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Inside The Forbidden City DVD Region 3

Ivy Ling (Actor) | Li Jing (Actor) | Chin Feng
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Inside The Forbidden City
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Customer Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.8 out of 10 (4)

YesAsia Editorial Description

Experience the wonder of Huangmei Opera in director Kao Li's Inside the Forbidden City, one of the best costume dramas ever produced by the famous Shaw Brothers studio! Released back in 1963, the film is adapted from a popular Sung Dynasty legend that takes place during the reign of Emperor Jen Tsung. Co-written by the soon-to-be legendary martial arts filmmaker Chang Cheh, Inside the Forbidden City actually begins with the aged Li Zhengei (Ivy Ling Po) living in obscurity in, of all places, a cave. She encounters a passing stranger named Bao Zhen, to whom she tells her tragic story, one so filled with despair that it has left her in shambles.

It seems that Li Zhenfei was once an imperial concubine, who often found herself competing with her rival Madame Liu for the emperor's sole, undivided attention. When Li gives birth to the Emperor's child, the jealous Liu switches the boy with a cat and commands a servant named Kou Zhu to kill the baby. However, Kou Zhu ignores the order and gives the prince-to-be to the emperor's brother, a decision which eventually leads to the boy being adopted by the emperor himself! But as fate would have it, to go along with his new son, the emperor has a new wife as well - Madame Liu! As this strange new family unit is being constructed, poor Li Zhenfei has been confined to the forbidden palace, condemned to never see or speak to her son, the prince. But destiny reunites her with her son, but will this family reunion be a happy one? And will Madame Liu finally be punished for her treachery? The answers await in Inside the Forbidden City, a lavish motion picture that became the standard to which all other Shaw costume dramas would aspire to!

© 2003-2009 YesAsia.com Ltd. All rights reserved. This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Technical Information

Product Title: Inside The Forbidden City 宋宮秘史 宋宫秘史 Inside The Forbidden City Inside The Forbidden City
Artist Name(s): Ivy Ling (Actor) | Li Jing (Actor) | Chin Feng 凌波 (Actor) | 李菁 (Actor) | 金峰 凌波 (Actor) | 李菁 (Actor) | 金峰 凌波（リン・ポー） (Actor) | Li Jing (Actor) | Chin Feng Ivy Ling (Actor) | Li Jing (Actor) | Chin Feng
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Release Date: 2003-06-12
Language: Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese, Bahasa (Malaysia), Bahasa (Indonesia)
Country of Origin: Hong Kong
Picture Format: NTSC What is it?
Disc Format(s): DVD
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan) What is it?
Duration: 98 (mins)
Publisher: Intercontinental Video (HK)
Package Weight: 130 (g)
Shipment Unit: 1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.: 1002838821

Product Information

導演：高立
Director: Kao Li

　　狸貓換太子；震撼感人！
　　包公夜審郭槐；大快人心！

　　改媥自包公（井淼）夜審郭槐（陳又新）的故事。包公出巡時，一陣怪風吹走其烏紗帽，入村發現一盲婦竟是被先帝逐出宮幃的李妃（歐陽莎菲）。當年她被劉妃（高寶樹和郭槐以狸貓換太子，貶入冷宮，後借火災詐死逃亡。包公知郭槐和劉妃在宮中勢大，用妙計誘郭槐到開封，暗將牢獄佈置成陰間，且以丫環（李菁）假扮寇珠（凌波）鬼魂誘郭槐認罪。

　　This is Shaw Brother's quintessential "huangmei opera" costume drama in all its Eastman Color glory. Based on a famous Sung Dynasty tale set during Emperor Jen Tsung's reign (AD 1023-1064), it tells the tale of two imperial concubines vying for the emperor's favor. Not exactly your typical family unit, but then again, this is not your typical Mandarin operetta. The script is co-written by the great Chang Cheh, before he found his niches as Shaw Brothers' most prolific kung-fu director.


﹡Mono

﹡2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)
　Enhanced for 16:9 TV
Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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Customer Review of "Inside The Forbidden City"

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Average Customer Rating for this Edition: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.8 out of 10 (4)

Kevin Kennedy
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March 13, 2007
Excellent huangmei drama Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9 out of 10
"Inside the Forbidden City" is based upon a couple of the stories told in the Chinese novel "Sanxia wuyi", attributed to the 19th century storyteller Shi Yukun and drawn from a much older storytelling tradition. It features the righteous Magistrate Bao; this movie really belongs to the actor who plays Bao. Unlike many huangmei operas, this is not a romance, but a crime-solving drama, in which Magistrate Bao uses his boundless imagination to draw a confession from one of the evil characters.

Ling Po, who appears primarily in the first half of the movie, gives yet another strong performance, with several wonderful songs. Indeed, the entire cast is superb, the production values are up to the standards we expect from Shaw Brothers, and the music -- while less frequently heard than in the typical huangmei film -- is very pleasant.

YesAsia's description of this film incorrectly states that the movie opens with Ling Po in a cave made up to look elderly. Actually that is Ouyang Sha Fei, playing Imperial Mother Li.

I very highly recommend this movie. For English readers, an excellent translation of these stories can be found in "Tales of Magistrate Bao and His Valiant Lieutenants" by Susan Blader, published by The Chinese University Press.
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Best Review
Shirley, Sydney, Australia
See all my reviews

February 12, 2006
Another Ivy Ling Po's Movie To Grab! Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
It's another Ivy's excellent Huangmei movie. She looked beautiful in her role as an Imperial servant assigned with the most difficult task ever i.e. to kill the prince by throwing him into the river! The script, Huangmei songs and colour of costumes were fantastic! It's ashamed though there wasn't a lot of songs sung by Ivy Ling Po. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was beaten to death early in the storyline. Chin Fung played the roles of both young and old Emperor very well. I'm very happy with my DVD received from Yesasia and will treasure it as long as I live.
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Anonymous

July 5, 2003
Another one for the collection Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
Excellent remastering here!
I remember the trial scenes featuring movie queen Li Ching (guest-starring as a ghost) as being too dark to see anything in the cinemas. But here, Celestial has corrected that I can see everything clearly. Sound, although in mono, is clear and it is a pleasure to hear movie queen Ivy Ling Po sing for herself. This is one of those rare movies in which she plays the feminine role perfectly. The colours are vivid and look even better than the 1st time around in the cinemas.
Grab this one!
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Anonymous

June 23, 2003
Inside the forbidden city Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
Superb acting and excellent plot. Another not-to-missed Huang-mei diao Shaw classic.
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