A Taiwanese horror fantasy written and directed by King Hu, starring Sylvia Chang and Tien Feng.
A scholar goes to a remote and supposedly vacant building to copy a manuscript, but is accosted by ghosts who pretend to be his friends. They are actually all seeking the copy of the document that he is creating.
This was unique. A memorable plot expanded from the simple premise. The characters were decent, but there were some differentiation issues that became part of the plot later. The young women characters were very similar on purpose. The video all looked good, except one scene involving filming someone outdoors from inside a building. The white balance got all messed up there. The audio was clear, but treble-biased and there were some musical performances. The special effects were basic through most of the duration, but got more prominent at the end. Yes, this is where flying happens and explosions. The general atmosphere created reminded me of older kung fu flicks, but combining that with a clear plot helped immensely. Overall, a cool film if you're into King Hu's work. I rate it good.
A Chinese wuxia directed by King Hu, Ching Siu-tung, Ann Hui, Andrew Kam and Tsui Hark, starring Cecilia Yip and Sharla Cheung.
An important manuscript scroll has been stolen from a government administration building. The leader finds the house of the man who took it and posts guards, preparing to kill the thief. The thief also has guards, but inside the house with him. As the standoff tension rises, a pair of messengers burst in and accidentally cause the house to explode. They flee the scene with one of the other participants and stow away on a boat, where they meet this man's friend. The two old men perform a song and after the ship is destroyed in an attack, escape with the messengers. The old men are mortally wounded and pass their instruments and song to the messengers. The search for the missing scroll continues with plots of intrigue, lies and deception.
Pretty nice. The plot was a little too much for me, but that's pretty standard in most wuxia films. Obviously, we've got tons of characters too and I was unable to keep track of who was on what side and who was lying. The video looked VERY early '90s wuxia (that's a good thing). This included lots of fast paced editing in fight scenes and blue-lit night scenes. All of the lighting was excellent. It seemed correct for the scenes and I could see everything that was happening. There were lots of special effects. This was mostly flying characters, projectile weapons of exaggerated power and break-away sets. The soundtrack was good and I liked the plot song, but knew that the actors were not actually playing their instruments. Overall, I liked the flying fights, but would have liked a simpler plot. I rate this adequate. This is only for the most hardcore wuxia fans.
A Hong Kong Taiwanese kung fu drama directed by King Hu.
There is a precious scroll at a temple and many people seek to steal it from the monks. However, the monks know that the value lies in the meaning of the scroll. They thwart the attacks of the thieves anyway.
This was alright. The plot was pretty clear, but there were way too many characters. I really liked the ending though. The video and audio were many steps above the other King Hu movies I've seen. This was definitely because of better camera and audio equipment. It did still retain the over-foleyed movements like footsteps and fighting action movements. There were not enough fights and not enough flying. This fact cannot be stressed enough. For the guy famous for basically creating wuxia to not have enough flying and fighting in a well-produced film is unforgivable. Overall, this was the most disappointing of his films. I rate it o.k. because it was still a good movie, just nowhere near as good as it should have been.
A Taiwanese wuxia directed by King Hu.
A group of rebels meet at an inn that is occupied by soldiers of a fearsome military leader. After they beat the soldiers, they lure the leader out to fight, but he brings an army.
Pretty standard wuxia. We've got complex political plots, a small group of heroes skilled in martial arts, sword fighting and wire work. These King Hu flicks from the '60s and '70s really defined the genre. This one featured no night fighting (yay!) so all of the choreography was visible. The plot did not really pull me in because it featured more politics than individual drama. The first hero's introduction scene at the inn was my favorite part. He comes in armed with an umbrella and proves that the whole gang of soldiers is no match for him. His character was really good, but the others were under-developed. The audio was a little treble-biased on the version that I watched, but the subtitles were spot on. Overall, a definitive work with some flaws. It's definitely worth watching if you're into this kind of thing. Anyone else would probably think it was boring. I rate this adequate.
A Taiwanese kung fu wuxia directed by King Hu.
A poor scholar stumbles upon political intrigue in his small town. Three rebels are hiding there and are eventually revealed. He helps them to fight against an entire army.
This was alright. It's obscurity has boosted it's reputation beyond reality. The plot is good, but extremely complex and inconclusive. The characters are memorable and have good roles. I must criticize the choreography and camera-work simultaneously here with a quote: "Let's film half the fight scenes in a deep forest on a moonless night. That way everyone will see the fighters moving". There were scenes that could have been shot with the lens cap on. Mostly it was the gleam of a sword on a black background. What's going on? They must be fighting because I can hear whoosh, clang and hyaah. There were day fights and these were amazing. They included unique techniques, special weapons and lots of Hong Kong wire. Overall, not as good as it's supposed to be, but not bad. I rate this adequate.
A Shaw Brothers wuxia directed by King Hu and Sammo Hung, starring Cheng Pei-Pei.A group of bandits has a political prisoner and the government has a bandit prisoner. The sister of the political prisoner is sent to get back her brother. She is aided by a drunken beggar.For such an early date, this really is a good film (me agreeing with Wikipedia: may never happen again). The plot is extremely complex and the main characters are all very good and identifiable. The style reminds me of later kung fu and wuxia films, probably because they copied it from this one. There is wire involved as well as special effects to illustrate magic kung fu powers. If you like fu (and I know you do), this movie is for you! I'm rating it awesome.
