The Official Seven Swords Thread!

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Aug 2005, 12:20

I said Flying Dagger, not House of Flying Daggers.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Aug 2005, 13:10

Whats' Flying Dagger?
I've never heard of it?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Aug 2005, 13:25

You don't know what you're missing, then.

Flying Dagger is a great little film.
Director: Chu Yin-Ping, Ching Siu-Tung
Actors: Tony Leung Kar-Fai, Maggie Cheung, Ng Man-Tat, Sharla Man Cheung.

It's one of those crazy low-budget wire-fu comedy movies that they used to make in 1993.

Well worth a look if you can find a proper DVD edition. 8)
(Mine is from french label Asian Star : no english subs, as usual).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 15:11

Tom2681 wrote:Most of the actors in the movie are cantonese-speakers.

I presume they can speak Mandarin though?

Tom2681 wrote:Of course, for the sake of historical accuracy the movie should have been shot in Mandarin, but all the great wire-fu films were in cantonese (Swordsman 2, Iron Monkey, Butterfly and Sword, Flying Dagger).

My reason has been answered by you and this isn't some Iron Monkey type martial arts flick this looks to be on the same level as CTHD and HOFD.

It should be shot in Mandarin.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Aug 2005, 15:21

this looks to be on the same level as CTHD and HOFD.

Blasphemy. CTHD and HOFD were sh*t compared to Seven Swords !

Swordplay films just don't work in mandarin.
Hero was a rare exception.

Comparing Tsui's movie to Ang Lee's and Zhang Yimou's ?!
Has the world turned upside-down ?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Aug 2005, 15:28

Anyway I've already seen Seven Swords in Mandarin and in Cantonese.
The Mandarin dub doesn't work for me I'm afraid. It sounds too weird.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 15:59

Tom2681 wrote:Blasphemy. CTHD and HOFD were sh*t compared to Seven Swords !

That bodes well then as I utterly love those two films.

Tom2681 wrote:Comparing Tsui's movie to Ang Lee's and Zhang Yimou's ?!
Has the world turned upside-down ?

Of course because Tsui Hark has released a good film in the last 10 years. The last one I recall was The Blade (which I've not seen) back in 1995.

Zhang Yimou is consistently excellent and by and large Ang Lee is decent.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 20 Aug 2005, 17:01

Brad wrote:Tsui Hark has released a good film in the last 10 years

Only one ? Your taste is really different from mine, then.

-1995: The Blade: Absolute masterpiece. The last great WuXia from the 20th century.
-1995: Chinese Feast: very enjoyable little comedy.
-1995: Love in the time of twilight: Almost as good as "Lovers".
-1997: Animated Chinese Ghost Story: Hugely underrestimated.
-2000: Time and Tide: Extremely stylish action movie.
-2001: Legend Of Zu: The most underrated swordplay film of all time.

On the other hand:
-Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: OK story, but miscast Chow Yun-Fat and ridiculous Woo-Ping choregraphy.
-House of Flying Daggers: Perfect cinematography but emotionally empty. Ugly CGI ruin this movie.

This of course only represents my VERY humble opinion.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Aug 2005, 17:37

CTHD wasn't shit!

Far from it, though I agree with Tom about the possible miscasting of CYF. I'm not saying he's not a versatile actor but what period MA movies had he done before then?
Postman Fights Back (almost 20 years previously). Thats it.
I havent seen CTHD in a while though

I preferred Hero to CTHD.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 19:18

Tom2681 wrote:-1995: Chinese Feast: very enjoyable little comedy.
-1995: Love in the time of twilight: Almost as good as "Lovers".
-1997: Animated Chinese Ghost Story: Hugely underrestimated.

I can't comment on these films as I've never heard of them before but they're far from acclaimed.

Tom2681 wrote:-2000: Time and Tide: Extremely stylish action movie.

Utter rubbish. Flash camera work does not a good movie make.

Tom2681 wrote:-2001: Legend Of Zu: The most underrated swordplay film of all time.

Isn't this considered tosh by everyone bar you?

Tom2681 wrote:On the other hand:
-Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: OK story, but miscast Chow Yun-Fat and ridiculous Woo-Ping choregraphy.
-House of Flying Daggers: Perfect cinematography but emotionally empty. Ugly CGI ruin this movie.

This is not a fair comparison you've compared 6 Tsui Hark films with 1 Ang Lee and 2 Zhang Yimou. Yimou classics for example are:

House of Flying Daggers
Hero
The Road Home
Not One Less - I don't know much about this one
To Live

As for your comments:

CTHD: A fantastic heart wrenching story with a very well cast Chow Yun-Fat. How is the choreography ridiculous considering we're talking Wuxia?
HOFD: Emotionless, What? It had oodles of emotion, especially the second half. I was moved anyway.

I didn't have a problem with any CGI and I'm not just saying that.

grim_tales wrote:though I agree with Tom about the possible miscasting of CYF. I'm not saying he's not a versatile actor but what period MA movies had he done before then?
Postman Fights Back (almost 20 years previously). Thats it.

I thought you said CYF had done a good job?

I completely disagree why is it remotely relevant how many period films he has done? The man is a very good actor and can easily pull of challenging roles.

If I could understand Mandarin I might be saying something else but as I can't then I can't comment on his Mandarin speaking skills.

I know it's commonly thought Jet Li would've done a better job. I disagree sure he can speak Mandarin but CYF has proved on more than one occasion he's a very good actor. Jet Li can act but thus far hasn't pushed himself as much as CYF has.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Aug 2005, 20:39

He had done a great job. That doesnt mean he would of been my first choice.

Consider Jet Li was Ang Lee's original choice.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 21 Aug 2005, 02:51

Visuals and action scenes aside, CTHD is far better than Hero and simply shits all HOFD IMO. Ang Lee's an excellent storyteller (Hulk was a superb character study IMO. It's just flamed because people were expecting brainless popcorn blockbuster crap like the awful X-men movies. Also Hulk's action KICKED ARSE.), judging by Hero & HOFD alone Zhang Yimou isn't as adept in that department.

Hero's story and characterisations were mediorce at best. HOFD is just a badly-written mess and it probably stilll would've been with the Anita Mui plot thread intact.

bradavon wrote:I know it's commonly thought Jet Li would've done a better job. I disagree sure he can speak Mandarin but CYF has proved on more than one occasion he's a very good actor.

HAHA, Jet Li being a better choice than CYF? Blasphemy. CYF is an excellent and very versatile actor, Jet Li is just a martial arts popcorn movie star.

Tom2681 wrote:
this looks to be on the same level as CTHD and HOFD.

Blasphemy. CTHD and HOFD were sh*t compared to Seven Swords !

Comparing Tsui's movie to Ang Lee's and Zhang Yimou's ?!
Has the world turned upside-down ?

Sure the action sequences in HK action films maybe far better, but in the story/characterisation department CTHD releases its bowels from great heights onto them. The "stories" told by HK action filmmakers are typically just padding to tie together action set pieces.

On another note, I look forward to Ang Lee's new film about fudge packing cowboys. That ought to be good.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 21 Aug 2005, 07:34

Huh?
I didnt want Hulk to be a brainless action film - I like my films to have a story. But not at the expense of waiting almost 1 hour to see the main character. It was very slow in its' build up, IMO

But lets get back on topic

Brad,
Fair enough.

I think Eva's sentiment that Jet is just a popcorn star is a bit harsh. Maybe IN COMPARISON to CYF (ie CYF has done more roles which require acting too rather than just kicking arse).

I'll watch CTHD again and get back to you.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 21 Aug 2005, 12:11

grim_tales wrote:Huh?
I didnt want Hulk to be a brainless action film - I like my films to have a story. But not at the expense of waiting almost 1 hour to see the main character. It was very slow in its' build up, IMO
But lets get back on topic

In a few other superhero movies you had to wait 40-odd mins (like Hulk) before you saw the actual hero. Eg Spider-man 1, Batman Begins. Origin stories in other words, like Hulk was.

I think Eva's sentiment that Jet is just a popcorn star is a bit harsh. Maybe IN COMPARISON to CYF (ie CYF has done more roles which require acting too rather than just kicking arse).

I'm not convinced of his acting abilities yet. I haven't seen a film yet with any real dramatic material for him to work with. Hero is basically him expressionlessly staring while spouting short lines at a time.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 23 Aug 2005, 15:55

According to Deltamac, the Seven Swords DVD is tentatively scheduled to be released in the last week of September. 8)

Says ADVDG.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 23 Aug 2005, 16:05

Eva what about the OUATIC movies?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 23 Aug 2005, 23:03

grim_tales wrote:Eva what about the OUATIC movies?

Haven't seen 'em.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 24 Aug 2005, 08:50

You should do

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 26 Aug 2005, 23:34

What Eva! Buy the IVL box set NOW!

All OUATIC films are fantastic, especially parts 1 and 2. They prove Jet can act, as does Danny the Dog.

Not that that DTD is in the same league as OUATIC1-3.

EvaUnit02 wrote:Zhang Yimou isn't as adept in that department.

You should check out more of his work. Hero and HOFD aren't his best dramatic work. Check out "Going Home" (Zhang Ziyi's first feature) to see what he can really do.

Zhang Yimou is easily up there with Ang Lee, he's a better director IMO.

X-men 2 was awesome!

Hero's story and characterisations were mediorce at best. HOFD is just a badly-written mess and it probably stilll would've been with the Anita Mui plot thread intact.

EvaUnit02 wrote:HAHA, Jet Li being a better choice than CYF? Blasphemy. CYF is an excellent and very versatile actor, Jet Li is just a martial arts popcorn movie star.

Huh that's exactly what I said except I disagree Jet Li isn't just a popcorn movie star far from it.

EvaUnit02 wrote:fudge packing cowboys. That ought to be good.

What's a fudge packign cowboy?

Some who packs fudge for a living and on their spare time is a cowboy?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 27 Aug 2005, 07:17

Brad can you change the line "Hero's story and characters were mediocre" line in your post so Eva wrote it?
At the moment it looks like you wrote it.
I agree with you OUATIC 1-3 prove Jet can definitely act. The WFH/Peony/Foon triangle gives an extra dimension to the story and gives him more to work with. He's very good in all three films.

BTW Yimou's first film is "The Road Home" not "Going Home"

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 27 Aug 2005, 12:34

bradavon wrote:What Eva! Buy the IVL box set NOW!

Nah. I'm I need my money for films which shit all over some wire-fu movies. Eg Sergio Leone and Scorsese films. I'll see OUATIC1-3 eventually though.

You should check out more of his work. Hero and HOFD aren't his best dramatic work. Check out "Going Home" (Zhang Ziyi's first feature) to see what he can really do.

Is "The Road Home' the film that's about a teacher who has an affair with his student (Ziyi)?

Zhang Yimou is easily up there with Ang Lee, he's a better director IMO.

I'm yet to be convinced of that. As far as I'm concerned CTHD and Hulk release their bowels onto Hero and HOFD from great heights.

X-men 2 was awesome!

Both X-men 1&2 had shit stories. Aside from Wolverine (such a vastly overrated character), Rogue, Xavier and Magneto all the other characters were 2D caricatures. X-men has a massive ensemble cast, it's impossible to flesh them all out in the space 90-120mins.

What's a fudge packign cowboy?

Some who packs fudge for a living and on their spare time is a cowboy?

It's a colloquialism for homosexuals. Ang's new film is a love story between two gay cowboys, which is out in about month's time in the States. It stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in order to drawn in the teenage girl demographic. It's based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, making it basically the equivalent of man writing about lesibans

. The Hollywood liberals ought to lap it up come Oscar time (eg the pro-euthanasia message in Million Dollar Baby is why that piece of manipulative tripe did so well at the Oscars), which is good since Ang is Oscar worthy.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 04 Sep 2005, 03:47

Seven Swords: 2 Disc Limited Edition - DVD Region 3
Release/Despatch Date: Friday 30 Sep

*drools*

Special Features (English Subtitle Available)(TBC):

Making Of
Shooting Diaries
The Swords, The Swordsmen
The Duel: Dragon Vs. Transience
Theatrical Trailer
News Clip Of Hong Kong Gala Premiere
Photo Gallery
And more...

At CD-WOW for 11.99£

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 04 Sep 2005, 04:05

So wait... is this the longer Hark-cut? Or will there be yet another 1000 versions of a single film again?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 04 Sep 2005, 04:36

No, I'm afraid it's only the 153-minutes cut.

The extended Hark cut isn't complete (the special effects aren't done).
Tsui needs the studio's approval in order to complete and release his director's cut.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 04 Sep 2005, 10:19

Argh... so this is a: Yes, a film I need to buy multiple versions of.