During his wedding, Kao is attacked by the ferocious Pai, the leader of a rival family. Pai has sworn revenge on Kao, after Kao's father took some land from him. Pai succeeds in killing the bride, but Kao flees and goes to his master to get the Moonlight Sword. His master refuses, as Kao isn't worthy. Kao's men suggest hiring a swordsman to defeat Pai instead and suggest Chang, the "invincible" swordsman. Chang accepts after Kao does a favor for him, and with Green, a fellow assassin, they set off to avenge Kao and kill Pai and his minions.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry is unlike the other Woo films that I've seen, in that there are no guns. Instead, the characters use swords, and it does work. Fans of Woo will immediately recognize his style and will undoubtedly enjoy some great action scenes. Unfortunately, the plot is a bit melodramatic and in parts, it does get hard to follow. Several of the characters, especially the villains, seem a bit lame; in particular there's the Sleeping Wizard. The clanging sword sound effects also get a bit tiring after awhile too.

Picture:
Last Hurrah for Chivalry is presented in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. The transfer was better than I expected for a film 21 years old, but it definitely has its problems. Vertical white lines, specks, marks, grain, and even some shimmer appear throughout the film to varying amounts. Blacks, for the most part, are excellent and flesh tones are accurate. Color reproduction seemed inconsistent in some scenes as well.

Sound:
Last Hurrah for Chivalry is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. I found the Cantonese track to be the best of the bunch, though in all three, the sound is mainly focused in the front speakers with little to no surround coming from the rears. The Mandarin track seemed to feature different music in places than the Cantonese track, which I found a bit odd. The English dub appeared to be out of synch with the video in some places, and contained some distortion. Dialogue, for the most part in all three tracks, was clean with little distortion. I recommend sticking with English subtitles and listening to the Cantonese track for the best viewing experience.

Extras:
Extras include trailers for this film, Duel to the Death, Magnificent Butcher, Naked Killer, and Heroes Shed No Tears; the film's synopsis; a filmography for John Woo; and subtitles in English and Chinese.

Summary:
Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a decent movie that has some remarkable fight scenes, but it's really only for die-hard John Woo or Hong Kong film fans. Recommended if you fit in one of those categories; others might want to try it as a rental first.