--- title: "A Touch of Zen" year: 1970 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-touch-of-zen" fi1m_id: "a-touch-of-zen" imdb_id: "tt0064451" tmdb_id: 44154 wikidata_id: "Q704780" fi1m_score: 86 critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-09-26T16:57:25.029281+00:00" updated: "2026-09-26T16:57:25.369024+00:00" region: "KR" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Touch of Zen (1970) Directed by King Hu · 3h 00m · Action, Adventure, Fantasy ## Identity A Touch of Zen - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/a-touch-of-zen - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** a-touch-of-zen - **IMDb ID:** tt0064451 - **TMDB ID:** 44154 - **Wikidata ID:** Q704780 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064451/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/44154, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q704780 **Fi1m score: 86** · Critics 86 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* Three hours is a serious commitment, but the sword fight in the bamboo makes a persuasive case > King Hu’s *A Touch of Zen* gives its swordplay the attention usually reserved for landscapes, and the bamboo battle repays it. We recommend this absorbing three-hour film, though its expansiveness sometimes costs it urgency. ## Synopsis Yang Hui-zhen (Hsu Feng), Gu Sheng-zhai (Shih Chun) and General Shi Wen-qiao (Pai Ying) are the principal characters in King Hu’s *A Touch of Zen*, an action-adventure fantasy from 1970. The ensemble also includes Ouyang Nian (Tien Peng), Abbot Hui-yuan (Roy Chiao) and Gu Sheng-zhai’s Mother (Chang Ping-Yu). Generals, a commander and an abbot populate a film that runs for 180 minutes. King Hu directs and writes the screenplay, drawing on work by Pu Songling, and shares the editing with Wang Chin-Chen. ## Review *A Touch of Zen* is worth setting aside an evening for, though we would hesitate to prescribe it as a straightforward action film. King Hu gives swordplay, adventure and fantasy room to develop across three hours, and the reward is a film whose surroundings matter as much as its combat. The expansiveness sometimes weakens the urgency. We recommend it warmly for the imagination of the staging, with the caveat that an appetite for fighting alone may not sustain the whole evening. The bamboo battle makes the case. Cinematographer Hua Hui-Ying gives the forest such presence that concentrating only on the fighters would mean missing much of the pleasure. We were thrilled by the scene, specifically because the choreography made us attend to the bamboo as closely as the combatants. It is an unusually satisfying way to stage action: the setting keeps offering something to look at, without making the fighting seem incidental. The image deserves attention even when the immediate question of who has the advantage becomes less pressing. King Hu and Wang Chin-Chen’s editing helps turn that visual richness into excitement. The rhythm of the cutting is a large part of the choreography’s appeal, and the scene rewards watching how a fight has been assembled. Wu Da-Jiang’s music supports the spectacle without becoming the chief reason it impresses us. That is a useful restraint in a film with so much else competing for attention, and leaves the images free to do most of the persuading. Hsu Feng’s Yang Hui-zhen has enough authority to hold our attention amid this visual competition. Shih Chun gives Gu Sheng-zhai a contrasting uncertainty, and the difference between their performances helps keep the people from being swallowed by the spectacle. King Hu, who also writes the screenplay, has more than a technical exercise in mind. Yet the images can remain more vivid than the characters, and there are stretches when the dramatic interest struggles to keep pace with the invention of the staging. The haunted forest is a useful reminder of how far the film wants to range beyond swordplay. The fantasy gives the surroundings a different sort of interest, one that suits a filmmaker willing to spend time looking. But the full 180 minutes do not feel equally necessary, and the movement between kinds of pleasure can become less compelling than those pleasures are individually. A firmer sense of urgency would have helped away from the strongest set pieces. Some of those stretches could be shorter. For a martial-arts film, it has an unusually generous idea of what counts as excitement. The pleasure of the bamboo battle comes partly from having so much to notice, and that interest in the surroundings gives the action its character. There is enough imagination here to justify the occasional wandering of attention. Choose it when the whole evening is free, rather than expecting a brisk succession of fights before bed. *Fi1m score 86, published 26 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is A Touch of Zen worth watching?** *A Touch of Zen* is worth watching for its imaginative swordplay and richly observed surroundings, and we scored it 86. We recommend it warmly to anyone willing to give an expansive martial-arts fantasy three hours, though the drama sometimes loses urgency and an appetite for fighting alone may not sustain the evening. **How long is A Touch of Zen, and what is it rated?** *A Touch of Zen* runs 3h 00m. It is an action and adventure film. **Where can I watch A Touch of Zen in South Korea?** *A Touch of Zen* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Korea at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does A Touch of Zen compare to Ugetsu?** *A Touch of Zen* offers more pleasure in swordplay and spectacle than [*Ugetsu*](https://film.one/film/ugetsu), while we recommend *Ugetsu* more for its quiet attention to ordinary lives. Both reward patience with supernatural encounters and carefully considered images, though both can lose dramatic momentum. Choose the former for inventive action, the latter for unsettling human detail. **Is A Touch of Zen based on a true story or a book?** *A Touch of Zen* is adapted from a novel by Pu Songling, with King Hu writing the screenplay. We recommend it for the staging, fantasy and performances rather than its relationship to the book; familiarity with the source is not needed to appreciate those pleasures. **What should I watch after A Touch of Zen?** After *A Touch of Zen*, try [*Ugetsu*](https://film.one/film/ugetsu) (1953, Fi1m 89): For another patient encounter with the supernatural, grounded in recognisable human troubles. Then [*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*](https://film.one/film/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon) (2000, Fi1m 90): For more bamboo, romantic longing and swordplay that makes gravity seem optional; and [*The Assassin*](https://film.one/film/the-assassin) (2015, Fi1m 82): A patient choice for those who enjoyed watching the spaces around the fighters. ### Reviews we read (4) - **Empire**, Patrick Peters (90/100, inferred): Peters regards the film as a classic, praising its imagination and cinematic mastery. He singles out the choreography, especially the bamboo battle, haunted forest, and finale. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/touch-zen-review/) - **Time Out** (90/100, inferred): The review presents the film as magnificent and difficult to classify. It singles out the martial-arts epic’s influence on *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/a-touch-of-zen) - **The New York Times** (70/100, inferred): The headline suggests a positive assessment of the film. It singles out the combination of swordplay and lyricism, though the article text was inaccessible. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/movies/a-touch-of-zen-serves-up-swordplay-and-lyricism.html) - **The Skinny**, Michael Jaconelli (★★★★★): The critic calls the film a classic and a wuxia masterpiece. They praise its intoxicating cinematography and striking action, especially the bamboo-forest fight. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/a-touch-of-zen) ## Details - **Director:** King Hu - **Director:** King Hu - **Screenplay:** King Hu - **Novel:** Pu Songling - **Cinematography:** Hua Hui-Ying - **Editor:** Wang Chin-Chen, King Hu - **Music:** Wu Da-Jiang - **Costume design:** Lee Jia-chi - **Producer:** Ha Ng Leung-Fong - **Cast:** Hsu Feng as Yang Hui-zhen; Shih Chun as Gu Sheng-zhai; Pai Ying as General Shi Wen-qiao; Tien Peng as Ouyang Nian; Roy Chiao as Abbot Hui-yuan; Tsao Chien as Magistrate Xu Zheng-qing; Miao Tian as Nie Qiu (Men Da's Advisor); Melvin Chang Yun-Wen as Tao Lung - **Runtime:** 3h 00m - **First release (TW):** 10 July 1970 - **Genres:** Action, Adventure, Fantasy - **Budget:** $678,321 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccYoSiMHYUM ## Where to watch in South Korea Not streaming, renting or buying in South Korea at the last check. Also available in: AT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Dragon Inn* (1967): More King Hu swordplay, with a tighter setting and less time to spare. - *Ugetsu* (1953), Fi1m 89: For another patient encounter with the supernatural, grounded in recognisable human troubles. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md) - *The Duellists* (1977): Another film whose armed confrontations gain considerably from attention to their surroundings. - *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* (2000), Fi1m 90: For more bamboo, romantic longing and swordplay that makes gravity seem optional. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon.md) - *The Assassin* (2015), Fi1m 82: A patient choice for those who enjoyed watching the spaces around the fighters. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-assassin.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/a-touch-of-zen