Golden Swallow

A poor scholar named Lo Chih-Chiu, played by Anthony Wong Yiu-Ming, rescues a swallow from three mischievous boys, and frees the bird afterward. The bird then magically takes the form of a beautiful lady named Hsiao-Hseuh, played by Cherie Chung, who falls in love with the scholar because he had saved her life. She returns the deed by rescuing him from a ruthless band of warlords. She and her sister, Hsiao-Shang, are both originally swallows, but can change into human forms due to witchcraft and wizardry. Hsiao-Hseuh later confronts Chih-Chiu, and later reveals she is a servant of an evil witch queen, who feeds on human blood. When the witch discovers their friendship and bond, she was on the verge of destroying him, but Hsiao-Hseuh pleads for his life in exchange for their separation. After being back in the custody of the witch queen, Hsiao-Hseuh sneaks out and reunites with Chih-Chiu, but posing as a different person to hide her identity.

Directed by O Sing-Pui, Golden Swallow leans on a strong ensemble — Anthony Wong Yiu-Ming, Cherie Chung Cho-Hung, Norman Tsui Siu-Keung — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about adventure titles of 1987.