.m. – “Reign of Assassins”
7 p.m. – “The Swordsman of All Swordsmen”

Sunday, Aug. 24
2 p.m. – “A Touch of Zen”

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ABOUT SUBWAY CINEMA

Subway Cinema Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit volunteer-run organization dedicated to the exhibition and appreciation of Asian popular cinema and preservation of America’s Asian film exhibition heritage. Founded in 1999, it has played a key role in nurturing the growth of Asian film culture in the U.S. by championing the works of Johnnie To, Tsui Hark, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Takashi Miike, Kim Jee-woon, Ryoo Seung-wan, Seijin Suzuki, and other notable directors.

It’s founded and ran the annual New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) for 17 consecutive years, establishing it as North America’s leading festival of popular Asian cinema. Subway Cinema’s current focus is on retrospective programming, including the Old School Kung Fu Fest (a showcase for the best of classic martial arts and action films) and Hong-Kong-a-Thon! (12-hour marathons of classic Hong Kong action films from the ‘80s and ‘90s).

Website: www.subwaycinema.com / twitter: @subwaycinema / instagram: @subwaycinema

Subway Cinema Co-founder/Programmer Goran Topalovic is available for interviews via email. Please write to: goranfilm@gmail.com