Se diu ying hung: Dung sing sai jau

A really fun filled comedy Wuxia movie starring almost every Big Titan of the Hong kong cinema in the 80's and '90s. A really fun movie with good slapstick humour and gags which will surely bring smile to your face. If you are familiar with the great Names in the cast and have seen their other works, seeing them together to make a fun movie together after the intense work on "Ashes of Time" will surely be a pleasing experience for you. The plot is somewhat simple yet bizarre and has good colourful shots which pleases you. It is a fun filled ride and you should definately give it a watch fan or not of hongkong cinema as this film surely help you be one.

This movies is best viewed as a series of sketches with a loose background story. I'd previously watched it on VHS but I think somebody borrowed and never returned it as it has gone missing. I finally got the DVD version and watched it today. It's a no frills DVD - looks like it's been transferred straight from video.

Anyway, it is as funny as it was the first time round. I had such a stomach ache from laughing so hard and I could feel the tears welling up.

The most memorable 'sketches' are: Jacky Cheung vs Tony Leung in the forest (this one is long and just hilarious from beginning to end) and the dancing and singing number with Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Ka Fai. There are other funny moments throughout but if you get the humour, then these two scenes will kill you. The 4 above mentioned actors give the funniest perfomance.

One thing that has to be said is that I watched a Cantonese version which had Chinese and English subtitles. If these English subtitles are the only translation available then I feel sorry for anyone watching with those as they are truly dreadful. Some of the lines are literally translated (resulting in nonsense) and others, I have no clue what script they are translating from. Shame really, as the delivery of some of the lines is just too funny, especially from Tony and Jacky. Brigitte Lin has also got to be the most beautiful woman in the film and Leslie is cute, cute, cute.

The only weakest link to me was Veronica Yip who's popularity at the time had recently risen due to baring all in some movie or other. Hence her appearing in a movie with all these huge stars. I have no complaints with the other actors. Carina Lau is one of my favourite actresses. She does a good job albeit in a slightly kooky role. A lot of overacting at times but it's goes with the spirit of the film - it's just for fun and I sure had a lot of it from watching.

8/10, mostly for the laughs.

This is one of the wildest, most confusing and most enjoyable films I have seen in awhile. There are 6 or 7 plotlines (I think) and I couldn't even keep straight who was male and who was female much less what their story was. Granted I can't speak cantonese and I don't get a lot of the cultural references but I think even if I was Chinese I would have a hard time figuring out what the heck is going on.

But ultimately it doesn't matter! If you like HK epic costume/swordfighting/kung fu period pieces, then don't miss this. There are love triangles/quadrangles/pentangles, guys running around in gorilla suits, centipedes crawling around in people's stomaches. They put everything they could think of in this one. I particularly like the announcement of all the ridiculous "techniques". (try and guess what move "monkey stealing peaches" is)

If that doesn't convince you, Bridgette Lin AND Maggie Cheung. Just turn your brain off and watch.

For some odd reason, then I've actually never watched the 1993 movie "Se Diu Ying Hung: Dung Sing Sai Jau" (aka "The Eagle Shooting Heroes") before now in 2025. And it is not because I didn't know that the movie existed, and I even had a DVD version of it laying around since around the mid-2000s. But I just never got around to watching it, which is odd as I am a big fan of Maggie Cheung.

But 2025 would be the year that I finally got around to sit down and watch what director Jeffrey Lau had to offer. Maybe I had been missing out on a great action comedy in Hong Kong cinema here.

While I have indeed not read Louis Cha's novel, upon which the movie was based, then I must say that writers Louis Cha and Jeffrey Lau certainly put together and enjoyable and funny script and storyline. The movie doesn't take itself particularly serious, and you have to sit down to watch this with a very open mind and be prepared for an abundance of silly scenes.

I have to say that I am overwhelmed by the sheer amount of acting talents that starred in the movie. This was most definitely a treat for any fan of the Hong Kong cinema. Sure, I knew that the movie had Maggie Cheung in it, but I wasn't aware that talents such as Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Brigitte Lin, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau, Joey Wang, Veronica Yip and Kenny Bee was also starring in the movie. The sheer amount of great performers on the cast list really took me by surprise. Needless to say that the acting performances were good.

My rating of director Jeffrey Lau's 1993 movie "Se Diu Ying Hung: Dung Sing Sai Jau" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Fast in pace and rich in adventures, extravagance, color and music, "Eagle Shooting Heroes" adopts the same characters of "Ashes of Time" but, unlike Kar-Wai's epic movie, here they stand on the screen with the sole purpose of entertaining... and they fully succeed!

The movie can be roughly divided into 3 parts: in the first part, which takes place over a wide landscape, we get to meet the 9 (!) protagonists one by one, and learn about their quest (it can be love, world domination, revenge or achieving nirvana). Lin Ching Hsia and Chiu-Wai in particular shine and deliver the first ferocious confrontation of the movie, by showing us two terrific kung-fu moves: the "Sea can't be Measured" and the "Toad Shen-Kong".

Once we have met all the characters, the second part gathers them together in the enclosed space of an inn, so we see them interact. Hysterically funny is Joey Wang, who may be Leslie Cheung's sweetheart, but apart from that bears very little that can be referred to as sweet. Highly entertaining are also Ka-Fai and Jacky Cheung, who try to win the resistance of their loved ones with their musical talent.

Finally, the third part shows the ultimate confrontation. The ending may actually be the only flaw of the movie, and I personally agree with the character interpreted by Leslie Cheung, who at one point states "too ridiculous!".

However, apart from the bizarre ending, this is an excellent movie... but be prepared for many surprises! And if you thought the cross-dressing of Ranma and Final Fantasy VII are extreme, be ready to change your rankings, as far as extravagance is concerned! 9/10

PS: The DVD (from Ah-Mei) allows selection of Mandarin or Cantonese language (with English/Chinese subtitles burned on the movie), but other than that, no extra feature is included at all.