Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing Beautiful Love Amidst Clandestine Operations/War, 22 Sep 2006
Better than "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" this story gradually reveals an unexpected love triangle which contains amazing martial arts choreography woven into a stunning visual masterpiece of epic proportions. The unusual love-triangle is heart-stopping ... the fight scene at the conclusion of the film is a gut-wrenching and powerful. The close-up scenes of pure emotions reveal both artistic cinematography as well as superb acting: whether it is desire, bliss, lust, rage, doubt, torment, suffering or other emotions ... the visual effects are absolutely amazing.
This film has it all: gorgeous period costumes designed by Emi Wada, spectacular landscapes like delicate water colors and oil paintings on canvas and visually pleasing actors and actresses ... They are fairy-tale like in their magnificence. The mountain scenery is breath-taking as the fall foliage paints a collage of orange, red, fading green and brown leaves which are exceptionally stunning from a distance. The field of wild flowers where Jin and Mei playfully discover the depth of their true feelings for each other is a natural wonder. They express their feelings gently at first and then with passionate abandon ... The martial arts fighting scenes in the bamboo forest where the government soldiers ambush Jin and Mei during their escape is exceptionally creative and well filmed ...
This enhanced DVD has a great interview with the director Yimou Zhang who explains that bamboo forests have been symbolic of martial arts in films from long ago and he felt it must be included. Watching the interview, the viewer learns to appreciate the amount of planning and background work which is painstakingly done to perfection to film this artistic masterpiece ... Ziyi Zhang who plays Mei, lived with a blind girl for two months to learn the proper body and head movements in order to play a blind girl accurately. Also, she had studied traditional Chinese dance when a young girl which helped her learn the choreographed dance and martial arts movements in her outstanding performance in the scene for General Leo at the Peony Pavillion. The original music in the film is fantastic, Kathryn Battle sings the theme song which is sung by Mei during her dance performance for Captain Jin. It is a totally heart warming performance that captivates Jin and wins over the viewers ...
The story begins in a brothel called "Peony Pavillion" where government officers visit for a tryst with the ladies and to be entertained ... The visual effects of the establishment are extraordinairily authentic, the set design, bright colors, flowers, and weapons on the wall are all extremely balanced and harmonious ... After Mei, the blind dancing girl does a magnificent martial arts and dance performance for General Leo, she is taken prisoner. She is believed to be the blind daughter of the dead leader of a clandestine organization, called "House of Flying Daggers" who are resisting government authority and creating unrest and rebellion against the Tang Dynasty. General Leo's plan is to flush out the covert operatives ... but unexpected emotional relationships develop to confound his plans. How the love triangle is revealed and resolved is the stuff of which great films are made. The story line itself is deceptively simple ... but its execution is thoroughly unequalled. The film expresses how in the short time of three days true feelings of love can develop with unequalled depth and passion. It can grow into becoming one of the most complex human emotions ever put on film. Erika Borsos (pepper flower)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BEAUTIFUL, 16 Jul 2006
Zhang Yimou directed, "The House of Flying Daggers" is dedicated to the memory of Anita Mui - an actress to whom the major role of "Mei" was created but who died of cancer before the filming began.
"The House of Flying Daggers" is a story of love in 859 AD China. In the past very powerful Tang Dynasty is weakened by rebellions, the Emperor is no longer competent and various rebellious groups are forming in villages. One of them is the secret society of "The House of Flying Daggers" whose purpose is to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Doing this they earn a great common people's support. This irritates the government and they try to stop them by killing the leader of "The House of Flying Daggers". After some time, however, the new leader appears but government doesn't know who he is and how to find him. Then the rumours spread that in the new Peony Pavilion (a brothel) there is a mysterious blind girl Mei (Zhang Ziyi) who could be "The House of Flying Daggers'" leader's daughter. Two captains Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) think of a plan that could help them to find the leader of the secret society and kill him. But to do this Jin has to seduce Mei. The film turns into a love triangle story when Jin fells for Mei and when Leo appears to have loved her for years...
"The House of Flying Daggers" isn't a typical martial arts/action film although it is beautifully choreographed, includes some special effects scenes which I personally don't like but in this case computerised moments made it a bit like an epic and gave the fantastic atmosphere. I especially liked the photography where earth colours brown and green dominate all the way and at the end we see white snow and red blood which are amazing contrasts. The Shigeru Umebayashi's soundtrack made everything even more sensual and mythological-like, gave the breathtaking sceneries the fantastic traditional sound. The film takes place in the locations like the police station, a brothel, wood, bamboo forest and fields (the scene with snow was filmed in the Ukraine). I found it quite a psychological film and there was quite a tension and mystery between the relationships among the characters. The acting was brilliant. This DVD is in Mandarin language with English subtitles. It is an amazing movie, outstanding and a bit transcendent. A love story in it's highest.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A landmark in Eastern cinema, 28 Feb 2006
The House of Flying Daggers is set in 829 AD. Its is a time where the current 'Tang' Dynasty government is corrupt and a rebellion raises up to topple their regime. However, the story soon turns to the two main characters (Mei and Jin) as they travel to find the rebels base. There are many twists and turns in this story which keep you on the edge of your seat, never knowing what will happen next.
Not only is the story intrigueing, the setting of the film are visually beautiful, along with the perfectly chereographed fight scenes and amazing special effects its a pleasure to watch and truly some of the most magnificent fight scenes ever are produced.
The film however is in Chinese, which is not such a bad thing because it adds to the authenticity of the time and there is not a great amount of dialogue, which means you are not sat reading the subtitles instead keeping up with the actual film.
The film takes another turn to be a three way love story, with the climax being a brilliant battle between the two warriors fighting for a womens love.
Overall an outstanding film, with something for everyone in it.
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