Member David Rees Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 I have seen only 5 or so of his films but cannot see the appeal at all of this director. I find the stories confusing and the action average. Maybe its because not being Chinese i dont understand the references from the novels etc... I know he has many fans, so are there any films that show him at his best? Do his fans wanna tell me what they love about him? I have seen MAGIC BLADE, DEATH DUEL, KILLER CLANS, SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, HEROES SHED NO TEARS.:l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 Hmm...well, I'm a pretty big fan. As far as films like Death Duel, Killer Clans, Sentimental Swordsman, I like the colorful, surreal settings and characters. I like his camera techniques, and where he often sets the really colorful flowers in the foreground and stuff to create a dreamlike atmosphere. I like the characters reciting poetry, and reflecting on the tragedy of their lives (yes, being the world's greatest swordsman and having to kill people every day in mortal combat isn't as fun as you might think ) And, I generally like the fight scenes of that era and those films---not too many wires or undercranking, some trampolines and acrobatics. Also, I really like what he did with some of his films before the mid-late 70's wuxias, ones like Duel for Gold, The Lizard and the Bastard. I wouldn't say he's my favorite Shaw director, but I greatly enjoy a good number of his films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lillippa328 Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 Magic Blade is great.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HAZ Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 I'm a fan. Bat Without Wings was great & Sentimental Swordsman was pretty cool, too. Did he ever do any films in a modern setting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 I'm a fan. Bat Without Wings was great & Sentimental Swordsman was pretty cool, too. Did he ever do any films in a modern setting? I think The Lizard was set in the 1930s? I think that's the only kind of modern one I've seen of his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Bravery Posted March 4, 2009 Member Share Posted March 4, 2009 I agree with KyFi, it is the fantasy world that draws me in. The storys are enough to keep me interested in his films. But, he is not as good as a director as Chang Cheh, but his films hold up well on there own. And ekisha is right, Murder Plot is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I've seen a few good Chu Yuan films and also a few mediocre ones... never seen a truly great one though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member dragonherb Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 I think these are pretty good: Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan Clans of Intrigue Full Moon Scimitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member xianzai Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 I like the colorful, surreal settings and characters. I like his camera techniques, and where he often sets the really colorful flowers in the foreground and stuff to create a dreamlike atmosphere. I like the characters reciting poetry, and reflecting on the tragedy of their lives [....] I wouldn't say he's my favorite Shaw director, but I greatly enjoy a good number of his films.Well, I'll say he's mine. It has to be acknowledged that he did make some crap wuxias toward the end of his directing run due to being burned out, though which of his films people like is of course personal preference. In addition to what KyFi noted, I like that his films feel more like stage plays than movies -- there's emphasis on plot and wit, which is a nice break from the fighting for fighting's sake in some other Shaws. The genre elements (twists, secret training manuals, poisons, special techniques, etc.) are also a nice change from more straightforward films. It's true his films are often based on snippets of wuxia novels. If you feel you would like the films if you knew more of the original novel, there are fan (and a few published) translations of a number of wuxia novels available. Some recommendations: Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan -- a true exploitation classic Swordsman & Enchantress -- based on The Eleventh Son Jade Tiger Clan of Amazons -- based on the Lu Xiao Feng book 2 Killer Clans -- based on the book Butterfly Meteor Sword Sentimental Swordsman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 I am off and on with Chor Yuen, sometimes I hate his films other times its exactly the films I want to see. I tend to rewatch them cause I always miss something or fall asleep while watching, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cesare Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 What I dislike about Chor Yuen is his general tendency to cram a whole damn Gu Long novel (or as much of it as possible) into a single feature film, instead of trying to capture the essence of the whole thing. That's IMHO not how a good movie adaptation of a literary text is done...;-) On the other hand - I do like the choreography (I like Tong Gaai's style - the fights are IMHO imaginative and generally quite well executed). I like the films simply because I like the source material. Gu Long's stories are pretty powerful - and his "freak show of a jiang hu" is endlessly entertaining...:-) And I like the visual stylization. There is a poetry to Chor Yuen's films that for example CC's or LKL's stuff lacks... And while I definitely prefer Chang Cheh, I'm very fond of Chor Yuen's films, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted March 5, 2009 Member Share Posted March 5, 2009 His films fit in nicely with the rest of the Shaw directors, sometimes I want a serious everyone dies at the end bloodbath ala Chang Cheh then I want some crazy kung fu fantasy with elaborate set pieces and weapons - exploding peacock darts and five venom spider boxes - fna. Really depends what I'm in the mood for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member vengeanceofhumanlanterns Posted March 10, 2009 Member Share Posted March 10, 2009 I feel Chu Yuan would definitely be missed if he had never been a part of the Shaws retinue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yang Wu Liang Posted March 10, 2009 Member Share Posted March 10, 2009 Chor Yuan's my favourite Shaw Bros director along with Sun Cheung and Tony Liu Jun Guk but I am more of a fan of wuxia than traditional Kung Fu films. For my money Chor Yuan has made some of the most beautiful looking Shaw films such as Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan, Killer Clans, Death Duel, Sentimental Swordsman etc etc Sometimes I'm not too keen on the ‘fakeness’ of the indoor Shaw brother’s sets but with his swordplay films Chor Yuen shows why he is the master with beautifully intricate scenery and sets that are always perfectly framed and composed like a series of classical paintings. It’s not only the visual aspects of his films that are worthy of praise though, if you’ve read one of Gu Long’s novels you’ll know that he had a very distinctive, poetic style of writing that sets him apart from his contemporaries and Chor Yuen manages to capture this perfectly - A good example is my personal favourite of his Gu Long adaptations - Return of the Sentimental Swordsman. Some of his films can be a bit convoluted admittedly but it's really the fault of the source material not Chor Yuan. These films were made for chinese wuxia fans who were already familiar with the original books so they wouldn't have seemed so confusing to them. I've always had an artistic disposition (studied fine art at university etc) so maybe that's why I've got such an appreciation for Chor Yuan's aesthetic brilliance - obviously he's made a few turkeys later in his career but he's made too many great films to be dismissed as a lesser Shaws director. ICCC and ROTSS are both 10/10 films for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member peringaten Posted March 10, 2009 Member Share Posted March 10, 2009 I love, love, love, Swordsman & Enchantress, Hidden Power Of Dragon Sabre & Descendant Of The Sun. Got massive affection for those three. The rest of his stuff I've always got time for, for some reason that just is, Shaw fanaticism I guess, but don't really care about much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DeathShrike Posted March 10, 2009 Member Share Posted March 10, 2009 Of his films that I've seen, the only one I went nuts for was Duel of the Century. The Lu Xiaofeng character is so wonderful, at least as played by Tony Liu. I wasn't as big a fan of the first of the Lu Xiaofeng movies directed by Chor Yuen, Clan of Amazons. I think you just have to really embrace the convoluted plots. I really enjoyed trying to keep up with all the characters in Duel of the Century, and it was fun watching the Martial World equivalent of Fletch running around solving mysteries, mainly because he was bored. Duel of the Century comes out on Region 1 DVD this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted March 10, 2009 Member Share Posted March 10, 2009 I've tried to enjoy the films, but they've always got the same problem: too many characters, convoluted plot lines, trying too hard to be more than just a martial arts film, and my biggest beef, heavy body doubling of the fighting actors. There are only a few of the actors who actually fight 90% of the way through all of the fight scenes with his films. The rest of the time its acrobatic stunt men doing flips and jumps. At least with Chang Cheh and Lau Kar Leung films, you get to see the leads actors themselves doing most of the fighting. I have yet to watch a Chor Yuen film that will make me rate it on the level of Chang Cheh and Lau Kar Leung. I find Sun Cheung's films are kind of half way between Chor Yuen and Chang Cheh. The earlier films lean more toward Chor Yuen, the later films, like Rebellious Son, are more like Lau Kar Leung. As much as a lot of people enjoy his films, or even Wuxia films in general, which I tend not to like, I prefer my basic, not-so-involved-plot, kung fu flicks! KFS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 11, 2021 Member Share Posted May 11, 2021 On 3/4/2009 at 2:01 PM, David Rees said: I have seen only 5 or so of his films but cannot see the appeal at all of this director. I find the stories confusing and the action average. Maybe its because not being Chinese i dont understand the references from the novels etc... I know he has many fans, so are there any films that show him at his best? Do his fans wanna tell me what they love about him? You're not going to like the advice that Chor Yuen gave to Wong Jing when he was starting out at Shaw Brothers: "Wong Jing, you can make it in the movie circle even if you are sleeping on set, listening to the horse races or even slapping a woman for getting out of line. The only death penalty is not making money." A more sympathetic piece of advice that Jing imbibed from Chor: “A star having an ego isn't a crime and tardiness isn't a crime but quitting a project or firing a star is a sin.” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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