San tin lung bat bo: Tin San Tung Lo

It's hard to rate this one. It has everything that is great in it.

Jin Yong wrote the book.

Gong Li in her prime. The casting could not be better, and she is as brilliant as ever in this role.

Gorgeous, beautiful visuals, photography, palette, composition, make-up, costume designs, SFX (NO CGI - AS THE LORD COMMANDETH).

Some westerners might be surprised to find out the plot revolves on (somewhat unrequited) love between women. This movie is from 1994.

Its fast, entertaining, chop-chop, action kung-fu in the best Hong Kong fashion.

One downside: you WILL need to pause and rewind at times to get a full grasp of the plot, since its given away way too early, way to quickly, and the names are all similar and it's presented in a most confusing fashion. BUT, you are not watching this on a theater, suit yourself. It's a great movie nonetheless. The sort of which I wish there were more abundant.

First off, let me say that you have to be into the fantasy/sorcery style of asian kung-fu movies to like this one. As typical, the movies of this type where the characters have super-natural powers use lots of what some would see as "campy" special effects and profuse of wires and such.

Anyway, about the movie... The story-line is good. (Which you can read in the plot line.) Basically, there is a family clan in which all the members seem obsessed with power. And they stick together only so long as they need each others help. But as in the old Clint Eastwood westerns, you can trust no one. There is plenty "back-stabbing" as each seeks the "ultimate" kung-fu powers that will put them on top.

There isn't really that much traditional martial arts in this movie. In fact, barely any. However, it is somewhat entertaining. The movie I saw was in Chinese, with English sub-titling. So if you read like.. "bob .. a-and jerrry ... went", then just ignore the words and just look at the happenings. Because in these kinds of movies, things happen quick. Anyway, the words I can tell, don't translate very precisely.

So, this is not a "must see", unless you just like seeing that Lin woman. I wonder if she's as pretty without all the make-up they obviously must be using lots of (for I'm sure she must be nearly middle-aged by now.)

I love this movie, it's a Classic Chinese Fantasy story (along the lines of The Lord of the Rings). The actresses made the movie and I thought it was superbly casted. The story was complex, interesting and nicely adapted from the book. Granted, I speak Cantonese so it was not a problem for me to follow the twists and turns. I also speak English and *sigh* the translation really bothered me. It was wayyyyy off.

The actual dialogue is quite serious and it is spoken in "Traditional Chinese" like The lord of the rings. All the characters, stances and scrolls have really cool names but in the translation it sounds ridiculous. For example Tian Shan Tonge Low roughly means the all powerful eternally youthful one (there is only one, hence the fighting for the status). In the movie it's translated as "Tian Shan KIDDY" LOL

Anyways, all in all I think this is one of the best Chinese Fantasy movies from the genre.

I haven't cackled so heartily at a fantasy fun fu movie in months. Rocks explode at every blow, bolts of multicoloured energy whizz around in ever more interesting geometric forms, heroines and heroes age and revivify at an astonishing rate, and there's at least two of Brigitte Lin involved, so the subtle Sapphic mood is definitely in the house. The lyre that figures so highly in the synopsis is a brief adjunct over the titles at the start and the end, which is a relief, because the dodgy fingerpicking and the sound it generates bear scant relation.

If you can just let this movie roll over you, it's pure fun. If you try to understand what's going on, you'll be frowning from the word go. As far as I can make out, there are at least four, and possibly many more, power mad characters trying to get their hands on every last scroll, jade medallion, power "stance", and otherworldy deathray in existence on earth and in the spirit world, in order to do some fancy showboating in kung fu technique heaven. I found myself thinking of Steven Chow's Kung Fu Hustle on more than one occasion. The tongue in cheek campness is fairly relentless from start to finish, and I reckon it would make a great pantomime script.

Not recommended for beard stroking intellectuals or biff bang wallop Shaolin purists, but it's compulsive viewing once it's up and running/flying/zapping/ disintegrating etc. Silly and fluffy escapism it may be, but it's bonkers enough, and keeps a straight enough face to entrance kids of any age. Compared to pompous overblown garbage like Stormriders, it's self-parodying low-budget nirvana.