Member xianzai Posted April 18, 2010 Member Share Posted April 18, 2010 All this talk about Chinese operas in the other thread made me pull out another one and watch it. http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=8113 "Though many movies claim to be unique, Farewell To A Warrior is truly in a class by itself, Hong Kong cinema’s only big budget Chiu Chow opera spectacular. Starring renowned diva Hsiao Nan-ying, it is a vivid dramatization of the 13th century Sung Dynasty battle that pitted the legendary General Chang Ta against the Mongol hordes. Director Chu Yuan transforms traditional Chinese opera into solid entertainment, making Farewell To A Warrior a joy for opera fans and movie buffs alike. (IVL) "The original soundtrack is in Chiu Chow (Teo Chew)." [not Mandarin as it says on the box] Chu Yuan directing a Chinese opera results in what one might expect, with his standard indoor sets, fog, and very stage-like performances. Of the SB operas I've seen, this one is closest to seeing Chinese opera on stage (though it's still more of a movie than a filmed stage performance). It also has shares a virtue of many CY films: it moves fast, something uncommon in SB operas. OTOH, it doesn't have the extremely high production values of some other SB operas. As usual, CY did get a couple of striking women for some leading roles. I'm glad I watched it, but I can't really recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted April 20, 2010 Member Share Posted April 20, 2010 Xianzai, you know some might look at what you posted and go, "Odd!":ooh: Even so, it's your honest opinion about the movie, so that's cool! You'd think a US company would dare to put out a non-martial-arts Shaw movie; Image did, but they didn't touch Chinese operas! Hope your next one is a GOOD one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted April 21, 2010 Author Member Share Posted April 21, 2010 Not sure what you mean by odd. It's unfortunate if people here only watch a subset of SB films -- they should try other genres, if only to see their favorite stars in other roles. For example, if one is a Cheng Pei-pei fan but hasn't seen Blue Skies, one is really missing a great showcase for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted April 21, 2010 Member Share Posted April 21, 2010 The "Blue Skies" Cheng Pei-Pei film is a Chinese opera? How is that one? Considering how she was wonderfully showcased by King Hu in "Come Drink with Me", I KNOW I'd give that one a shot! Her dancing training must show up well in that one! Oh, by "odd", I meant from the standpoint you've ventured further into SB Chinese operas than MOST anyone on these forums, some might have expected after your build up on "FtaW" to read a rave review! You're keeping it real, and taking a serious dip into non-martial-arts Shaw movies; that is...COOL! Have you picked up any "other category" Shaw movies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted April 22, 2010 Author Member Share Posted April 22, 2010 Blue Skies is not an opera, but it is a musical. I've watched a lot of non-MA SB films. All I can say is people should give them a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member magicpoe Posted April 28, 2010 Member Share Posted April 28, 2010 I have many of them actually and can recommend: The Love Eterne The Perfumed Arrow The Mirror and the Lychee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted May 17, 2010 Member Share Posted May 17, 2010 Blue Skies is not an opera, but it is a musical. I've watched a lot of non-MA SB films. All I can say is people should give them a try. xianzai, I ordered a copy of Blue Skies today. It should be quite an experience to watch a Shaw movie that's a musical; hopefully, Cheng Pei-pei's prescence will help it move along breezily! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted May 17, 2010 Author Member Share Posted May 17, 2010 xianzai, I ordered a copy of Blue Skies today. It should be quite an experience to watch a Shaw movie that's a musical; hopefully, Cheng Pei-pei's prescence will help it move along breezily!Tell us what you think! http://apessimistisneverdisappointed.blogspot.com/2010/03/blue-skies-with-cheng-pei-pei.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted May 17, 2010 Member Share Posted May 17, 2010 Tell us what you think! http://apessimistisneverdisappointed.blogspot.com/2010/03/blue-skies-with-cheng-pei-pei.html Will do, xianzai!... When I come to think of it, the last foreign musicals I saw were Summer Holiday (with Cliff Richard) and Half A Sixpence (with Tommy Steele); both are from the '60s! They were shown on TV in our area in the '70s-early '90s, oddly enough. A '60s Hong Kong musical HAS to be a step up from those cheeky British ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fang Shih-yu Posted May 25, 2010 Member Share Posted May 25, 2010 Unfortunately, I've yet to get a copy of Blue Skies! Two of the three movies I ordered from Five Star Laser came yesterday, but Blue Skies wasn't one of them! I'll need to check if it's being re-ordered or "out-of-print". (I ordered it on the belief it was available, based on the BUY indicator [in the column's listing for the DVD] that [usually] means it's in stock, which is how I order from them, more often than not.) I'll try elsewhere for it if Five Star Laser can't get it back in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.