Davidh Posted January 3, 2004 at 11:49 PM Report Posted January 3, 2004 at 11:49 PM Hello forum! My name is David and I'm from Sweden desperately looking for answers ;) In my very youth, I saw an animated Chinese film - The Monkey King - the famous story. I thought it was fantastic, very well made and so exciting. They showed this film two years in a row during christmas time on Swedish Televison but the last time was in 1980. To be frank, I don't remember that much of the story itself, I was only 6 years old, but it was very exciting and I remember the heroic monkey with the staff wich he could make small and put in his ear. So, now I'm looking for this film! The film was made in 1965 and had the English title "Uproar in Heaven". Other titles are, according to imdb.com: Da no tien gu Monkey King, The (International: English title) Sun wu kong (China: Mandarin title) Do anyone know anything about this film and/or where I could buy it, with english subtitles? Preferably on DVD or VCD. (i found the picture on a swedish site) Sincerely David Quote
skylee Posted January 4, 2004 at 12:16 AM Report Posted January 4, 2004 at 12:16 AM Try www.yesasia.com. I have found two products which may be what you want (the cartoon looks quite similar to the picture you have, but I doubt if they were made in 1965). Click here and here. Do note that they have no English subtitles. It looks like these are part of a series of VCD of stories of this monkey king character (in the picture you have it does say "animation series set"). If you wish to conduct further search, note that the Mandarin pinyin of the story is "Da Nao Tian Gong". Quote
skylee Posted January 4, 2004 at 12:35 AM Report Posted January 4, 2004 at 12:35 AM I think this is the same product as shown in your picture. But I still doubt if it was made in 1965 and whether it has English subtitles. Quote
Davidh Posted January 4, 2004 at 08:53 AM Author Report Posted January 4, 2004 at 08:53 AM Hi Skylee! Thanks for your help. But you are right, those arent the one I'm seeking. I've now managed to find the film at the Swedish film institute, a Swedish version with Swedish voices on VHS. According to them the film was made 1961 by Wan Lai-ming. I will buy this one. Cheers and thanks for the help, with the correct title. David Quote
Quest Posted January 4, 2004 at 03:05 PM Report Posted January 4, 2004 at 03:05 PM I used to be able to retell the whole story of this 《大闹天宫》（uproar in the heaven）film. If you like this one, I think you will like the 1979《哪吒闹海》“Ne Zha Nao Hai" (uproar in the seas?? ), too. Both are Chinese cartoon classics, and they both have a common theme. More Chinese cartoon classics can be found at this site: http://www.chinaren.com/7/1103/27/column216162711.shtml Quote
Davidh Posted January 4, 2004 at 08:44 PM Author Report Posted January 4, 2004 at 08:44 PM Thanks, Quest! I've been doing some more searching for a chinese copy of this movie (am not too happy with the Swedish voices on the VHS for sale here, even though the animation is fantastic). The film was made Shanghai Animation Studio between 1961 and 1964, more info here: http://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/detailed.cgi?film=61746 but amazingly I have not been able to find it for sale anywhere. In fact, the only copies of the film that I've found on Internet is the Swedish version(!). It is the Shanghai Studio 60's version I'm after, not the later ones. Well, I'll keep trying And thakn's for the help again. Disney don't do films like this one ;) Quote
Guest chiba2000 Posted January 11, 2004 at 04:29 PM Report Posted January 11, 2004 at 04:29 PM David! Vart köper jag filmen, försökte att söka på Film Inst. hemsida med hittade nada om ApKungen, jag har sökt efter denna i flera år...snälla hjälp mig. /Chiba2000 Quote
Guest chiba2000 Posted January 11, 2004 at 04:47 PM Report Posted January 11, 2004 at 04:47 PM http://www.chinasprout.com/html/monkeyking.html Re-make of Shanghai Studios classic: http://www.chinasprout.com/shop/V001 Anyone seen this one? /Chiba2000 Quote
Davidh Posted January 12, 2004 at 08:44 AM Author Report Posted January 12, 2004 at 08:44 AM David! Vart köper jag filmen' date=' försökte att söka på Film Inst. hemsida med hittade nada om ApKungen, jag har sökt efter denna i flera år...snälla hjälp mig. /Chiba2000 [/quote'] Du kan hitta den på filminstitutets filmbutik "smultronstället": http://www.smultronstallet.com/ sök på apkungen i titelfältet Det är filmen som den visades i SVT på 80-talet, dvs med svenska röster (Hasse Alfredsson) och det är, märkligt nog, den enda stället jag kunnat hitta detta mästerverk till salu på i hela världen. Skulle inte vara fel med en DVD-utgåva med text. Quote
roddy Posted January 12, 2004 at 08:55 AM Report Posted January 12, 2004 at 08:55 AM Must be some new Romanisation scheme for Cantonese . . . Roddy Quote
Quest Posted January 12, 2004 at 01:26 PM Report Posted January 12, 2004 at 01:26 PM Isn't it Swedish? Quote
trooper Posted January 16, 2004 at 04:36 AM Report Posted January 16, 2004 at 04:36 AM must look up the meaning of the word irony some day (sorry Quest!) By the way, great thread. I've been thinking about how to get this film too, but not in Swedish of course. Quote
Quest Posted January 16, 2004 at 08:01 AM Report Posted January 16, 2004 at 08:01 AM lol I knew roddy was being sarcastic. Quote
trooper Posted January 16, 2004 at 04:41 PM Report Posted January 16, 2004 at 04:41 PM just checking... Quote
Guest Enilsson Posted January 17, 2004 at 08:54 PM Report Posted January 17, 2004 at 08:54 PM I wonder, either this movie is exceptionally good or everything else in TV back then was simply so crap that it just had to stand out. It was back in the days of the Swedish TV monopoly with only two channels on and cartoons was an exceptional rarity. Frankly I think it was just so exceptionally good. I've watched this movie as well and according to David's chronology I was at most 5 and a half years old. However I remember some of it. In addition to what already have been said, I should say that I really liked the music in this movie. Very, traditionally Chinese in my uneducated ears, and very neat, good at setting the mood. Also liked the animations, nice colors, and the story was cool. This monkey took crap from noone and he fought the Gods even. That he himself was some sort of divine being I don't think I got when I watched it. He also had this fighting staff which he shrank and hid inside his ear when not using. All in all a great movie. Quote
Guest chiba2000 Posted January 18, 2004 at 12:59 AM Report Posted January 18, 2004 at 12:59 AM Hey Hey! Doesn't everbody speak Swedish these days?! Ha det bra era sumpråttor, ha ha ha! ;) (dom lär ju fatta INGET!) ps. by the way dudes, I'll be watching my "international" Swedish release of APKUNGEN next week. I'll give you a short review later on. :) define IRONY! ;) /Chiba2000 Quote
chengdude Posted January 22, 2004 at 01:15 PM Report Posted January 22, 2004 at 01:15 PM Just thought I'd chime in to say that "Sun Wukong danao tiangong" is a long-time favorite of mine as well. It is based on the first 7 chapters of the novel JOURNEY TO THE WEST, but the story line has been changed quite a bit...in the novel, the arrogant Sun Wukong ends up chastened by Buddha and damned to live "frozen" in a mountain before being given the chance to redeem himself by the merciful Guanyin (prompting the equally well-known adventures of the bulk of the novel). In the animated film, he is much more the compelling, benevolent, revolutionary hero, smashing the staid and duplicitous order of Heaven...which of course prompts the argument that the film is more than just a bit allegorical for the figure of Mao Zedong. Artistically, the film is wonderful: incorporating many symbols of Chinese art and culture in creative ways: from Daoist deities, to Shang bronzes, to Dunhuang Buddhist imagery, to traditional opera costumes, etc. etc. The music is non-stop, opera-style, so if crashing cymbals, weird percussion, erhu, and squeaky wind instruments aren't your cup of tea, you will go insane by the end of it. The film is available on VCD everywhere in China, but as usual, quality varies tremendously. Anyway, my few jiao's worth. Quote
Guest chiba2000 Posted January 31, 2004 at 10:45 AM Report Posted January 31, 2004 at 10:45 AM I just watched my Swedish video of Monkey King, it's been 24 years since I saw it the last time. And it's clear to me that things has changed since then. Animations is pretty ok, nothing more. The quality of the recording is bad, but the worst thing is the horrible dubbing. There's only one voice, more like a narrator, after the dialogue between the characters is finished the narrator explains (short version so to speak)in Swedish what was said, not very entertaining. Still I like the story very much. I would love to see a remastered subtitled or properly English dubbed version on DVD someday. /Chiba2000 Quote
Quest Posted January 31, 2004 at 08:31 PM Report Posted January 31, 2004 at 08:31 PM I think the Chinese version had different voices, but yea time has changed and your perception has changed. Quote
Guest blougou Posted February 4, 2004 at 04:26 PM Report Posted February 4, 2004 at 04:26 PM A french guy experienced exactly the same : i saw Monkey King about 20 years ago and, still, I'm searching for videotapes or dvds. Great, great memories. To sum up, at present, none of us has found a proper version? Namely, with english (or french ) subtitles ????? Quote
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