Sazar
Rest In Peace
- Joined
- 12 Apr 2002
- Messages
- 14,905
I watched this earlier today, thinking it may well be a lot like the last yimou movie... Hero...
preconceptions can be mis-leading...
this movie has elements of Hero (ie love, honor) and elements of Zatoichi (the screenplay and the cloak/dagger [no pun intended] world of the main characters)
it will likely be underwhelming/confusing to those who are not into chinese history or enjoy watching movies like Hero and Crouching tiger and the like...
for what its worth... crouching tiger here in the states was the one that opened the door to other movies... iron monkey (or whatever it was) slammed the door shut with a shambolic storyline and poorly versed/acted out action sequences...
unfortunately for Hero and Flying daggers, few people in america have watched either Yimou movies (and others he has directed/written over the years)
this is a gross injustice IMO...
if you have an opportunity to watch House of Flying daggers, please do so with an open mind and absorb the beauty of the landscapes and the interplay between the characters... it is not so subtly nuanced as to shock you, but enough so as to at least plant a seed of doubt in your mind about the intentions of the characters...
zhang ziyi makes yet another appearance in this movie but her role, large though it is, is clearly over-shadowed by her male counter-parts...
Andy Lau in my book stole the show as the army captain, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, zhang's (supposed, you'll know what I mean when you watch the movie ) love interest has some brilliant moments...
the movie is extremely emotional, much like Hero really tugging at your heart-strings in the latter 3rd as everything comes together in a gently increasing tempo...
once again Yimou uses the beuatiful landscapes and exaggerated colors to provide a stunning backdrop to the action and the drama... and much like in Hero... he uses the same colors to convey different moods for the scene...
I highly recommend this movie (as I did Hero) to everyone, but especially those who don't like crappy formula movies which are either chick flicks or action movies...
not everyone will like the premise or the unfolding events, but I thoroughly enjoyed my entire experience...
4/5 OSNN stars and a high recommendation from me for this flick...
preconceptions can be mis-leading...
this movie has elements of Hero (ie love, honor) and elements of Zatoichi (the screenplay and the cloak/dagger [no pun intended] world of the main characters)
it will likely be underwhelming/confusing to those who are not into chinese history or enjoy watching movies like Hero and Crouching tiger and the like...
for what its worth... crouching tiger here in the states was the one that opened the door to other movies... iron monkey (or whatever it was) slammed the door shut with a shambolic storyline and poorly versed/acted out action sequences...
unfortunately for Hero and Flying daggers, few people in america have watched either Yimou movies (and others he has directed/written over the years)
this is a gross injustice IMO...
if you have an opportunity to watch House of Flying daggers, please do so with an open mind and absorb the beauty of the landscapes and the interplay between the characters... it is not so subtly nuanced as to shock you, but enough so as to at least plant a seed of doubt in your mind about the intentions of the characters...
zhang ziyi makes yet another appearance in this movie but her role, large though it is, is clearly over-shadowed by her male counter-parts...
Andy Lau in my book stole the show as the army captain, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, zhang's (supposed, you'll know what I mean when you watch the movie ) love interest has some brilliant moments...
the movie is extremely emotional, much like Hero really tugging at your heart-strings in the latter 3rd as everything comes together in a gently increasing tempo...
once again Yimou uses the beuatiful landscapes and exaggerated colors to provide a stunning backdrop to the action and the drama... and much like in Hero... he uses the same colors to convey different moods for the scene...
I highly recommend this movie (as I did Hero) to everyone, but especially those who don't like crappy formula movies which are either chick flicks or action movies...
not everyone will like the premise or the unfolding events, but I thoroughly enjoyed my entire experience...
4/5 OSNN stars and a high recommendation from me for this flick...