Sonhos da Ópera de Pequim

Opinion seems pretty evenly divided on PEKING OPERA BLUES. One camp regards it as possibly the best film to come out of Hong Kong in the last twenty years, while the other camp thinks it's "stoopid".

Oddly, I come down somewhere between the two.

The first thing to understand is that POB is NOT a kung fu film. Yes, it has fighting in it. It has gunplay and it even has torture. But it is not a kung fu film. Mostly, it's a comedy adventure and those of us familiar with Hong Kong cinema will be well-aware that Hong Kong humour is, at best, an acquired taste, especially for us gwai-loh.

The next thing to understand is that its importance lies in the way it completely subverts the traditional gender roles in Chinese society. Some of this lies on the surface - in the way that Cherie Chung's character tries to get some stage acting in but is chastised by her father for it (at this time in China, all female roles on stage were played by men). Some of this lies in the subtext - in the way that Brigitte Lin's character is completely in charge of both her female and her male companions. And some of it lies in between - in the way that Lin dresses as a man (a long and honorable tradition in Chinese storytelling), but a bit odd here as she's not actually *disguised* as a man.

Add to this that all three female leads are headstrong women who know what they want (Brigitte Lin is just stronger, even, than the other two) and that the men are followers (Mark Cheng follows orders, then Brigitte, and Kwok Keung Cheung just follows Mark) and you can begin to see the impact this must have had when it came out in 1986 - years before we had Xena Warrior Princess or Veronica Mars.

Overall, I think POB is a good movie, though probably not a great one. When I watch it (I have the dodgy DeltaMac DVD release with the eccentric subtitling - "There's a girl. Knock her up!") I just can't help feeling that this should have been much better than it was.

Maybe if Tsui Hark were to do a remake today, POB would be the movie it always deserved to be ...

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.

Really enjoyable film in so many ways ... funny, clever, exciting, thrill ride from start to finish. What the plot is or means we may never exactly know [what is that coveted document everyone is willing to die for, anyway? and how is the second general connected to the first?], but we get the basic story idea. Subtitles are such poor translations to make them added humor. I know this doesn't sound like a winner, but trust me - a bonafied "don't miss" feature.

Before I saw this movie, I had always considered Chinese opera rather boring. Now I would be willing to give it a chance. Not that any Chinese opera would be like this movie. Even though the movie is full of amazing stunts and also very funny, the film doesn't veer in the realm of ridiculous like a lot of movies in this genre do. Part of the credit must go to the three convincing female leads, each one with a different strength. Director Tsui Hark also should be given credit by keeping the movie together even while our three heroines are pursuing different goals (success, greed and justice). A fun movie for all.

This film is simply amazing. It is the most entertaining movie I have ever seen and it is well filmed. This movie didn't have the biggest budget, but it has the largest ambition.

I would recommend seeing Farewell My Concubine(great movie) first to better understand the setting of this movie, which takes place in 1920's China. Once you have seen Farewell My Concubine, this movie becomes much more accessible to the casual viewer.

Peking Opera Blues has a bit of everything...and then some. Tons of comedy, excellent action sequences, dramatic twists, well implemented music, fast pacing, etc. Peking Opera Blues has all the ingredients of a recipe for success, and I would say it is the ultimate light hearted flick.

NOTE: The once infamous subs are now fixed with YesAsia's version of the DVD. It has a really clear image too. Buy it now!