The Dream of Red Mansions

This is Beijing's 2010 TV- series adaptation of the classic 1700s novel, about the tragic love of Bao Yu and Tai Yu. The story also focuses on the rise and decline of the four notable families and the revolts of the many servants and nurses in Grand View Garden.

My mom and I saw several episodes of this series and she said that it follows the novel more closely than the beloved 1987 TV series. However, the overall execution of this version pales in comparison with its 1987 counterpart. The costumes were less vibrant and colorful and the characters' make-up and hairstyles look like Chinese opera troupe members. The music sounded like generic canned soundtrack and doesn't come close with the majestic and elegant songs of the 1987 version. And, the cinematography just appeared washed out and too dreamy, not very realistic.

So, overall, not a very successful adaptation of the novel, in my opinion.

Grade D-

The reviews are probably from chinese nationalities that watched the 1980s version but its flaw is forgivable; (soundtrack) i loved the actress that played Lin Daiyu she perfectly portray her as she is supposed to be perceived in the novel, the actress give me a ethereal vibe compared to the 1980s version. It followed the novel more and i liked how instead of portraying realistically the director went with the dreamy vibe that the original author wanted as the novel is supposed to mirror his real life but nor his reality. I think Chinese people tend to downplay this drama because it was made by a female director and the female director in question is an artsy-one that heavily focused on the aesthetic of the cinematography. I liked the hairstyle as it perfectly suited the ambiance. I definitely think that foreigners will like this version compared to the 80's and 70's version lol.

The TV series is re-produced version after the same titled version in 1987. Compared to the old version, this one has the following advantages and disadvantages:

1.One of the biggest advantages. Props such as cups, cabinets, jades and crown are very delicate in this series, it can be seen most of the costs spent on the props area.

2. More complete performance of the original content. The length of the TV series is more abundant than the old version, so it can put more detail onto the screen according to original novel.

1. The most fatal shortcoming. Original novel written by Xueqin Cao is the representative of ancient tragedy of all-time in China, but this screenplay did not demonstrate the original spirit in the second half (after 40 episodes), although that part was continue written by many people instead of Mr Cao himself.

2.The cast of main roles is not particularly appropriate. For example, Lin Daiyu (played by Mengjie Jiang) and Xue Baochai (played by Qin Li) should be swap, because Lin looks thin while Xue looks fat in the original novel. If Jia's Grandma played by Linlang Ye instead of Tsai Chin may be better because Ye looks a woman in rich state not from county. Tsai Chin worked very seriously, and fully demonstrates what a noble offspring should be. Unfortunately, maybe heavy decorations on her wigs affected her performance, result in I always feel that many of her head shows did not perform perfectly in place. Besides, she also spoke in very slow rate, it seems it is not easy to read lines in Mandarin for her .

3.Many supporting roles, such as Jia Zheng's concubine Aunt Zhao, Jia Baoyu's Attendant Ming Yan, maids, female cooks in Jia's family played much better than main roles. 4.All of female main roles' hair was made as actress' hair in Peking opera, their clothes are too luxurious which lead the whole making-up not enough realistic - perhaps that is the director's pursuit, but I could not able to accept in personal view. By contrast, the characters' appearance and clothing in 1987's version are more pragmatic, not impressionistic and abstract.

Summary: This series spent more energy on the external form, not content and original spirit. Two of Mishap, the failure of the casting and adaptation in latter part which weaken tragic consequence lead it could NOT go beyond the 1987's version.