Three hours will fly by when you catch King Hu's amazing, spectacular "A Touch of Zen", possibly the greatest feat in the history of martial arts film-making.<br /><br />The surface story about a poor student skilled in the ways of tactical warfare, who helps a master swordswoman and her bodyguard overcome the shame and dishonor of her father's murder at the hands of corrupt officials, gives way to a spiritual journey of enlightenment, making this an adventure film of the best kind, where the violence is only second place to the inner journey of the protagonist.<br /><br />These three hours feature subtle romance, elegant action sequences that showcase the Chinese approach to psychological and strategic warfare, while yet serving as a poignant statement about the horror of war and the possibility of redemption.<br /><br />The ending will strike you with a sense of awe that you have not felt since "2001", that's how good it is. For those of you who have not seen it, none will ever forget the sheer power and scope of the story that you have been told by the film's end.