hoo, har, dodge, parry, spin, thrust, *thwack*

[darren_stranger]

Okay, since i seem to be the only one to be somewhat underwhelmed by Hero on anything other than an eye candy level, i figure maybe i need to watch a few more films of the Chinese swordplay genre to get a feel for it.

Any recommendations for tonight's midweek video rental?

(Edit - replies may contain spoilers, enter at own risk).

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/raven_/]

Crouching Tiger?

[greylock.livejournal.com]

No, I agree with you.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Erotic Ghost Story?

[http://users.livejournal.com/raven_/]

I haven't seen Hero yet. I guess that, as with most things, I'll see it on the small screen.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I think it's visual impact would be blunted.
Some of the scenes with the massed army are jaw-dropping.

[http://users.livejournal.com/raven_/]

Hmm.... okay.

will see if boy is interested in seeing it. I want to see Zatoichi as well.

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

Well, I agree with you.
I found the multiple accounts of the "same" story kind of interesting, but the length of the film made it tedious. I liked the performance of the actor playing the Emperor, for the most part.

Some of the martial arts scenes were laugh-out-loud funny (the water scene and the "aeroplane emperor" scene), but not intentionally I think.

Some of the scenery was, however, gorgeous! They obviously tried to go for a wide sample of Chinese geography and I found that alone gratifying enough to justify the cash I paid. By the same token though, it would be tedious and silly on your average TV.

The "Chinese Ghost Story" series of films (3 I think?) are not bad, and show up on SBS on occasion. Crouching Tiger Hidden Chicken (er, Dragon, I mean) is readily available and isn't totally awful.

Its. Its. Its.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I have Zatoichi on DivX. I think it has a more developed plot, and humour. I'm still to watch it, because I got dragged (willingly) to see Hero.

My friend loved it, and cried.

So, I guess it depends what one likes.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I quite liked Crouching Tiger. I thought the story was a bit cliched at the time, but then someone pointed out how old the story was and that it would have predated most of those cliches.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I'll second that much - Hero *looks* wonderful. I just found that detracted from the actual story/characters too much.

But if you do want to see it, it must be on a big screen (I won't say anything spoilerful in case you do).

[andricongirl.livejournal.com]

they story is secondary thoough I think
its just big drooly eye candy

[kits-the-dm.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time in China. (a trilogy)
Of them, see the second one. Though all three are pretty good, the second one is the best (and I believe there's once upon a time in China and America - which makes movie 4)

I liked Hero, but then again, I like the warring states period.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

The repetition of the multiple accounts started to grate on me after a while, and i actually got quite bored and was wishing they'd just get on with it at times (a cardinal sin for any film).

Most of the fight scenes were just too stylised for my liking. Partly it's because i'm not used to that flying through the air style of swordplay (part of the reason i want to see more of the genre and get a feel for it) but on the other hand they did manage to make it more convincing in Crouching Tiger, where it actually looked like they were wieghtless, as opposed to actors posing while pulled about on wires or manipulated by CGI (plus, i found it easier to swallow Jedi-like powers from students of witches and secret assassin schools than from self-taught freedom fighters). The lake fight particularly annoyed me, though i don't know if there's some symbolism or precedent for it that would make it make sense (i suspect there's an elemental theme running through the various scenes, but it shouldn't need a deep understanding of the underlying symbolism to Not Be Boring).

The landscapes were indeed wonderful though.

I may check out those Chinese Ghost Stories (always forget about the non-Erotic series).

I can dodge raindrops

[greylock.livejournal.com]

It needed more ninjas too. :)

Seriously, seeing flicks like this over the past few years made me appreciate Oriental Adventures a lot more.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

I thought it tried to be a little of both, but didn't pull it off. The stylised artiness of it, from the fight scenes to the landscapes to the over-choreographed crowd scenes, clashed really badly with the tear-jerking tragedy they were trying for, and each detracted from the other too much for me.

Thinking about it, i think the weak link was the body language and movements, which were just too stiff and unconvincing. (Again, this could be my lack of exposure to sword-fu movies making me unused to it).

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

Ah, i have heard of the Once Apon A Time flicks (one of the titles i told myself to remember but didn't).

Thinking about it, i've just realised i haven't even seen a Bruce Lee film - another thing to remedy.

Ta.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I've seen one.
Enter The Dragon.

Laugh, oh I did.

[slowlight.livejournal.com]

*straightens up bent beak*

[kits-the-dm.livejournal.com]

Game of Death is better.
Besides, Enter the Dragon is a classic.

Comparing it to anything else is like trying to compare a Boris Karloff film to the new range of slasher horror, and saying that Karloff wasn't as gory. :)

[hbdeath.livejournal.com]

See, I'm usually willing to forgive films flaws if they're good to look at. It's a visual medium, and so if a film is a bit deficient in other departments I may cut it a bit more critical slack if it looks good. And Hero is a superlatively attractive film. Then again, I thought it was good on more than just the visual level as well. I'm not helping much, am I? Um... start with Bruce Lee. If you're not familiar with the martial arts genre, he's not a bad place to begin.

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

Ironically, it took me half an hour to get that.

[thorfinn]

Late response from me, but anyway... They're Chinese. Mandarin is a tonal language... You don't convey emotion with words as much, because there's not enough bandwidth there. You convey it with body language... that comes across as "over-the-top" to western eyes.

As for the sword-fu... Movies like Hero are the only movies with anything resembling martial arts that I can watch without going "argh, unrealistic!" I still get that, but it happens only in mental playback. It's good enough to fool my martial arts eye at the time of watching, even in the slow-mo bits. And that's impressive.

And... the story isn't a classic western story arc. It is a classic Chinese Mythic Tale, which is a completely different story form. Trust it, go with it, flow with it. It'll be a different movie.