OATH OF DEATH is the first Shaw version of the story that would be told on a much bigger scale and with bigger names in 1973's BLOOD BROTHERS, more recently remade as THE WARLORDS with Jet Li. This lower budgeted outing is just as good as the Ti Lung movie and it gives underrated studio star Lo Lieh, typically cast as a malevolent, a chance to shine as hero. He plays one of three Sung heroes who make it their business to rebel against the Tartar regime, but things become complicated when they end up colluding instead. The action in this one is fast-paced and bloody, especially at the frankly insane ending, but the slower-paced character plots in the middle section are equally as engrossing.
