Cheap Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (DVD) (Hoi Mang, Biao Yuen) Price

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Customer Reviews of Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain

Some clarifications and a few interesting facts (warning: contains spoilers)
ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (XIN SHUSHAN JIANXIA, featuring Bridgette Lin)is a film dating back to the 1980's and is NOT to be mixed up with the much more recent LEGEND OF ZU (SHUSHAN ZHUAN, in which Zhang Ziyi appears), which appeared a couple years back, even though both are directed by Tsui Hark and both are supposed to be (I want to emphasize: SUPPOSED to be) based on a long fantasy novel entitled SHUSHAN JIANXIA (SWORDFIGHTERS OF MT SHU) by Chinese author Huanzhu Louzhu (also named Li Shoumin; 1902 ~ 1961). Many of the reviewers here seem to get mixed up between the two movies. By the way, the novel's not yet translated into English, sorry -- even though I'm perfectly confident it's more than a match for Tolkien's trilogy in terms of content. :p (Certainly the novel has exerted a tremendous influence on later Chinese swordplay fiction, such as the work of Jin Yong or Louis Cha.) <
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>NEITHER movie is true to the original novel (which in my estimate would require at least five long films, serious). The films aren't even condensed versions of the novel. With both movies Tsui Hark has committed the unpardonable sin of whipping together a story with elements and characters selected almost at random from the novel, possibly even adding his own stuff, and naming the resultant hodge-podge after the novel itself. To give a couple examples of how Tsui Hark's movie departs from the novel, in the novel becoming a blood monster is a strictly voluntary matter; you must go through special training :p and can't become one merely by being 'infected' by a blood monster, as happens in the movie. (I don't remember the blood monster forming a coccoon of skulls around itself in the original novel, either.) Also, in the original story the green and violet twin swords were lost treasures discovered by accident by two GIRLS, NOT guarded by a female immortal who then handed them to two BOYS, as in the (earlier) film. And that's just two examples, mate. <
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>So does that automatically make ZU: WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN a bad film? Yes and no. Yes, because it's nothing short of sacrilege to mar a work of literature in this way. No, because the film actually does have a lot of cool and spectacular effects, such as fighting with swords of lightning ;) and the visually impressive and lovely interior of the palace/fort of the 'Ice Queen' (though I doubt these appear in the novel at all), and the film's own plot is not too bad, either (I personally would have much preferred that the 'Ice Queen' could eventually cure the hero who turned into a blood monster, though). Tsui Hark has a very annoying knack, however, for rushing the story so much that all you have to do is blink and you'll miss out on a huge chunk of what's going on. Can't you have at least a few slower and calmer moments, for Heaven's sake? (This gets even worse in LEGEND OF ZU, so much so the plot is in danger of being utterly lost to the viewer.) Also, sometimes the acting just doesn't feel emotionally appropriate. When you learn that your beloved martial arts teacher is in danger of turning into a blood monster and no one can do anything to help, what would you feel? How would you act? The one playing the role of the teacher's disciple in the film acted like a stupid idiot at the point of learning that hard truth. Really. Tsui Hark really should have known better, for goodness' sake. Also, would you not feel at least some sorrow when learning of your teacher's death, even though he has turned into an evil creature? In the film, the idiot apparently didn't. Yeah, he died, now let's move on. Sure, right. <
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>My overall assessment: superb graphics, passable plot, atrocious handling of human emotions. And that's not taking into consideration the violence done to the original novel.

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A feast for the senses, an adventure for the spirit. Let yourself be enlightened.
The original Hong Kong version really is an incredible piece of work. I enjoyed the heck out of it. However it does require that you view it with a certain frame of mind. Most importantly you have to understand that it is not a character drama. There is little range of depth to any of the characters. They exist only to serve their various roles in the story. Think of it as if it were a legend passed down through the ages (like classic Greek mythology). In such legends you always hear the story told through a series of actions and outcomes. You're never given any insight into what drives the characters and we never see more than one side of them. They just represent these sort of unchanging idealized personas. The stories that come from this are fascinating nevertheless. So in this way The Legend of Zu is literally told in the style of a legend. <
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>That said the story is actually quite awesome. The basic premise is again very, very similar to classic Greek mythology: There is a mythical mountain range in China called Zu. Its highest peak, shrouded in mists, reaches up into the heavens. This place is populated by immortal beings who, in their scattered temples, have devoted themselves to various schools of thought. Across centuries they've honed their skills in the martial arts and have attuned their spirits to the forces of the universe. It is their task to maintain order and balance in the universe so that man can live in harmony with nature. Their actions influence the fates of the mortals below. Trouble arises when an unstoppable entity of pure evil calling itself Insomnia threatens to overthrow the most powerful school in the heavens, the Omei clan, and throw the world into an eternity of discord. <
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>The story is steeped heavily in Chinese lore so some parts are a bit esoteric, granted, but for the most part it's easy to follow if you can just keep up with it. There is a user on imdb who wrote "The most soulful, spiritual film I've ever seen," and I think I might have to agree with him. One of the more interesting aspects of the mythology is that just as the warrior has a spirit, so too does his or her weapon. As the warrior achieves mastery with the weapon their two souls act as one; until finally their sword is no longer a physical object but rather an extension of the warrior's own spirit, capable of unleashing devastating effects and allowing the possessor to fly. The weapons are all so unique in form and function that it makes the battle scenes quite unlike anything you've ever seen before in a martial arts film. <
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>The visuals and CGI effects, while perhaps not up to the level of say Lord of the Rings, are utterly stunning to behold. Every frame is like a painting straight from the mind of a creative genius. Matched to the superlative audio the film is quite a treat for the senses. All of this carried along by an engaging, complex, epic narrative and we have ourselves a little gem of a film! But like I said - you have to be willing and able to both divorce yourself from western conventions and to appreciate the sensibilities and beliefs of a different culture. Step out of yourselves for an hour and fourty minutes and just allow yourselves to enjoy this fun, lighthearted spiritual journey into the world of Chinese legend!

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Mystical Kung Poo with side order Nonsense!
Despite this movie being about 1. magic, 2. kung fu, 3. general weirdness and cheap funny props, 4. lots of flying in colorful outfits, 5. a spattering of cutie Chinese girls who also know magic- all of which attributes people who love kung fu think should/MUST be a really great combo- it was actually so boring to me (a diehard kung fu fan) and hard to follow that i didnt' want to watch anymore of it half way thru. <
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>It looked like a high-budget Chinese kung fu fantasy film from the 70's. Oh wait, it was. <
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>There was NOT a lot of fighting/kung fu, but there was a lot of flying around in funny colorful costumes and strange,convoluted dialogue. <
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>I got the impression they filmmakers were trying for something really epic, an -alien- Chinese mythology that didn't quite have the neatly-packaged-story nature of familiar, Western mythologies. In short, it make no sense and didtn' try to explain itself (nor should it)! It was a good try tho and if I were Chinese and kind of weird and living in the 70s i'd think the movie is like Chinese star wars. <
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>One more thing: <
>They used saran wrap enshrouded with packing tape to depict large broken blocks of ice. I mention this to attest to the early Tsui Hark's innovative set design and creative props. It was a neat although distracting way to cut costs. Also worthy of mention in this regard is the fake, incongruent, drawn cartoon lightning interleaved with fancy acrobatics and disjointed dialogue.