Reviews written by Glenn
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Under The Canopy Of Love (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (TVB Drama) (US Version)
Under The Canopy Of Love (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (TVB Drama) (US Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$55.00Related promotions:February 5, 2010 What a surpriseYes, a surprise: this title was deleted only six months after the release. I gave this title an 8 rating, probably closer to a high 7. Not a rock'em sock'em over-the-top drama, but I'm finding it an enjoyable watch. To be fair, I'm only up to chapter 7, and the start of chapter 1 had me wondering whether this was going to be too "younger generation" oriented for an old guy like me; but I'm enjoying the story, and enjoying the characters. I would think that the younger crowd would find this romance a worthwhile story. Perhaps this edition is out of print, pending a release in a revised format. I'm glad I picked this one up, much to my surprise. (I bought it based on a few comments made in the YumCha article "A Decade of Hong Kong Television".)
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The Golden Buddha
January 17, 2010 Well, not Bond, but fun anywayShaw may have wanted to do it's own 007, but you won't find a 007-type superspy here. Nevertheless, I found this fun, Saturday matinee-style entertainment. In almost a Hitchcockian manner, the hero -- any otherwise everyman -- finds himself drawn into a plot by a Goldfinger wannabe villain to steal a king's ransom in jewels from a family inheritance. Oh yeah, gold lame outfit, and a gaudily gauche underground hideout in glitzy 1960's colors and decor that certainly cost 10 times the value of the treasure to build, outfit, and man.
Still and all, Paul Chang is fine in his role as the everyman sucked into the search for the treasure, and it's a real treat to see Jeanette Lin, looking just lovely and even prettier than her appearances in earlier MP&GI movies, in a rare color role and her only appearance with Shaw. The only drawback is the incredibly cheezy fight choreography, so hokey it's worth a belly laugh. Considering the world-class fight choreography about to begin in Shaw's martial arts films in the same year, 1966, one can only assume that the stupid looking klunky fights must've been intentional as a "send up" of the bona-fide action sequences in the real Sean Connery Bond films of the era. But, in it's own cockeyed way, they add to the fun value of this title.
Not a masterpiece, perhaps, but certainly an entertaining and enjoyable romp. I'm glad I picked this one up. I think you will be, too.
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The First Sword (Hong Kong Version)
The First Sword (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:July 6, 2009 A Surprisingly Enjoyable FilmWell, the only thing missing here was the wide-screen presentation -- we get only the pan-and-scan version that Panorama has been remiss in releasing. Other than that, I found this an entertaining film.
The story is not unique, with a traitorous subordinate of a swordsmanship school trying to take over by killing off the leadership. But the production values of this 1967 film from Cathay were surprisingly good. The flavor was reminiscent of early Shaw films from the late 50's and early 60's, such as Diau Charn or Enchanting Shadow. It may not seem like a compliment to compare it to films made eight or nine years earlier, but with Cathay's more modest budgets, it looked quite good. Costumes and sets were very good looking. The action sequences were modest but satisfactory, given that they were intended to support the story, and not be dazzling choreography, as the Shaw films were to become.
The print is in very good shape, very clean and with very good color (both in production design, and quality of the print). The sound is very good. The English subtitles are good, as they generally are from Panorama. The only drawback was the pan-and-scan presentation, which sometimes cramped the display, but wasn't overly obnoxious. Maybe when Panorama starts releasing additional titles from Cathay, they'll start using widescreen when appropriate.
Those who've enjoyed the Shaw wuxia extravaganzas, especially the early ones, may enjoy this wuxia film by Cathay, if only to make a comparison; those who've enjoyed Shaw's early art films from the days before they used the widescreen format may also find this film of interest. I liked it, and would buy it again.
As a note to Yesasia, this title ought to be flagged so that it appears when buyers search against the Cathay Library Series. It's currently not included in that listing.
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The Magic Lamp (Hong Kong Version)
The Magic Lamp (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
July 5, 2009 Cathay's Version of the Lotus LampThis film is Cathay Studios' version of the Lotus Lamp, earlier made by Shaw Brothers. Certainly not as grand a production as Shaw's, but I enjoyed seeing this alternate version. Like Shaw's, this is a Huangmei Opera, and is in black and white; the color photo on the slipcase may lead you to think it's a color movie.
I didn't recognize Grace Chang at first, but she is very good in her role as the goddess. Unlike the Shaw version, where Lin Dai played both the role of the goddess and the 'son', in this version the son is played very nicely by Lin Tsui (one of my favorite actresses from this era). Apparently, in anyone's Huangmei opera, there's no getting away from women playing the boy's roles, so You Min gets the role of the scholar, played by Cheng Pei Pei in the Shaw.
If you've enjoyed the Panorama releases of the Cathay (MP&GI) films in general, you'll likely enjoy this one, too. It seems to be one of the few costume films being released by Panorama. If you only plan to see one "Lotus Lamp", Shaw is the way to go. But if you've enjoyed Shaw's, you'll likely enjoy seeing this alternate view of the story.
The English subtitles are good, as the Panorama titles usually are. There is slight damage at the beginning of the film, in that the original main titles are missing, and there are some scratches at the very start. But otherwise, the print is generally good.
As usual, the biographies and notes are only in Chinese, with no English translations.
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The Devil's Mirror (Hong Kong Version)
1 people found the following helpful
June 16, 2009 An Excellent Film!I almost didn't buy this movie, and only picked it up as an afterthought. WOW! What a super film! When I first read the synopsis, about a witch pitting one clan against another to obtain two devil's mirrors she would use to control the Martial Arts World, I expected something "over the top", much like "Web of Death". Well, it was "over the top", and in a very good way. While it contained the typical "Worm Corpse Pills" and the "Fish Intestine Sword" and other such magical gimmicks, the story wasn't hokey, as I had expected. It came together very well, and I found it very entertaining.
One thing I found refreshing is that, with the exception of Ching Miao, the film did not have the "usual Shaw cast", and I enjoyed seeing some talented actors that I hadn't seen popping up in most other better-known Shaw titles. Shu Pei Pei may not be as charismatic as Cheng Pei Pei (who could be?), but I enjoyed watching her in this one. Li Chia Hsien (Li Ka Sin), who played the witch, was also most entertaining (does anybody know why the villian is always laughing in these movies?) By the way, in case you have delicate eyes, she does have a brief nude scene early in the film.
Without question - WITHOUT QUESTION! - the action sequences in this film are among THE VERY BEST I've seen in a Shaw film. And this is the 47th Shaw wuxia film I've added to my collection. Starting with the very first fight, early in the film, right up to the frenetic final fight, the swordfighting is fast, furious, and superbly choreographed, with more than the usual amount of blood letting. Not to mention one of the best decapitations this side of the Korean film, 'Musa'. And to give the audience the maximum entertainment, the fight sequences are very generous in length.
This film went from unknown to one of my most favorites in 86 minutes. It seems that the Celestial series is starting to go 'out of print', and before this one disappears too, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for another sure-fire winner to their collection.
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August 11, 2008 Mei Ah better than Sony
I fully agree with previous reviewers. This is an extraordinary film; quiet, gentle, and a delicate tale of the relationship that grows between the old man and the child.
While the Sony disk has superior color to the Mei Ah, the Mei Ah is my preferred version because it uses the original widescreen presentation. The Sony is Fullscreen. While the difference between 1.66 widescreen and the 1.33 fullscreen would seem to be minor, the Sony image appears to be even more cropped than that, and I found it very uncomfortable viewing after seeing the widescreen print. DVDBeaver.com has screencaps of both versions, but I found the Sony even more uncomfortable that those screencaps suggest.
Hopefully Mei Ah will make it's disk available again soon. While not perfect, I found it the more desirable version.
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Coquille (Hong Kong Version)
Coquille (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:June 5, 2008 A very satisfying filmI enjoyed this film tremendously, and wholeheartedly concur with Mr. Kennedy's review.
I especially enjoyed the performance of Fubuki Jun, this being only the second of her films I've seen, following her fine role in the later television drama, Satorare. I find her a fine, nuanced actress, and found her character in this film very sympathetic, in spite of the adultery referenced by Mr Kennedy. I wish more of her films were available, especially with English subtitles. I look forward to someday enjoying more of her work.
Likewise, I enjoyed Kobayashi Kaoru, though his performance was more muted than Jun's. It seemed to fit his character, however.
For those interested, the English subtitles are excellent, and though the DVD indicates it is Region 3 (as does the Yesasia description), it plays with no problem on my two Region 1 DVD players.
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Heroes of the East (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Heroes of the East (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(6)Our Price: US$14.49Related promotions:July 4, 2006 Don't Miss This OneI echo everything already said. An excellent film. The first part is decidedly lighter in tone, with some wonderfully humourous scenes between husband and wife Liu and Yuka Mizumo, as Yuka is lauding the Japanese arts over her husband's Chinese skills. The latter half turns more serious as Yuka's martial arts "family" steps in to pick up the challenge Liu presents to his wife. And a grand and dazzling competition it is. Refreshing in that the object is more a fight to the win than a fight to the death. It's a shame that Shaw didn't seem to find another opportunity to use Yuka Mizumo in another film. She is absolutely marvellous. I understand she wasn't really skilled in the martial arts, but you'd never guess it by her performance in the first half of this film. Perhaps that's why she didn't participate in the competitions in the latter half. Nevertheless, her performance here is a real, and apparently rare, gem, and ought not to be missed. The entire film is a gem not to be missed.
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The Lark
July 4, 2006 A Wonderful Musical ComedyI really enjoyed this one; in fact, it's my favorite musical comedy so far. I thought it had a wonderfully sustained sense of humor, and was overall much more balanced than some of the other contemporary musicals, although they've been good, too. The "let's put on a show" production number that gets tacked onto the end always seems a bit forced...I'd rather see these things integrated into the plot instead...but it was well done. I've enjoyed all of Peter Chen Hou's movies, and thought he was especially good in this one. His great comedic style was really in top form here. I can't say I was greatly impressed with Koo Mei's singing, I thought she was fairly weak vocally; but her acting was good, and she's "plenty easy on the eyes." Chiang Kwong Chao and Kao Pao Shu were absolutely delightful as a henpecked husband and his domineering wife. In short, I found this film to be great fun and highly entertaining. If you don't have any contemporary musicals in your collection, and you're thinking of adding one or two, this is a great place to start.
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Xin Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai Vol.1-23 (China Version)
Xin Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai Vol.1-23 (China Version) VCD
(3)Our Price: US$25.99Related promotions:February 1, 2006 An Update to My Previous CommentsWatched this a second time, and enjoyed it at much as the first. BUT, just learned that these disks are in PAL format, which is not noted, either on the description here or on the box. I played these disks on a region-free player that also automatically converts PAL to NTSC, so I saw no difference the first time I played them. But when I later played it on a standard US player, the picture was stretched vertically somewhat because PAL contains more lines than NTSC. Biggest problem was that the English subtitles were now below the bottom of the screen, and could not be read. If you have a newer HD television which can manually "force" a widescreen display, you can vertically "squash" the image slightly. The picture will look 98% normal, but in a letterbox appearance, and the subtitles will now appear on screen. Of course, you can also play these PAL discs on a computer, and they will look fine, too. Just wanted to pass this along, so buyers aren't caught unawares. This is a great series, though.
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Xin Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai Vol.1-23 (China Version)
Xin Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai Vol.1-23 (China Version) VCD
(3)Our Price: US$25.99Related promotions:October 2, 2005 A Very Enjoyable SeriesI really enjoyed this series. I'm not familiar with the traditional story, so I can't compare to the "standard" version. Ying Tai would rather learn swordsmanship than traditional palace ladies skills, and finally gets her father's approval to attend the Butterfly Academy to learn the fabled swordfighting skills. Because it's a male-only art, she disguises herself as a boy. At the school, she meets Shan Bo, who also thinks she's a boy (!) and they become special friends during their period of learning. Lots of political skullduggery, twists and turns, as the story proceeds. Not a lot of swordfighting action, but what there is is good for a television film. I guess the story of the Butterfly Lovers is a well-known one in Chinese culture, but I won't spoil any surprises for those who don't know it. The VCD quality was typical of the format, and I found it very acceptable. The English subtitles were generally very good, both the translation/English grammer, and legibility. On one or two disks, the subtitles were rather small and harder to read, and in one segment, about 7 or 8 minutes, there were no subtitles at all, but overall, they were good for non-Mandarin speakers. There are so few television series with English subtitles, I'm glad this is one of the few. Highly recommended.
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