Zu Warriors:Star Wars in Chinese?

[Bolt]

Some great information on wuxiaBolt, I've enjoyed films like HoFD and Hero but never knew about wuxia. Any wuxia films you suggest?

There's some really great classic Wuxia films like Come Drink With Me and A Touch of Zen (both directed by King Hu), as well as less fanciful films that sort of paved the way for modern Wuxia, like Last Hurrah For Chivalry, The One Armed Swordsman, and Temple of the Red Lotus. If you're looking for more modern Wuxia, the kind with the crazy special effects and more elaborate fight scenes, then there's all kinds of stuff readily available to check out... Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain, The Bride With White Hair, Dragon Inn, Ashes of Time, The Storm Riders, The Duel, Three Swordsmen, Duel To The Death, Deadful Melody (a really underrated film with the ever-astounding Yuen Biao), even Wuxia films from Taiwan and Korea, such as Bichunmoo, Sword In The Moon, and Legend of the Evil Lake. The "Golden Age" is considered to be the fanciful, shot-on-location, theatre-esque time around King Hu's two mega-hit films, but a lot of people prefer new age Wuxia which focuses a lot more on cinematography and special effects.

Again, Wuxia isn't to be confused with the "Wire-Fu" genre, so films like Iron Monkey, Tai Chi Master, OUATIC, Tai Chi II, Heroes Among Heroes, Last Hero In China, etc. don't *really* count as Wuxia-pan.

Edit: And as trendy as it is, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is actually a really great hybrid Wuxia/Wire-Fu film. The locations, the soundtrack, the players, the weapons, and the choreography are all top notch for the genre.

 

[Barom 1]

Your talking about wuxia led me to read the wiki write-up on it, which did say that wuxia and wire-fu were different. I enjoyed the beauty and story telling of the wuxia films I've seen and don't go into a film like HoFD or Hero expecting a wire-fu film.

I'm going to try to check out some of the films you listed, I'm probably hit some of the older films first, since I've seen what some of the newer films with modern FX and cinematography have to offer.

I thought CTHD, HoFD and Hero had some beautiful cinematography.

 

[MaraJade]

Bolt, I know you might not go for K-dramas, but I was wondering what the stuff in Damo: Or horribly translated as "An Female Undercover Detective in Chosun" is comprised of wuxia or wire - fu? As far as the films in that genre go, I really enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was different from CTHD and Hero. It was sorta mix in between. Any thoughts?

Also, personally, I think Hero and HOFD blew CTHD outta the water. Granted, I think it was a necessary step in the director's (his name is slipping my mind atm), growth and evolution into intertwining the art with the art of exquisite cinematography and story-telling. From CTHD, to Hero, to HOFD - I'm very anxiously waiting in anticipation for his next film.

As far as the action and stuff go though, Hero blew my mind. The mental fight btwn Donnie and Jet was very artistic, and the fight on the lake-smooth, not a ripple...amazing. But HOFD blew my mind for the story it told...I loved the Water Drum Dance - I have to hand it to Zhang Ziyi, she's come a long way from her "dancing" in CTHD to really pulling it off and adding her own flare to her style in HOFD.

 

[SaikoDragon]

I watched this the other day with a friend. He bought it just for Zhang Zi. The movie pretty much sucked. Im not sure how anyone could have enjoyed it. The pacing was pretty bad, the script was written poorly. The characters were interesting but forgettable. The story itself is tried and true, nothing original but it's not a bad story. Just told in a very poor way. The special effects were awesome but the fights were not entertaining at all.

There were bits of the movie I liked but for the most part I felt it was just stupid. Not a good movie.

"White Brow" - Lmao.

 

[Bolt]

Bolt, I know you might not go for K-dramas, but I was wondering what the stuff in Damo: Or horribly translated as "An Female Undercover Detective in Chosun" is comprised of wuxia or wire - fu? As far as the films in that genre go, I really enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was different from CTHD and Hero. It was sorta mix in between. Any thoughts?

I haven't seen it myself, but it's usually an easier keystone to differentiating between the two genres by just gauging whether the focus is more on aesthetic grace or on the nuances of the action. Sometimes Wuxia and Wire-Fu are radically different; sometimes there's hardly any differences at all, but usually Wuxia will favor the more aesthetic camera angels, prop usage, and use of fluidity in movement and wirework. Wire-Fu is more or less a takeoff of the traditional "Kung Fu Film" with wires used as a means to an end of making the fight more superhuman and/or powerful (used in a lot of films based around Shaolin or Tai Chi-chuan, but of course not limited to). The thing to keep in mind is that these classifications I've been sorta laying out really aren't that important, as long as you enjoy the film. But as an amateur stuntman and martial artist, I tend to prefer films with more ground-based traditional martial arts.

Also, personally, I think Hero and HOFD blew CTHD outta the water. Granted, I think it was a necessary step in the director's (his name is slipping my mind atm), growth and evolution into intertwining the art with the art of exquisite cinematography and story-telling. From CTHD, to Hero, to HOFD - I'm very anxiously waiting in anticipation for his next film.

Actually, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was directed by Ang Lee, whereas Hero and House of Flying Daggers were helmed by mainland director Zhang Yimou. Lee, being the more "21st Century" director, made more use of homages to other films and more explicit use of actual styles and produced more of a wire-fu film with Wuxia elements. Yimou's films stuck very very closely to the Wuxia formulas, in reverse, but still had wire-fu elements during some of the fight scenes.

As a side note, I encourage everyone interest in Wuxia to check out Tsui Hark's recent film, The Seven Swords, starring Donnie Yen, Gordon Liu, and Leon Lai. I had thought Hark had like dropped off the face of the earth or something, but it turns out he's still one of the few people making Wuxia films! w000!

"White Brow" - Lmao.

Bak Mei/Pak Mei/Pai Mei = "White Eyebrow Traitor."

 

[MaraJade]

SNIP~I haven't seen it myself, but it's usually an easier keystone to differentiating between the two genres by just gauging whether the focus is more on aesthetic grace or on the nuances of the action. Sometimes Wuxia and Wire-Fu are radically different; sometimes there's hardly any differences at all, but usually Wuxia will favor the more aesthetic camera angels, prop usage, and use of fluidity in movement and wirework. Wire-Fu is more or less a takeoff of the traditional "Kung Fu Film" with wires used as a means to an end of making the fight more superhuman and/or powerful (used in a lot of films based around Shaolin or Tai Chi-chuan, but of course not limited to).

Ahh, hmm. how to describe it...I'd say that there was more attention on the camera angles, definitely prop usage, and fluidity of movement. Whatever wire-work there was, served to increase the pace, action, or emphasize the movement, not necessarily to show "superhuman" abilities.

Ah and to add to your note about martial arts groundwork, yeah, we've mentioned this before - capable stuntment/martial artists can make the wirework and such accessories less needed, but I will be the first to admit, that the wire-fu definitely can augment the experience if used right. Still, I guess I'm kinda stuck in between, as I make HEAVY use of that Slow-mo option...prolly too much ^_^;;

Actually, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was directed by Ang Lee, whereas Hero and House of Flying Daggers were helmed by mainland director Zhang Yimou. Lee, being the more "21st Century" director, made more use of homages to other films and more explicit use of actual styles and produced more of a wire-fu film with Wuxia elements. Yimou's films stuck very very closely to the Wuxia formulas, in reverse, but still had wire-fu elements during some of the fight scenes.

Ahh, Ok, I meant Zhang Yimou...It was his evolution as a director and storyteller that I'm looking forward to.

As a side note, I encourage everyone interest in Wuxia to check out Tsui Hark's recent film, The Seven Swords, starring Donnie Yen, Gordon Liu, and Leon Lai. I had thought Hark had like dropped off the face of the earth or something, but it turns out he's still one of the few people making Wuxia films! w000!

Ooh, definitely will try to. Thanks for the insights~!

 

[Bolt]

Ah and to add to your note about martial arts groundwork, yeah, we've mentioned this before - capable stuntment/martial artists can make the wirework and such accessories less needed, but I will be the first to admit, that the wire-fu definitely can augment the experience if used right. Still, I guess I'm kinda stuck in between, as I make HEAVY use of that Slow-mo option...prolly too much ^_^;;

I don't think wirework is ever really "unnecessary" if it's what the action director has in mind, unless it's something that can be done without, but yeah, it can definitely augment a good action scene, it's just rare that it does.

And slow-mo, that's more of a stylization thing, I love it. You can use slow-mo sparingly or copiously and it still doesn't look as fake or cheesy as bad wirework.

 

[ForeverRed]

"White Brow" - Lmao.

Do not insult Sammo Hung.

I watched it last night and it was awesome. That was too much powerful in the movie. Ekin Cheung was awesome. So is Ziyi Zhang. It was good to see my favourite actor... SAMMO HUNG! He ruled.