House of Flying Daggers
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Movie Reviews of House of Flying Daggers
Movie Review: Best Movie of 2004
Summary: 5 Stars
"House of Flying Daggers" is the most romantic movie since "The English Patient" and the best action movie since "Crouching Tiger." But, let the viewer be warned. It starts slow, and builds up in intensity as time goes on.
The year is 800 A.D. and the Tang Dynasty of China is menaced by a secret organization called the House of Flying Daggers. Two under-cover policemen conspire to infiltrate the HOFD They see their opportunity through a captive partisan, a blind, beautiful, and deadly dancer named Mei, played by Zhang Ziyi. One of the policemen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, breaks Mei out of jail hoping she will lead him to the headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers. Dogged by pursuers, they flee together through a gorgeous landscape of autumn color, bamboo forests, hidden perils, and twists of the plot at every turn. Ostensibly an action picture, the romance -- and the deceit -- between Zhang and Kaneshiro dominates the movie, although there are enough artful action scenes to satisfy all but the most fanatic of Chinese martial art fans.
"House of Flying Daggers" is an old-fashioned romance dressed up in lavish Chinese costumes and photographed ravishingly. There is a bit of grit it it too. Zhang gets mussed and bloody -- sweats, cries, pants for breath, looks terrified, and shows a bit more skin than is common in Chinese movies. She was underused in "Musa" and "Hero," but comes into her own as a glamorous waif in "House of Flying Daggers." Not the least of the sumptuous pleasures of HOFD is the song by opera singer Kathleen Battle at the end. To tell more would be to give away surprises in this spectacular movie.
Smallchief
Movie Review: Zhang YImou evolving the art of cinema
Summary: 5 Stars
As the title suggests, there are flying objects in Zhang Yimou's follow up to "Hero"- not just metaphorical imagery but literal flying daggers with the navigational prowess to make the boomerang look like linear dead-weight. Ever since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", many in the West are becoming accustomed to the aerial ballet and maneuvering of this mystical world - a lush place initially absurd to the unprepared mind but after some brain-stretching accommodations, one is mesmerized by it. Taoist mythology/folklore meets the martial arts a la Kubrick and the result is a dose of soul-satisfying story. The mono-thematic coloring matched with fluid choreography and clean set designs sanitize the harsher elements of the real world, jetting us to a fable-playground where the dichotomy of life and art merge into poetry and pure image feed.
A human heart beats below the hyper-stylized combat sequences and grand opera; this is a love story but one not easily genre-lized. The basic story has been told before but the sensitive portrayal of some of humanity's most fundamental, almost mythical archetypes inform the evolving rhythm of an emerging truly international, trans-boundary phenomenon - that of a cinematic language where parochial contemplations have a secondary importance to image, feeling, awareness and a unifying human dignity.
The film ends with a triptych showdown that would make Leone proud. The result is a Pyrrhic battle and a screaming indictment of the world's failing political systems and individual myopia. In an industry of sometimes-competent craftsmen, this delightful production represents artistry.
Movie Review: Be sure to see the great supplemental features on the DVD version!
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend "House of the Flying Daggers." a movie filmed in vibrant colors, beautiful Tang dynasty costumes with a plot full of action, surprises and twists. Zhang Ziyi playing Mei shows again why she is, in my opinion, the most talented young actress in contemporary Asia. As well as being a very beautiful young woman, Zhang Ziyi, who studied dance, works very hard in preparting for her roles whether in "House of the Flying Daggers" or "Memoirs of a Geisha." I was epecially very impressed by Mei's fascinating and brilliantly filmed dance performance near the beginning of the movie.
Other reviewers have aptly summarized the basic plot of the movie, so I will not further discuss it. What is especially worthwhile about buying the DVD version are the excellent supplemental features. I greatly enjoyed Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi's informative and interesting commentary about the movie. One comes away with a much better understanding of the movie and how "House of the Flying Daggers" was made after listening to their commentary as the movie is played out.
I will give one relatively minor and entertaining example from their commentary. Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi comment about how some people in the western world seem to have a hard time telling Asian actors apart. They amusingly make the same comment about how they view some people from the western world. The device the director employs to help some westerners distinguish between Leo and Jin in the beginning of the movie is rather funny.
Movie Review: Sacrifice and bliss!
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most considerable and extraordinary contributions of the cinema as art is the amazing and perfect conjunction between mythos and reality; to get the accurate proportion in which poetic verb and visual expression can be melted.
Yimou Zhang `s powerful visual expression reaches that notable peak in which visual fantasy is simply a minuscule portion of the narrative scheme. The visual effects are under the service of the fable and the power of myth.
Loyalty and duty; betrayal and jealous, pride and honor are just irresistible words that mean nothing when love makes its appearance. The rules are meaningless and the bliss genesis is also its consummation.
The sacrifice ritual is part of the life; the selfish still dominates our primary impulses; courage, boldness and spiritual discipline are mere semantic formalities. We return to the primordial roots: The consecration of spring is going to burn at your eyes.
The choreographic duels; the ravishing employment of chromatic filters, the wild nature working out as splendid frame to reveal the varied gamut of feelings; the cinematic rhythm and passionate characters description make of this picture not only a must-see, but elevates and expands still more the astonishing possibilities of the cinema as inspired vehicle of the perpetual imagination and reminds us these famous words of Jean Luc Godard when affirmed: "The cinema is the expression of our most beautiful feelings."
Movie Review: great movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best chinese martial arts movies I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few. Hard to explain, but the movie has a very desirable "mood" about it which many films of the same type lack. By the way, don't put much weight in what the reviewer below (a Chinese living in US for 20+ years) says. He calls this a "wushia" movie... :D even a 5 year old Chinese child knows that in Mandarin (currently the national language of China) the proper term is WU SHU. Maybe our critical friend has been in the USA too long. Also, he states that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a better representation of the "wushia" genre than "House of Flying Daggers". Everyone knows that most Chinese people really hated "Crouching Tiger". Actually I loved "Crouching Tiger" however, I wouldn't say that it "better represents the wu shu genre"... It is one of the more refined "wire-fu" movies (not very realistic) exclusively devoted to sword (jian) fighting that also encompasses a wide variety of complex situational underlyings. In other words, it's a whole lot more than just a Chinese martial arts movie. If you want to see a movie that "represents the wu shu genre" I would recommend something like the cult classics "Five Fingers of Death" or "Buddhist Fist" or even "The Five Deadly Venoms"... at any rate, you can add "House of Flying Daggers" to your collection of martial arts classics (or soon to be classics)... this one is a winner in every way.