Portrait In Crystal

[bubbabgone]

What if I happen to think the mid-70's - mid 80's is the Shaw golden decade ... but I don't particularly like overdone hopping ghosts, corpses riding dollies across the set, laser shooting fingers, or guys riding big winged creatures of no identifiable species.

But most of all, will there be enough action in this film for humble folk with simple tastes like me.

[Guest Ivy Ling Po]

Out of curiosity, I have just ordered it from DDDhouse.

Must see what the fuss is all about.

Will let you guys know.

[Guest peringaten]

And into the player it ventures... Man, since I first started getting into Shaws this has been one of my most anticipated of all of them, regardless of any critical consensus whatsoever... Come on with the horror jaunt sub-par Lu Chin Ku-isms!!!

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Alright peringaten! Roll it up and let it fly!!! Can't wait to hear your consensus.

[Guest peringaten]

ERM... WHAT????!!

Mainly a horror movie. That part is done well.

No.

The wu xia type action is poorly done. Hua Shan tried to ape Lu Chun Ku and got it all wrong.

Uh huh... tell it like it is now...

It is incoherently done. There is no smoothness or sense of thought in it it seems. It just comes off as someone trying to ape Lu Chun Ku's style but having no idea at all, how to actually do it.

YES!! Listen to BKarza people - On this front he knows EXACTLY of what he speaks.

As far as the movie itself goes, it could have done without Pai Piao's partner hamming it up with the comedy-ish type stuff. He was annoying. Hua Shan took a whole lot of liberties in doing this. In the action and in the execution of the story. Sort of, I do this here because I want to. Found myself scrunching my face up a lot.

Yes!! And he knows on this front too people... Although the only difference is I found myself scrunching my brain up.

Well the ending nearly redeemed it, but by that point the damage was already done.

I'VE GOT A HEADACHE. I'M GONNA GO FILE THIS NEXT TO MY COPY OF THE ENCHANTRESS, HUG MY COPY OF WHAT PRICE HONESTY AND HAVE A LIE DOWN...

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Must classics of outstanding and overall quality be so rare?.... Yes they must, apparently. :| The face of death looking forward to something. Gawd.

[Guest Ivy Ling Po]

Oh my God!

DHL is delivering my DVD tomorrow.......wish I had ordered What Price Honesty instead.

[bubbabgone]

CD WOW has my copy of What Price Honesty on back order.

I skipped Portrait In Crystal based on these opinions here.

I'm thinking I made the right call this one time.

[Guest venomchamber]

IMO, ALL SHAWS ARE KEEPERS AND SHOULD NOT BE SKIPPED!

APPARENTLY, WE'RE GETTING SPOILED AS ONCE UPON A TIME FANS PAID THRU THE NOSE FOR POOR QUALITY TAPES OF SOME OF THE FILMS THEY SLAM NOW THAT THEY'RE ON DVD AND NOT RARE ANYMORE!

BUT STILL, AS A FAN I PERSONALLY AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND SUPPORT THEM BY BUYING EACH AND EVERY DISC THEY PUT OUT, AND HAVEN'T REGRETTED A SINGLE ONE YET!

[Guest Ivy Ling Po]

Well said venomchamber!

I am so ashamed of my attitude.

[Guest venomchamber]

Its All Good!

[Guest VonHumboldtFleischer]

Holy mackerel.

A bad movie is a bad movie, regardless of which studio released it. For the record, I saw this movie long before the Celestial release, in the dark ages of VHS. It sucked then. It sucks now.

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

BUT STILL, AS A FAN I PERSONALLY AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND SUPPORT THEM BY BUYING EACH AND EVERY DISC THEY PUT OUT, AND HAVEN'T REGRETTED A SINGLE ONE YET!

Right on brother! I don't buy every single one, but I don't regret any I've purchased, not even Portrait In Crystal which should be arriving today. In fact, I may like it much more than peringaten. There's a few films he digs a great deal that I thought were silly. By no means am I ditchin peringaten, I respect his opinion, the point is we are all on different pages with any given title. So when I watch it, I'm sure I'll see or even agree with some of the points made by peringaten or Bkarza, but those criticisms may be superfluous or irrelevant to my perspective on the overall film.

I'm sorry there is one film I'd regretted purchasng: Lust for Love Of A Chinese Courtesan. Gawd! Chu Yuan by 1984 you were definitely slippin.

[Guest peringaten]

I don't think any of us are stupid enough not to be thankful for Celestial. Plus with the sheer amount being released I guess a lot of us don't have the funds to go for them all, but would if we could - regardless it's good to get pointers and gists towards our various tastes, particularly for the casual fan. I'm not ashamed of my attitude here (will never be spoiled towards Shaws only grateful), and maybe my point is missed. I LOVE Shaws, every film of theirs is worthwhile, I'll never get rid of even the least appealing film of theirs, but perspective on this one... It's not very good. ESPECIALLY as a horror flick, it's not very good. It's alright, but it's in league with the likes of an Enchantress for "horror" almost besides a couple of really camply done slight gore scenes (the cross scene was amusing), etc...

It's not a horror - it's an uninvolving supernatural flick... where's the pacing and especially the tension, etc.? Other than hoping that fat dude was gonna give it up, and worrying when the story may become involving... and the filmmaking less mindnumbingly slapdash? And I'm trying to take it on its own merits here, not what I wished it to be *licks copy of Human Lanterns*.

This film GENUINELY gave me a headache - be a long time before I recheck this again - I'LL BE RECOMMENDING A COUPLE HUNDRED OTHER SHAWS AT LEAST BEFORE THIS ONE (that figure will for sure go up the more I see I reckon (sub reckon for know)). For the casual observer, in light of the numerous true gems available, this one will possibly even give THE WRONG idea about Shaws - We all know the rabid fans are gonna grab and watch any regardless - once again, I don't think any of us are stupid enough not to be thankful for Celestial... and if the curiosity is there want to make our own minds up. I may base on opinion when the funds are tight, but I know I'm not the only one who mostly disregards a lot of opinion for want to make their own mind up whenever the funds and time make it possible.

Maybe the sets in Portrait were nicer (very Chor Yuan) and some elements were a bit madder fun, but - JOURNEY OF THE DOOMED WAS BETTER THAN THIS FLICK IMO.

Still, it may work for some of you... who knows.

[Guest jmungus]

very good discussion folks. heres my 2 cents:

Quote:Mainly a horror movie. That part is done well.

NO

do i interpret that right its another typical late 70s/early 80s wuxia with some (more or less) pseudo-creepy/horror elements infused ?

Quote:The wu xia type action is poorly done. Hua Shan tried to ape Lu Chun Ku and got it all wrong.

Uh huh... tell it like it is now..

plz elaborate.

did he get it all wrong "aping tony liu" or did he get the action all wrong in general ? like, is it a total mess in its own right ?

Quote:It is incoherently done. There is no smoothness or sense of thought in it it seems. It just comes off as someone trying to ape Lu Chun Ku's style but having no idea at all, how to actually do it.

YES!! Listen to BKarza people - On this front he knows EXACTLY of what he speaks.

ive always considered hua shan`s directing style a bit of a unique affair (plz dont read too much into the 'unique' thing), meaning his outputs would fit into the SB style of movie making but distinguishing themselves from the 'average shaw' by a multitude of slight differences in various aspects of a production.

tales of a eunuch would be such an example. a deadly secret would be another example like that (from yet another director; whose name escapes me).

anyhoo, long story short, im not particularly fond of hua shan, but i do not dislike him for that either; i rather think he/his style is an interesting asset to the SB library.

doesnt mean its an excuse; maybe he simply screwed up here. u tell me, i aint own the movie yet

I'VE GOT A HEADACHE. I'M GONNA GO FILE THIS NEXT TO MY COPY OF THE ENCHANTRESS

for the record, i really dig the enchantress. might be kind of a guilty pleasure, and im aware the story is a real mess, but 2 things i really love about it: (from what i remember) the action is more furiously staged and overall fun than the majority of CY wuxias; and i totally love the sets and atmosphere (approaching the movie as a swordplay- as opposed to a 'horror' flick)

HUG MY COPY OF WHAT PRICE HONESTY AND HAVE A LIE DOWN

old perv :eek

A bad movie is a bad movie, regardless of which studio released it.

word up! if i watched movies cuz they re rare, i`d have a whole lot of celluloid-excrement on my hands.

Quote:BUT STILL, AS A FAN I PERSONALLY AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND SUPPORT THEM BY BUYING EACH AND EVERY DISC THEY PUT OUT, AND HAVEN'T REGRETTED A SINGLE ONE YET!

Right on brother! I don't buy every single one, but I don't regret any I've purchased, not even Portrait In Crystal which should be arriving today. In fact, I may like it much more than peringaten. There's a few films he digs a great deal that I thought were silly. By no means am I ditchin peringaten, I respect his opinion, the point is we are all on different pages with any given title. So when I watch it, I'm sure I'll see or even agree with some of the points made by peringaten or Bkarza, but those criticisms may be superfluous or irrelevant to my perspective on the overall film.

why mix things up ?

being "eternally grateful" is one thing; buying all their stuff (or not) is another and yet another is whether one regrets it or not on some occassions.

excellent comment (-> "right on brother!...."), but if everyone always had this on their minds when entering an internet (movie) forum, terms like "imho", "just my 2cents" etc would have to face the horrible fate of extinction :eek :\

JOURNEY OF THE DOOMED WAS BETTER THAN THIS FLICK IMO

now thats saying something IMHO ('its still alive!!!') :lol

generally speaking, theres no truly rotten shaw flicks for me .....

with the EXCEPTION of a chosen few (less than 10) of the hundreds i know.

JOTD is definitely one of em!!! i could never ever believe u on this one peri, without having seen it with my own eyes.

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

After all that explaining and clearing the air.

What's an HTML comment?

Anyway, absolutey no offense was meant toward peringaten, especially with the silly films comment I watch and love a great deal of them myself. I was merely trying to make an example of the diversity of tastes on this forum while also sharing the enthusiasum of another board member... and not:

excellent comment (-> "right on brother!....") , but if everyone always had this on their minds when entering an internet (movie) forum, terms like "imho", "just my 2cents" etc would have to face the horrible fate of extinction

That's a little ridiculous.

By the way what does this mean:

being "eternally grateful" is one thing; buying all their stuff (or not) is another and yet another is whether one regrets it or not on some occassions.

Ya, I get your gist.

[Guest peringaten]

do i interpret that right its another typical late 70s/early 80s wuxia with some (more or less) pseudo-creepy/horror elements infused ?

Kind of, sort of, pretty much... It's very late-Chor Yuan in feel mostly... but kind of like he teamed up with the Battle Wizard design crew a little here and there I thought initially (despite BW's earlier vintage; i'm gisting)... Which soon as I realised it wasn't a straight horror thought might suffice for some nice fun... but alas, it wasn't anywhere near as fun as BW nor as involving as a late-era Chor Yuan flick - The Enchantress is better imo. My comparison was more a superficially stylistic comparison...

did he get it all wrong "aping tony liu" or did he get the action all wrong in general ? like, is it a total mess in its own right ?

plz elaborate.

Kind of, sort of, pretty much... yeah, see it and you should see BK's comparison... it's apt I thought... Messy generally? Yeah - once again I'm not lying when I say this film LITERALLY gave me a headache... it might be the editing or something... it's something in there... It got better by the end (not great though), but my head was pounding by then - it just furthered it...

maybe he simply screwed up here. u tell me, i aint own the movie yet

You ordered this one? I'll be interested to see more opinions on it after watching...

now thats saying something IMHO ('its still alive!!!')

generally speaking, theres no truly rotten shaw flicks for me .....

with the EXCEPTION of a chosen few (less than 10) of the hundreds i know.

JOTD is definitely one of em!!! i could never ever believe u on this one peri, without having seen it with my own eyes.

JOTD actually cajoled me into caring a little for the characters, Portrait gave me a headache with its characters, plotting and stylings... plus I dug the action in JOTD more - it flowed better, if again less ambitious. They are not similar, and Portrait wins on sets, but they both had schlock '80s stylings and felt kind of tv productiony... ah, maybe you get my gist... who knows...

old perv

Oh... less said the better there...

And Vengeance - absolutely no offense taken - I got what you meant and agree.

[Guest venomchamber]

I consider myself an advocate for the Shaws and their films!

My definition of a Shaw Brothers film = a film made at Shaw Studios. I am not as fond of their modern films made in the 80s. Although I do like them very much, I'm not quite as obsessed with them as I am with their films made between 1958 and 1980.

To me, the Shaw films made between '58 and '80 appear as episodes of a long running anthology series, some not as good as others, but all worth watching!

(If an episode or two of your favorite show sucked, would you stop watching the entire series?)

I enjoy all of the films shot at their studios regardless of genre. I have enjoyed each and every huangmei opera, ghost film, wu-xia swordplay, period fantasy, Imperial drama, romantic comedy, nightclub musical, TVB collaboration and of course, kung-fu movie I have seen by them, and seeing them digitally remastered only fuels my passion for all things Shaw!

I can recognize a true Shaw film a mile away just by watching it briefly for a minute or two.

I love the look of their interior sets with the painted backdrops.

I love the cinematography! No doubt about it. (Especially Kung Mu-To.)

I love their villa, pagoda, and wooden plank bridge.

I love their exterior countryside locales in the New Territories.

I love the sound effects no matter how insignificant, like the sound of their footsteps (chep-chep-chep), the fluttering rustle of their robes, the pings of the early swords, the clangs of the later swords, and even that bird that chirps in the background of any film depicting a forest. (hoo-hoo-hoooo...)

I love watching the same actors age gracefully while appearing over and over again in every movie during 20 years at the studio. (Ching Miao and Wang Ching-Ho come to mind.)

I love the glued-on wigs and upswept eyebrows.

I love the music, even their library of western stock music which borrows heavily from Ennio Morricone, one of my favorite composers.

I love the surreal quality their films during this period had and can almost compare them to an onstage play, and I find myself in the unique position of not being able to dislike a Shaw film.*

I am a Shaw Brothers fan, pure and simple!

I shell out my hard earned cash for all of their DVD releases, except for the films Celestial is sneaking in that are NOT Shaws like the '90s Stephen Chow stuff. I even get some of the Japanese versions (for the extra bonus features!) and all the Image releases.

I'd watch a Shaw film over any other HK film anyday!

Even if you don't buy horror/sword films like Portrait In Crystal, I would definitely suggest you borrow, rent or trade a copy of it just to see it for yourself!

Its not Bloody Parrot, but I feel its worth a watch atleast once over Chinese take-out! It definitely beats renting one of those recent Steven Seagal flicks from Blockbuster!

Someone once said "One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure"

(*Note: Sometime in the 1980s, the Shaws decided to emulate the "new-wave" cinematography utilized by rival studios and filmed more frequently on location. Although these films are all great as well, they lack the unique personal touch of their previous films.

For some, this switch made the films appear more realistic, for others, such as Shaw purists like myself, this cheapened the quality of the whole production and made it seem more generic in appearance.

For example, Hong Kong Playboys bares little resemblence to a Shaw film until the battle in the gym at the end which is loaded with the familiar sound effects.

Wherein Hong Kong Godfather, Mercenaries From Hong Kong, and This Man Is Dangerous have some outstanding action performed by some of their top stars, the cinematography of these films are about the same as any other typical Godfrey Ho/Yukari Oshima/Moon Lee/Angel film of the 80s...OK at best. This was when I discovered TVB wu-xia serials.)

[Guest peringaten]

What did you think of Portrait In Crystal?

[Guest venomchamber]

Obviously, I like it. I will admit it isn't among my favorites like the Chang Cheh films, but I wouldn't go so far as to say is was bad, much less terrible.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a horror film, sometimes a sleazy film, sometimes a wu-xia film. This, along with other films like Black Lizard and Bloody Parrot I watched as f***ed-up bootlegs and couldn't wait to see them crystal (pun) clear on DVD, so to me it seems like someone turned on the light in a dark room. I'm biased, because I'd probably like any Shaw film even if it sucked, as long as it starred someone I am a fan of (in this case Jason Pai Piao) and I am familiar with the direction (in this case Hua Shan- whom I like a lot...Super-Inframan, Tales Of A Eunuch, Usurpers Of The Emporer's Power, To Kill A Jaguar, Little Dragon Maiden, etc.)

So I didn't see anything wrong with it, storywise or otherwise. I didn't think the film was trying to ape Lu Chin Ku as it didn't even register to me to compare it. I was just grateful I was watching another Shaw production on DVD that I thought would never see the light of day!

[Guest Ivy Ling Po]

Finally I've seen it and may I say, the film looks impressive with atmospheric sets. Chen Szu Chia casts a strong presence with her characterisation and Wang Jung displays why he won the Golden Horse awards for best acting a few times in his career. The fighting is admittedly undercranked but it is heads and shoulders above Journey Of The Doomed which is the pits. The plot makes sense ultimately and all loose ends are tied up. Not bad at all. If you're hesitating, take a chance.

[Guest venomchamber]

Way to go Ivy!

'nuff said!

[Guest Ivy Ling Po]

There is one particular scene where this completely nude girl is all tied up with iron wires cutting into her flesh and you have this villain slicing off her flesh piece by piece in close-up. It is very realistic and I was amused when my friend who was watching it with me had to turn away despite his strong stomach for violence in triad films. There is a close-up of full frontal female nudity here and I think this scene must have been cut from the bootlegs. It reminded me very much of the uncut Momentum UK dvd of Human Lanterns. For gore and nudity lovers, this scene alone is worth the price of the dvd. I am glad I picked up this dvd for Chen Szu Chia. She reminded me very much of Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia in The Bride Witrh White Hair 2 and fights just as ferociously. Definitely one of her signature movies. I like Pai Piao in this one and I normally don't like him.

[Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Mine STILL hasn't arrived! >: But Ivy, to an extent you've just made the wait look worth it.

Thanks for the little review.

[Guest peringaten]

Glad to hear it worked for you Ivy!