Post by Otagiri Tatsuzou on Jan 29, 2005 1:53:57 GMT -5
Title: House of Flying Daggers
URL: www.sonyclassics.com/houseofflyingdaggers/trailer-open.html
URL: imdb.com/title/tt0385004
Director: Zhang Yimou
Actors: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang
Amazon Link
This movie is directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed Hero. The two share a lot of compositional style. Strong primary colors, strong natural backgrounds, playing with speed during martial movement, and the "arrow's eye view." There are more 'traditional' martial arts in this movie than in Hero, yet they never really seem traditional. From the 'echo' dance in the beginning set with drums to the final fight sequence in the end, the fighting is highly ritualized and definately dance-like. And there are a lot of martial dances: spear on horse, spear on foot, archery, broadsword, staff, sword and shield, as well as hand to hand. And, of course, flying daggers. As in "Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon," there are scenes with fighting in bamboo - up in the bamboo. The technique is much more successful in this movie. Zhang Yimou is also the director for Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern.
This movie apparently was billed by its director as the 'sequel' to Hero, but it seems to be so in visual style only. Where the plot in Hero is driven against a background of political ambition of the greatest sort - The House of Flying Daggers barely nods at the political environment immediately outside the characters own lives. The House of Flying Daggers is much more a love story with a couple of twist - okay, more than a couple of twists. After the movie, I had the urge to look up the word denouement: The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. This movie does not really have a denoument - or it has too many - or you just get worn out by the many pre-denouments that you might not care any more when they finally get to the end.
That said, I liked this movie and will be buying it. Consider it Hero - Light with more romance and martial arts than the original. Or just ignore its connection to Hero and marvel at it as a beautiful romance. I was fortunate enough to see it on the big screen which was kind of strange because I understand it has been available on DVD for some time now. The dialog is in Chinese with English sub-titles (at least in the theater-release).