Technically, a Blade on a Rope also counts, yes?
Twin Blades of Doom is a 1969 Shaw Brothers wuxia film starring Ling Yun, one of the studio's major stars from the late 60s.
Chang Qi-Liang (Ling) is a revenge-seeking warrior, intending to avenge his parents' murder in the hands of a sinister assassin legion called the Ghost Gang. Working through a variety of menial jobs while keeping a low profile to investigate the Ghost Gang, Chang discovers the gang's hideout, right before being lured into an ambush meant for him which he barely survives, heavily wounded in the process until he's rescued by a family of street performers, the daughter Yen-Erh (Li Ching) who predictably falls for the hero. But when the gang decides not to leave any loose ends and targets the village where Yen-Erh and her family lives, Chang will take a stand to defend his newfound friends while avenging his family.
Twin Tropes of Doom:
- Action Prologue: The film's opening titles are superimposed over Chang Qi-Lang fighting and defeating the Jade Unicorn.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: The Ghost King, leader of the Ghost Gang, is the most powerful fighter, even fighting Chang Qi-Lang to a standstill after Chang had killed off every single one of his underlings.
- Battle in the Rain: Shortly after the opening titles, the film then cuts to Chang Qi-Lang fighting a number of masked assassins in a thick forest, in the fmiddle of heavy rain.
- Big Bad: The Ghost King, who leads the Ghost Gang of killers, with the three assassins called the Black Killer, Red Killer and Green Killer reporting directly under him.
- Blade on a Rope: Chang Qi-Lang carries his rope flail around as a backup weapon, which ends up helping him more than once compared to the titular twin blades (for instance grabbing and choking a fleeing assassin from a distance).
- But Now I Must Go: After slaying the Ghost King and freeing the village from the Ghost Gang, Chang Qi-Lang declines to return to the village, sending his horse carrying the dead Ghost King while he goes his own ways. But he didn't expect Yin-erh to look for him…
- Carry a Big Stick: The Ghost King carries a giant mace with a long handle as his preferred weapon.
- Color-Coded Characters: The trio of elite killers after Chang Qi-Lang, who's identified onscreen as... Black Killer, Red Killer and Green Killer. Nope, they don't have any personalities whatsoever, the only way the film tells them apart are by the colour of their clothing and different weapon choices.
- Combat Pragmatist: More often than not, when Chang Qi-Lang gets into duels, he will use both his swords to draw his enemies closer and closer to him and, when his opponent least expects it, then lash out with his rope dart. This is how he defeats the challenger early in the film, and how he eventually defeats the Ghost King.
- Dual Wield: Much like the title implies, the hero Chang Qi-Lang uses dual swords in combat, a shorter and thinner blade together with his main sword.
- Epic Flail: Of the three killers, the Red Killer use a pair of spiked balls on chains to attack Chang Qi-Lang.
- Mook Lieutenant: The Ghost King's direct underlings, the Black Killer, Red Killer and Green Killer, which leads the lesser gang members. They also put up a slightly better fight than the regular mooks, lasting for around two minutes against the hero before getting killed.
- Nice Girl: Lu Yin-Erh, the innkeeper's daughter who is the one villager that is nice to the hero Chang, genuinely believing Chang has a good heart despite his reputation as a fearsome killer and even tending the wounded Chang after the hero ends up being wounded by the Ghost Gang. Naturally she ends up being his Love Interest.
- One-Man Army: While his skills are hinted at multiple points throughout the film, the hero Chang Qi-Lang finally proves he lives up to his name when he battles the entire Ghost Gang, including their leader, the Ghost King, in a lengthy battle, and wipes out the entire gang.
- Red Baron: The hero, Chang Qi-Lang is known as the "Twin Blades of Doom", which is Title Dropped more than once when he's addressed directly by friends and foes alike. And of course there's the villains leading the Ghost Gang, led by the Ghost King (actually a powerful renegade monk) and the three killers — the Black Killer, Red Killer and Green Killer.
- Rescue Romance: Inverted example: Chang Qi-Lang was mortally injured after an ambush from the Ghost Gang, before being nursed to health by Yen-erh. And then she fell for him.
- Sword Fight: Being a standard wuxia, the movie has plenty of sword-battles, with the hero Chang Qi-Lang killing rival assassins by the dozens thanks to his twin blades.
- Terrible Trio: The assassins after Chang Qi-Lang have three expert killers among them, each which are Known Only by Their Nickname: Black Killer, Red Killer and Green Killer.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: The challenger called the Jade Unicorn, an expert fighter who confronts the hero Chang in the film's opening titles. They have a lengthy conversation, followed by an epic fight scene, and then the Jade Unicorn gets unceremoniously killed after the opening titles.
- I Will Find You: The film ends with Chang Qi-Lang leaving the village after killing all the villains, but the hero didn't expect Yin-Erh, his Love Interest, to actually seek him by leaving her village and going on a long trek into the hills by herself. She did eventually find him after an unspecified amount of time… cue credits.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: One of Chang Qi-Lang's rival assassins pretends to be a mortally wounded man lying near-dead in the woods, and as Chang Qi-Lang picks up the man over his shoulders, the man reveals who he is by grabbing at Chang while shouting for his comrades, and at the same time pulling out a knife in an attempt to stab the hero. Chang ends up fighting his way through hordes of mooks while fending off the assassin trying to stab him, which he managed to shake off by hitting the man's head over a low branch.
- Wuxia
- You Shall Not Pass!: The film's climatic finale, where Chang Qi-Lang realize the Ghost Gang are on their way to massacre the village in retaliation for giving Chang shelter. Having grown close to the locals, Chang decide to take a stand and fight the entire gang, including their boss the Ghost King, in order to prevent them from harming the villagers. He succeeds.
