Pekin Opera Blues

You'd never see a movie like this in Hollywood. A pack of strong, intelligent women dominating every scene, of course not. The characters are interesting and distinct. Each action scene is fun and engaging. This film has everything you could ever want in a film, comedy, violence and a touch of romance. Not to mention the excellent lead actress Brigitte Lin who's performance is memorable.

An incredible cast lead by the amazing Birgitte Lin star in this expertly crafted film from auteur Tsui Hark. The comedy is funny, the music is great, the acting is good and the action scenes are well done. Add to this an interesting plot and a fast pace and you get an amazing film that expertly jumps between genres. Entertaining from frame one, this is one of my all-time favorites.

10 out of 10

A strange, unique, but very accessable mix of hard action and outrageous comedy. Bigitte Lin is disguised as a man as usual. Great rooftop kungfu and shooting action. This is one of the best Hong Kong films ever made. Another difference from standard HK fare is that the three heroes are all women.

In Peking Opera Blues, director Tsui Hark takes us back to 1913 China: daughter of the general Tsao-Wan [Lin Ching Hsia] is torn between the love for her father, who plans to secure a loan from the Europeans in order to aid president Yuan, and the support for a rebellious group, who see in Yuan's leadership a peril for the republic and therefore plan to unmask him by stealing the loan papers and handing them to the congress.

The movie follows the deeds of three women, different by social class (one is daughter of the general, another one a greedy street musician whose goal is to get rich and leave China, the third one a theatre performer - or, more precisely, an aspiring theatre performer, as acting at the time was only allowed to men) and, yet, put together by Fate. As the three eventually join forces, we get to see a lot of colorful Peking Opera performing, as well as amusing and endearing situations. The movie, indeed, deals with the problems of mutual trust and loyalty, especially in those situations when the ideals come to clash against the personal ambitions.

The only aspect of the movie I was a bit put off by is the ease with which the group is always able to escape the most dangerous situations. Even the hardest-to-die Bruce Willis would have been puzzled on how to leave the mansion... and Spiderman himself would need more than one try to leap successfully from a mansion to the top of a tower! Apart from this, Peking Opera Blues is a beautiful movie, more over enriched by a gripping soundtrack, dazzling theatre choreography and, most of all, an intense story that is sure to make you smile with joy at some moments and shiver with terror in other circumstances. 8/10

absolutely perfect film-making in a way that storytelling here is of foremost interest and not just great shots and cinematography like overrated Wong Kar Wai and Zhang Yimou used to do. This film beautifully depicting characteristic traits of China like its values, culture and principles and cleverly Tsui Hark let this clashed with politics, authority and government - which the last lyrical image of the laughing Peking Opera actor beautifully addressing to that political institutions are very transient but not Chinese valuable roots and traditions.

Sure, it's not evidently among Tsui Hark's bigger masterpieces like "Seven Swords" or "Once Upon A Time In China", but yet i think this surely should be compared to those greatest classics in the world but it's very difficult when a lot of people can't respect and understand Chinese traditions, so what we now have here is a tremendously underrated masterpiece that should be studied in the years to come, because is very inspirational how to tell a story in a visual way. Peking Opera Blues is the perfect paradigm.

I'll never forget this truly great film.