We've had plenty of fast-paced wuxia epics over the decades, but have you seen one done entirely with Taiwanese puppets? Mixing traditional hand puppets with flashy CGI effects, the homegrown TV show Pili begun in the mid-'80s led to the insanely fast-paced feature film Legend of the Sacred Stone, created around the same time as the groundbreaking Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon which won an Oscar for Taiwan, and a follow-up film, Demigod: The Legend Begins. As wild and frenetic as anything dreamed up by Tsui Hark, it's a unique experience that has understandably built up a cult reputation by word of mouth over the years.

As an opening crawl informs us, "400 years ago, Mo Kuei (Demon Lord) threatened the entire Wulin (Martial World). The great sage Su Huan-jen, in his attempt to eliminate evil, summoned three warriors from the Three Clans. They tried to defeat Mo Kuei while he was on top of the Sky Ridge and absorbing the spiritual Qi (Aura)." Said battle is then shown in epic detail with lots of mountain explosions, flying warriors, whooshing swords, and massive infernos, and it doesn't slow down from there. The wicked Mo Kuei spends much of the film unleashing his mystical might including the Dark Crystal-inspired legion The Unkind, with the one-armed Su, known as the White Lotus, leading the opposition and seeking revenge for his brother's murder. That's as close to a clear synopsis as you'll get here, with the bulk of the running time devoted to fighting and bleeding puppets, flashy light effects, multiple character switcheroos and hidden rivalries, and a hunt for the titular stone which fell from the heavens and can grant supernatural power.

An ideal party movie for martial arts fans if there ever was one, Legend of the Sacred Stone shows off every bit of the four years of labor that went into its creation with elements clearly drawn from action and fantasy epics from all over the world leading up to it. The Hong Kong influence is strongest of course, with the storyline working in elements from generations of wuxia films and delivering numerous clever, surprisingly violent combat sequences along with elaborate, swooping camera movements. Somewhat confusingly, the film was prepared in separate Taiwanese, Mandarin, and Japanese versions of varying edits including an extended two-hour cut apparently created for Taiwan DVD, so determining the actual preferred cut can be pretty confusing.

For what appears to be the first legit English-subtitled release, the Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile comes as one of their traditional luxurious limited edition packages including a Richard Cox-designed slipcase and a 60-page booklet featuring two essays by Rubert Rottenberg ("The Huang Family: A Century at the Pinnacle of Taiwanese Puppetry" exploring Taiwan's arts culture versus mainland China and the legacy of director Chris Huang and the output of Pili, and "Legend of the Sacred Stone: Budaixi Hits the Big Screen" about this film's place in the "hypermarionation" wave) and an untitled one by Walter Chaw about the cinematic nature of puppets and their unique employment here within the traditions of Taiwanese performing arts. Image quality is excellent as you'd expect, with a boisterous DTS-HD MA 2.0 Taiwanese stereo track with optional English subtitles. A new commentary by puppeteer/filmmaker Ben Wolf Page of The Puppetry Journal for the Puppeteers of America is a welcome deep dive into the techniques employed in the film and the history behind Taiwanese puppetry and the programming that led to this film, as well as the other narrative influences you can find here. The visual essay "Puppets, Wuxia, and Spirituality: The Lore and Inspirations Behind Legend of the Sacred Stone" (17m2s) by Evan Chester goes into the etymology of the wuxia, its centuries of narrative tradition, and legendary characters and story tropes that evolved into what we have here today. A "Character Spotlight": Su Huan-Jen" is a great collection of clips spanning from 1987 to 2024 showing the character's depictions on Pili TV, ranging from video production to high-end effects showcases. A new interview with director Chris Huang and two members of the puppeteering team, via videoconference with Deaf Crocodile's Dennis Bartok (41m47s) about the company's name (which means "thunderbolt"), the challenges and rewards of puppeteering, the particular obstacles of creating landscapes for this film to look like real locations, and the decades of output that have become their signature. Two trailers are also included, plus a 44s look at the deluxe edition artwork creation and bonus trailers for The Pied Piper, Jiri Barta Shorts, Hoffmaniada, Song of the Miraculous Hind, and Dead Mountaineer's Hotel.

Reviewed on May 24, 2026