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Butterfly Murders

Original title: Dip bin
  • 1979
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
962
YOUR RATING
Kuo-Chu Chang in Butterfly Murders (1979)
WuxiaActionHorrorMysteryThriller

A journalist attempting to solve a mystery in "Martial World" enlists the aid of a master fighter and a woman named Green Breeze. They go to a mysterious castle where they come across poison... Read allA journalist attempting to solve a mystery in "Martial World" enlists the aid of a master fighter and a woman named Green Breeze. They go to a mysterious castle where they come across poisonous butterflies and a black-leather-clad killer.A journalist attempting to solve a mystery in "Martial World" enlists the aid of a master fighter and a woman named Green Breeze. They go to a mysterious castle where they come across poisonous butterflies and a black-leather-clad killer.

  • Director
    • Hark Tsui
  • Writers
    • Chi-Ming Lam
    • Fan Lin
  • Stars
    • Siu-Ming Lau
    • Shu-Tong Wong
    • Michelle Yim
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    962
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hark Tsui
    • Writers
      • Chi-Ming Lam
      • Fan Lin
    • Stars
      • Siu-Ming Lau
      • Shu-Tong Wong
      • Michelle Yim
    • 14User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos56

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    Top cast14

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    Siu-Ming Lau
    Siu-Ming Lau
    • Fang Hongye
    • (as Lau Siu Ming)
    Shu-Tong Wong
    Shu-Tong Wong
    • Tian Feng
    • (as Wong Shee Tong)
    Michelle Yim
    Michelle Yim
    • Green Shadow
    • (as Michelle)
    Chi-Chi Chen
    • Lady Shen
    • (as Chan Chi Chi)
    Kuo-Chu Chang
    Kuo-Chu Chang
    • Shen Qing
    • (as Cheong Kwok Chu)
    Eddy Ko
    Eddy Ko
    • Guo, 'The Magic Fire'
    • (as Kuo Hung)
    Jack Long
    Jack Long
    • Li, 'The Thousand Hands'
    • (as Wong Cheong)
    Feng Qiao
      Lau Chun-Fai
      Lau Chun-Fai
        Kuang-Li Hsia
        • No.10 of the Red Flags
        • (as Jiangli Xia)
        Hsiao-Ling Hsu
        • Ah Zhi
        Ma-San See
        Tino Wong
        • Thousand Hands Li Kim
        • (as Tien-lung Chen)
        Xieqi Zhou
        • Director
          • Hark Tsui
        • Writers
          • Chi-Ming Lam
          • Fan Lin
        • All cast & crew
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

        User reviews14

        6.4962
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        Featured reviews

        simonize-1

        The new MEI AH DVD is a very welcome release

        The new MEI AH DVD "The Butterfly Murders" is a very welcome release, as the only time I have seen this debut effort by TSUI HARK was by watching a very poorly transferred VCD.

        The story is confusing enough without having subtitles wholly obscured. That is what happened with the VCD.

        The film seems to be only sympathetic towards two characters FONG the writer and a female warrior GREEN SHADOW. In turn they appear allied to the TIEN clan leader, who has also been invited to the SHUM castle.

        The castle becomes another character - its exterior grim and barren when the main characters arrive, rather those in AGATHA CHRISTIE's "Ten little Indians". And when they are subjected to the first of many relentless attacks by butterflies, they find refuge underground.

        The underground is a maze, with mysterious rooms suddenly appearing and concealing the butterflies themselves; arsenals of elaborate weapons, and so forth.

        I wonder if we were not intended to be as confused as all those invited to the castle, to their deaths, as the film plays out: to know is to die, to quote Darius Jedburgh ("Edge of darkness," 1986).

        This is one of the few HK films that I have seen that has thrown me re its plot and its characters: it took me a long time to really identify the actors and their characters. That said, I was very impressed with the staging of the action which is plentiful and varied; intrigued with the villain and his suit of body armour (it seemed something out of a Mario Bava slasher film), and quietly applauded the cynical ending, but was upset that once again the filmmakers should use so much Jerry Goldsmith ("Planet of the apes") and Ennio Morricone ("Moses") in the soundtrack.

        An entertaining debut by Tsui Hark!
        6KaZenPhi

        Impressive directorial debut

        Tsui Hark has one of the most unique voices of the Hong Kong new wave that revolutionized action cinema, kung fu and comedy in the late 70s and gave us a deep well of remarkable treasures that has yet to run out. Visually he is certainly among the best in the business, not only in Hong Kong, both as a director and a producer. The Once upon a time in China and Chinese ghost story series being particularly impressive examples of his prowess.

        Butterfly Murders already contains many of his future hallmarks, especially in the imaginative cinematography. It's basically a blend of Kung Fu action and Giallo which I had yet to see. As such it is not fully successful. The visuals are quite amazing, very distinct and cinematic. They foreshadow both his own career and the new trajectory of Hong Kong cinema at the nadier of the more theatrical Shaw brothers productions. The limited setting is suspenseful and well utilized. The mystery story setup is also quite intriguing at first, but the conclusion left a few things left to be desired. The same goes for the fight scenes, which aren't done badly by any means but lack the fluency, creativity and splendor you associate with Tsui Hark. It appears he had yet to learn to marry the hypnotic beauty of his narrative shots with his action shots.

        It's an entertaining romp throughout, so I don't want to come down on it too harshly, but it should or at least could have crescendoed to a true classic. I usually wouldn't suggest such a thing, but maybe this material could be made to shine with a remake by the master himself.
        6dbborroughs

        Clever mystery is handled unevenly

        Butterfly Murders This is an early Tsui Hark film with a neat mystery at its core. The basic story concerns the investigation of a series of death said to have been caused by deadly butterflies. It's a investigated by a journalist who enlists the aid of a couple of monks who then journey to a monastery to see what's going on. There's more to it than that, a clash of clans and a newly discovered manuscript of an important writer also figure into the mix. As a mystery this is quite good. The idea of killer butterflies is more than enough to intrigue even the most jaded mystery lover, heck it hooked me. The film also boasts some very good martial arts sequences, especially a villain in a unique suit of armor. The problem is that the two halves don't really mesh. There are times when both the mystery and the martial arts seem out of place. It's as if Hark didn't know which way to turn and put in a fight or a plot twist because he had to move things along. The seeming uncertainty makes the pace of the film uneven with moments where it moves along a good clip and others where you look at your watch wondering when its next going to move forward. Still it's a good movie. Certainly worth a look if you want to see a mystery with a unique twist or a martial arts film that's not your typical run of the mill.
        7DanTheMan2150AD

        Whatever your impression of this film is going in, is wrong.

        The film debut of legendary Hong Kong director and producer Tsui Hark, The Butterfly Murders is a blend of everything and anything into what I'm going to say is an 88-minute new-wave wuxia murder mystery spectacle. If I'm honest, whatever you thought going into this film with a title like that, will not be what you get. Hark's visual style and later hallmarks are on clear display but also tangled up in a plot so confusing that if you look away for a second or even blink, you'll miss vital details and thus the whole story. There is one thing you can infer from the title, however... the butterflies do indeed kill people.
        7marksimmons23

        Startlingly different to other Chinese martial arts films of the time

        Startlingly different to other Chinese martial arts films of the time, Tsui Hark's directorial debut is a lost gem. Combining traditional Chinese ghost story elements with plenty of action, atmospheric settings (the caves under the castle are particularly menacing), and a complex murder plot based around killer butterflies, this film is both entertaining and engaging. My main criticism would be the rather disjointed plot and uneven pacing, reminiscent of the average Italian Giallo, and the rather undeveloped motivation of the main villain. Neither of these however spoiled my enjoyment. I'd love to see this in a restored version.

        Related interests

        Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
        Wuxia
        Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
        Action
        Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
        Horror
        Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
        Mystery
        Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
        Thriller

        Storyline

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        Did you know

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        • Trivia
          Hark Tsui's directorial debut.
        • Goofs
          The gun seen in the film is a Puckle gun, which was patented in 1718.
        • Quotes

          Tian Feng: [after killing Shen Qing] Looks like the game is over.

          Guo, 'The Magic Fire': Looks like it has just begun.

          [releasing a Fire Crow]

        • Connections
          Featured in The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002)

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        FAQ12

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        Details

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        • Release date
          • November 30, 1987 (France)
        • Country of origin
          • Hong Kong
        • Language
          • Cantonese
        • Also known as
          • The Butterfly Murders
        • Production company
          • Seasonal Film Corporation
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Tech specs

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        • Runtime
          • 1h 28m(88 min)
        • Sound mix
          • Mono
        • Aspect ratio
          • 2.35 : 1

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