Member peringaten Posted April 16, 2009 Member Share Posted April 16, 2009 I just realised recently that this is the possibly the most symmetrical movie ever made; virtually every shot for the majority runtime is set up symmetrically. I wonder how much this contributes to the emotional impact of it all; that real focused, balanced, surging forward, straight down the middle feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Gaijin84 Posted April 16, 2009 Member Share Posted April 16, 2009 I still am amazed at the part when Gordon fights with Kara strapped to his back. Most films would go with a dummy attached there, but it looks like they had her on there the whole time. That must have taken some serious strength and stamina, let alone skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted April 17, 2009 Member Share Posted April 17, 2009 Yeah that scene is shown in the making of footage must have taken a lot of stamina....one of my favourite all time shaw films. AsianCultCinema Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted April 17, 2009 Member Share Posted April 17, 2009 The fight scenes were very good, but the movie became very bloody near the end. It didn't seem necessary for "EDPF" to be so bloody near the end of the movie. So what's your point?XD So if someone killing your father, 4 brothers, and about to kill your little sister, and betraying your country wouldn't warrent blood I don't know what would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member chen lung Posted April 17, 2009 Member Share Posted April 17, 2009 I didn't like this one, but I found it more violent than usual - the teeth-knocking was a bit gruesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted April 17, 2009 Member Share Posted April 17, 2009 I didn't find this film gruesome at all, it was only teeth, I've seen worse, Cheng Cheh's films 10-15 years earlier were more violent and gruesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member inframan Posted April 17, 2009 Member Share Posted April 17, 2009 The review over at KFC Cinema says its completely humorless, I don't agree. The scene where they "remove the wolves teeth" was really funny, I was laughing out loud at that part. Overall its pretty serious and dark but but that little bit broke some of the tension at the perfect point in the finale. Also Fu Sheng's performance is a little over the top, kind of unintentionally funny. I'll have to check that runtime for each scene thing, interesting observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member MLee Posted April 18, 2009 Member Share Posted April 18, 2009 I love this movie. It is more violent and bloody to what we are used to from Lau Kar Leung but I didn't really mind. I thought the fight choreography was excellent and the training was very interesting with the wolves. The endfight with the teeth-knocking was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alexandra Posted April 21, 2009 Member Share Posted April 21, 2009 Also Fu Sheng's performance is a little over the top, kind of unintentionally funny. Different points of view. I don't agree at all with your perception about the Fu Sheng's performance as "unintentionally funny". An experimented actor as Fu Sheng "unintentionally performs a little funny?" (my words) Funny? Each actor has his own way of expressing violent emotions, Fu Sheng don't fit in the stereotype. He was (in the movie) out of his mind, lost his reason. He could yell all the time over the top, roar, cry like a child, etc. For me, it's an excelent actuation because not all the actors have the same reactions or talk in the same way. Be out of mind allows a constellation of probabilities for the actor, and I think that Fu Sheng's performance in EDPF shows him in his actoral maturity. Just my opinion. Alexandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted April 21, 2009 Administrator Share Posted April 21, 2009 When I first saw this film it was dubbed, and I felt like Fu Sheng's performance was a bit OTT. After finding out years later what had happened- him dying during filming- I felt very moved when I watched it again. But I was even more emotionally affected when I saw the film subtitled in Chinese. Despite the performance still being dubbed, seeing it in it's correct language made Fu Sheng's scenes so much more powerful and serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted April 21, 2009 Member Share Posted April 21, 2009 I found the performance of the Yang mother, Lily Li, to be tremendous, she has a great screen presence and in my opinion her character suffers just as much as the surviving sons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alexandra Posted April 27, 2009 Member Share Posted April 27, 2009 Despite the performance still being dubbed, seeing it in it's correct language made Fu Sheng's scenes so much more powerful and serious. I saw the film in mandarin and subtitled in english. You got the point: when you hear Alexander saying his lines in mandarin, you understand very well the dramatic intention, and the performance fits in the power and deep emotion wanted by the director and Alexander do it FANTASTIC. Alexandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 28, 2009 Member Share Posted April 28, 2009 I finally watched this movie in it's entirety and I must say I was floored by it!! FU Sheng not only acted great, his screen fighting was at an all time best. He just looked real crisp and effective. XD I think the violence fits the film perfectly and the emotion surrounding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted April 28, 2009 Member Share Posted April 28, 2009 Due to the circumstances, it's hard for me to watch this film... This and Legendary Weapons of China. However, they both rock, and in different ways! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masked Avenger Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 This is great movie. It's not suitable for children. But It's hard to call the movie violent. Chang Che's movies are rather violent. Also the color of blood used in KF movies differ from real blood's, so it's easy to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Asmo Posted April 29, 2009 Moderator Share Posted April 29, 2009 I love this movie. On a side note, I just heard the main theme used in an episode of 'Great Crimes and Trials'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted April 30, 2009 Member Share Posted April 30, 2009 I love this movie. On a side note, I just heard the main theme used in an episode of 'Great Crimes and Trials'. I think the music was originally made for the Daimajin movie, a really great old kaiju film from 66. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WuxiaFan Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is one of the greatest SB films of all time. I am always in complete amazement of this film. I SB films were ranked in terms of greatness, this would be in the top 5, I just don't know where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Asmo Posted May 4, 2009 Moderator Share Posted May 4, 2009 I think the music was originally made for the Daimajin movie, a really great old kaiju film from 66. I'll check it out if available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted May 4, 2009 Member Share Posted May 4, 2009 This theme?: http://www.dewolfe.co.uk/musicsearch/track_detail.php?primaryid=3921 It's a piece of library music recorded & composed by one Ivor Slaney all the way back in the 1940s, belonging to the De Wolfe collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Asmo Posted May 4, 2009 Moderator Share Posted May 4, 2009 Yes. After reading the title of the track, it seems that much more fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member LittleDragon Posted May 4, 2009 Member Share Posted May 4, 2009 Superb movie,great cast,story,action...up there among the best of Shaws.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alexandra Posted May 4, 2009 Member Share Posted May 4, 2009 Superb movie,great cast,story,action...up there among the best of Shaws.! Agree. It's remarkable the first scene, over all the movie. The battle in the mount Jinsha where the Yang Patriarch faces the Tartars with his seven sons is awesome. Lau Kar Leung made one of the most impressive fight choreographies. This scene was nominated in 1984 in the Hong Kong Film Award in the category of Best Action Choreography, it really deserved the award. All the Yang's were splendid in their roles. We can see Wong Yue (Yang Nro. 1) fall into a disaster when the tartars engaged his spear and kill him, Liu Chia Yung (Yang Nro. 2) whom is tied to poles and stabbed, Chang Chan Peng (Yang Nro. 7) whom put his own body to protect his father and received all the shots, Gordon Liu (Yang Nro. 5) not so remarkable in the battle because the protagonism became later in the movie, Hsiao Hu (Yang Nro. 4) I believe that this Yang dies after the explosion and the attack of the tartars, don't remember very well, and don't remember what happened to Mat Te Lo (Yang Nro. 3) in the battle....and what can I say about Alexander Fu Sheng? (Yang Nro. 6) It's completly awesome, his facial expressions, his voice modulations, his exteriorizations of rage, fury, madness, out of control, fury... and his skills in spear fight was perfect. A masterpiece. Alexandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted May 4, 2009 Member Share Posted May 4, 2009 Agree. It's remarkable the first scene, over all the movie. The battle in the mount Jinsha where the Yang Patriarch faces the Tartars with his seven sons is awesome. Lau Kar Leung made one of the most impressive fight choreographies. This scene was nominated in 1984 in the Hong Kong Film Award in the category of Best Action Choreography, it really deserved the award. All the Yang's were splendid in their roles. We can see Wong Yue (Yang Nro. 1) fall into a disaster when the tartars engaged his spear and kill him, Liu Chia Yung (Yang Nro. 2) whom is tied to poles and stabbed, Chang Chan Peng (Yang Nro. 7) whom put his own body to protect his father and received all the shots, Gordon Liu (Yang Nro. 5) not so remarkable in the battle because the protagonism became later in the movie, Hsiao Hu (Yang Nro. 4) I believe that this Yang dies after the explosion and the attack of the tartars, don't remember very well, and don't remember what happened to Mat Te Lo (Yang Nro. 3) in the battle....and what can I say about Alexander Fu Sheng? (Yang Nro. 6) It's completly awesome, his facial expressions, his voice modulations, his exteriorizations of rage, fury, madness, out of control, fury... and his skills in spear fight was perfect. A masterpiece. Alexandra I agree, a brilliant scene. Did you notice, when we first see each brother fight, we get a single uncut shot of each, which when finishing edits to a similar shot of the next brother carrying on from the last brother's exact same move/pose, to be used on a different set of tartar foes. It carries through so smoothly that unless you're really paying attention it looks like just one person in sequence shot from several cameras & cut between. Little touches like that cement Lau Kar Leung's genius; the way he draws out the story's dynamics through choreography, and solidifies the bond between the brothers within the action. Too good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted May 4, 2009 Administrator Share Posted May 4, 2009 Did you notice, when we first see each brother fight, we get a single uncut shot of each, which when finishing edits to a similar shot of the next brother carrying on from the last brother's exact same move/pose, to be used on a different set of tartar foes. I picked up on this after watching the film a few times. An awesome idea, perfectly realized on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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