legend of zu region 1 review....

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 07 Apr 2006, 16:49

i thought this movie was atrocious but here's a review of the region 1 release anyway

prepare to be enraged as the reviewer recommends the shorter english dub version

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=21029

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 07 Apr 2006, 16:55

Stay away from the R1 version at all costs.
It does NOT contain Tsui Hark's original cut.

http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=910

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 07 Apr 2006, 18:23

So it's a third cut Tom? As it does contain two cuts. Ignore disc 2 and it looks like the better DVD, no?

He's recommending the English dub for the length but oddly doesn't seem to mind the dub. Which is of much more importance to me than snooty "it's the director's vision" bollocks. I'm more than capable of deciding myself which is better.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 07 Apr 2006, 19:17

So it's a third cut Tom?

Yep.

Krispow wrote:CUTS -- A total of 1:38 of footage has been cut from this supposed uncut version:

* @ 2:35 -- ORIGINAL OPENING CREDITS (length - 1:32)
Yes indeed, the original HK opening credits have been removed in their entirety. There was absolutely no logical reason for Miramax to do this, as all the credits were in English and Chinese. For those who've never seen these credits, they're really cool to watch -- As the camera flies forward through a colorful, multi-hued, cloud-filled sky, red credits zoom and spin onto the screen. Beautiful. I can only surmise that because the film was titled "The Legend of ZU" in these credits, Miramax pulled it because it didn't say "Zu Warriors."

* @ 6:22 -- INSERT SHOT (length - 0:06)
Cut is this short insert shot which sets up the time period for the rest of the film. The shot itself features the mountains, the moon in the night sky, and the tree where King Sky had been sleeping over the centuries, and on-screen text stating "TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER." Why was this cut? Your guess is as good as mine.

ADDITIONS:

* @ 2:36 -- NEW ON-SCREEN TEXT
On-screen text stating "The outpost of KUNLUN" now appears over the shot in large white letters. This did not appear in the original HK version of the film.

* @ 29:46 -- NEW ON-SCREEN TEXT
On-screen text stating "The holy mountain of FIVE PEAKS" now appears over the shot in large white letters. This did not appear in the original HK version of the film.

* @ 98:13 - 99:50 -- NEW "OPENING" CREDITS... AT THE END OF THE FILM!
As stated earlier, Miramax chopped out the original HK opening credits in their entirety. What they did instead was create new "opening" credits and placed them at the very end of the film... right before the real HK closing credits! Instead of the super-colorful cool original HK credits, these are simply white text over a black background, and copy the opening credit text in full wit one exception... instead of writing "The Legend of ZU," Miramax has indeed replaced it with "Zu Warriors."

While the alterations might not seem excessive, I think Legend of Zu deserves better treatment.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 07 Apr 2006, 20:14

Why bother to give us a version in Cantonese then? Which is obviously for the market who want films in the original language so more than likely uncut and then cut it?

That's what the English dub version is for.