House of Flying Daggers - Film Discussion w/ SPOILERS

[Gary Soup]

But in my opinion, it was better than "Hero" because of the great Andy Lau and Zhang Ziyi (maybe Hongkongs best actress at the moment) and the beautiful nature.

FWIW, Zhang Ziyi is a mainland China actress, not a HK actress.

[Ultimate_Phil]

Thanks for the hint, I forgot that she was Born in Beijing. So she is really not from Hongkong. But that doesn't matter compared to her qualities as an actress.

[rockytriton]

I just got this on DVD a few weeks ago, it's an awesome movie. I was a big fan of Hero which I got on DVD last April and I've watched it at least once a month since. All the menus for the DVDs are in chinese but luckily I can read enough to be able to put on the english subtitles

I thought the story was better for Hero but both are better than Crouching Tiger IMHO but I love that movie as well.

Can anyone suggest other movies like this that are in mandarin? I find it hard to watch Cantonese movies with english subtitles and mandarin audio.

[Jack MacKelly]

suggest other movies like this.....

You may have to also look to some Cantonese HK stuff for this fantay martial arts with sword play and drama, Taiwan also has some stuff with actors/directors, and there is some very good stuff from Mainland China. Check the suggestions in " favourite Chinese film? " thread

We have stuff like Jet Li's Swordsman, Emperor and the Assassin - Gong Li & Chen Kaige, Xin long men ke zhan Dragon Inn - New Dragon Gate Inn , Once Upon a Time in China ( 李连杰 Jet Li ) , 誘僧 (Temptation of a monk), Hero with Maggie Cheung & Jet Li & Zhang Ziyi & Tony Leung, Crouching Tiger-Hidden Dragon, Chinese Ghost Story, Iron Fisted Monk with Sammo Hung, Musa - the Warrior Musa 武士 a joint Chinese and Korean film...if I recall any others I'll post them

I thought House of Flying Daggers was a very good movie, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhang Ziyi did very well in it and Zhang Yimou's film has gotten some v. good reviews around the world

http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=263

http://www.nixflix.com/reviews/flyingdaggers.htm

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/house_of_flying_daggers/

[confucius]

I just saw the movie House of Flying Daggers for the first time. I actually liked it better than Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The plot twists kept me through it. Yet at the end it was obvious that Zhang Ziyi had no choice. She was supposed to kill the government spy but instead she let him go. He wanted her to run away with him but where could they go? Okinawa?

Of course Andy Lau gets extremely furious when he finds out Zhang Ziyi is rolling in the meadow with the Japanese guy. (How dare she choose the Japanese guy she met for 3 days over the Cantopop star that she knew for 3 years!!) However he deserved that knife in the back when he tried to rape her in the bamboo forest. Was this movie filmed in Anji too? I'll have to check which bamboo forest in China they used. It was funny seeing them ride their horses from Zhejiang to Xinjiang so quickly. I'm willing to bet my Swiss pocket knife that the final scene was shot at Hanasi Lake.

I thought the first 10 minutes were really spectacular. The whore tug of war and drum echo game were beautifully shot with well choreographed angles. (I'm such an acute film critic, don't you think so?)

I heard some people in this thread complaining about the fighting scenes. The bamboo forest canopy capers were fun to watch and there's nothing like two guys fighting over the same girl and killing each other in the end. Of course Andy Lau just had to throw his flying dagger at Zhang Ziyi. That didn't surprise me since he was violent with her previously and still had her sister's knife stuck in his back as a reminder.

Zhang Ziyi's final stand was a joke. If she didn't die from the flying dagger then certainly that ton of snow that suddenly fell at the end (wasn't it autumn when that scene began?) would have killed her by hypothermia.

Still a fun movie to watch; I'd give it an 8 out of 10. A little more nudity would have been nice but you can't expect Zhang Yimou to make Zhang Ziyi show more skin than Gong Li.

The two actresses look remarkably similar, don't they?

There is a brief tribute to Anita Mui after the movie just before the credits roll. She would have looked funny in one of those green conical Vietnamese hats.

[skylee]

I'm willing to bet my Swiss pocket knife that the final scene was shot at Hanasi Lake.

The final fighting scene was shot in Ukraine.

You can send me your Swiss pocket knife.

[confucius]

You're right! I was curious to know why Zhang Yimou went all the way over there to film scenes that look exactly like northern Xinjiang. He said in an interview that Ukraine's scenery was better and the labor was cheaper.

He also chose the bamboo forest in southern Sichuan, not Zhejiang's Anji.

PM me your mailing address, Skylee; the Swiss dagger is flying in your direction!

[cui ruide]

I think HoFD is fun, and actually a pretty good film up until the point where Andy Lau reveals himself. From there it just gets a little ridiculous, even for a healthy suspension of disbelief. I thought the cinematography was amazing, and the actors did very well. The choreography was kept tight and well done--no weak parts.

I read that while filming in Ukraine, a freak snow storm struck weeks before the typical snow season begins and it had to be written into the movie.

I'm a big fan of Crouching Tiger, and I still stand by it in the face of Hero and HoFD. Both Zhang Yimou films were very beautiful, but the story and characters of Crouching Tiger, in my opinion, outdid the two.

[bhchao]

It seems that HOFD and Hero are much more better received among audiences outside of China. I was at a Shanghainese restaurant in LA and the waitress from Chongqing said that she thought HOFD was 'junk'.

[JamesGoff]

Hello

Can anyone give me the Characters for Xiao Mei , Jin and Liu in House of Flying Daggers?

Thank you.

James

[skylee]

Xiao Mei = 小妹

Jin = 金

Liu = 劉 (刘 in simplified)