I finished to be less sorry for the time spent on seeing this film than I anticipated. If you want to see where 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' and some of the fight effects in the 'Matrix' series come from 'Swordsman 2' is certainly one of the original sources. It is not a bad film at all, there is good camera work all over, characters have structure and are different one from the other (even for an Asian film seen by European eyes) and all seems authentic - but I know little about the history of the area in the past times, unfortunately. It still looks naive and confusing sometimes, but compared to many of the Hollywood 'legends' recently, maybe this is not so bad either. 7/10 on my personal scale.
the legend of the swordsman torrent
In some what I'm not all that surprised that Guy Ritchie decided to do a King Arthur film, though I wasn't quite expecting it to be a film done in Guy Ritchie style. In a sense it sort of comes across as being his typical dark and gritty film yet in another sense it is also very much an heroic fantasy. In a way it is a shame that the film flopped the way it did because it was actually a pretty enjoyable film, and I certainly quite like Ritchie's style of directing. Okay, a part of me didn't quite get the humour of the piece, particularly since we had a similar style in all of his films. However, what we do need to remember is the Ritchies style has always been very gritty, and King Arthur is no exception.The thing with Arthur is that there are quite a lot of stories out there, and none of them are really the same. I guess this is the nature of a legend. Interestingly some of the stories don't even have Arthur meeting Merlin (and this is the case in this film). In fact Arthur didn't even get to meet his father, but I suspect that is consistent with a lot of the legends. In this film we have the sorcerer Mordred ravaging the land, however in the aftermath of the battle, Uther's brother slays his wife to gain power, and releases a demon that kills both Uther and his wife, but allowing Arthur to go free. However, before he dies the sword, Excalibur is buried in rock and only the true born king can pull it out.Much of the film is really about Arthur coming to terms with who he is. He grows up in a brothel and in true Guy Ritchie style, through perseverance, charm, and simple determination, basically becomes a underworld figure. However the false king suddenly discovers that as long as the sword is in the stone (and for quite a while it was underwater, however the water then drained away revealing it to all), then his power isn't going to be complete, so he sends out his troops to round up everybody Arthur's age to see if they can remove the sword. As you can probably guess Arthur succeeds. However, because is the true king, he is a threat, so he is about to be executed, except the rebels, who have been simmering around for a while, rise their heads and attack.The other thing that the film reminded me of was Macbeth. In fact it appeared to be a retelling of the Shakespearian play using the Arthurian heroes as opposed to the Shakespearian heroes. The reason that seemed to come about was the appearance of the three witches that lived in the lake. Okay, unlike Macbeth, this film focuses more on Arthur than on the protagonist, but it seemed to come out that way a lot. However, what really grabbed my attention was that despite it being heroic fantasy, it still have the real grittiness of your typical Guy Ritchie film, and it is a real shame that it is a flop because it isn't actually as bad as the takings make it out to be (though this may have a lot more to do with the extravagant nature of the film as opposed to any inherent problems with it).
Chin Siu Ho plays a young man who believes himself to be an orphan. Until one rainy night when he and three different men find themselves taking shelter from the storm in the same place. Here the man who raised him tells him at last the story of who his parents were. His father (Lu Feng) was a great swordsman trying to dispel rumors of a wrongdoing and return a lost sword to its rightful owner. Kuo Choi and Chiang Sheng (also master swordsmen) are the parties that Lu Feng is trying to rectify things with. Through cowardly trickery on Chiang's part, a duel ensues and it all winds up with Lu's death. His son is taken to safety by a servant (the man who since raised him). Now with the truth told, Chin Siu Ho seeks out Kuo Choi's aid and seeks vengeance for the wrongful death of his father.
One of the rarer Shaw Brothers action films to feature members of the Venom Mob; this one is a martial epic indeed, focusing on the vengeful son (Chin Siu-Ho) of Hu Yidao (Lu Feng), a heroic pugilist mysteriously felled by a poisoned sword blow during a duel with the Golden Face Buddha, Miao (Kuo Chui), who claims invincibility. With his sick uncle in tow, the young man must deftly maneuver through the likes of scheming swordsman Tian Guinong (Chiang Sheng), the notorious Zhong Brothers, and even the King of Poison to find out the truth surrounding his father's tragic death.Between the acrobatics and the two man Tai Chi v Wushu sword forms on display, there's a lot to like about this Chang Cheh vehicle full of sneaky underhandedness and martial gallantry, one he'd follow up with 1981's Sword Stained with Royal Blood and Masked Avengers the following year. A must-see.
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Unfortunately, I got older. I had researched the history behind the legends. And in my late teens, I fell in love with the British television series, Robin of Sherwood. I rented a copy of The Adventures of Robin Hood. And I hated it! Good King Richard? What rubbish! Bright colours, swashbuckling? It wasn't REAL. It wasn't like Robin of Sherwood. I thought I knew everything. And the Errol Flynn film seemed like kids stuff to me. And with that angsty, humourless earnestness of a teenager, I wanted to dismiss many childish things and prove I deserved a spot at the grown-up table.
Then, I got older again. I read Rudy Behlmer's book on the movie. I found that the writers of The Adventures of Robin Hood had researched the history of the legend. They knew what they were doing. They weren't ignorant. They were making deliberate artistic choices. That gave me a little more respect for the movie. Finally I saw it again, and realized something important.
This movie is FUN! It's charming, delightful with charismatic actors and the larger than life stories of the ballads. It was classic, technicolor fun. And I had dismissed it just because it wasn't like a certain TV series (which wasn't completely historical or realistic itself, as if such things truly matter). This movie captures the soul of the legend. I learned a lesson in teenage arrogance. One of the joys of truly being an adult -- as opposed to wanting to be one -- is the ability to embrace one's child-like side.
In Rudy Behlmer published the screenplay for this movie. He also included a long introduction showing the various stages of the films development. One plan was for Marian to have a small role at best (just as she doesn't appear in the early ballads). In another, she was the Empress Matilda (King Richard's grandmother.) Another plan was for her to end up with another guy. Robin would go off with Richard, return to England and die. (Not unlike the 1970s movie, Robin and Marian). Naturally, writers' whims couldn't keep the legendary lovers apart.
Robin's encounter with Eugene Palette's Friar Tuck is entertaining, but it does lead to a tonal inconsistency. The Merry Men trick Robin Hood into taunting a friar they claim is pious but who they truly know is the deadliest swordsman in England. It seems odd that they'd risk their revolutionary leader's life over a practical joke.
The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. For over 80 years this superb technicolor movie has been considered the definitive Robin Hood film. It's exciting and witty with a wonderful group of actors. The legend brought to life. At long last, this classic has been released on DVD in a special two-disc set with a tonne of features, including footage of the filming, a commentary track by film historian Rudy Behlmer and the cartoons "Rabbit Hood" with Bugs Bunny and "Robin Hood Daffy" with Daffy Duck. And the film itself has been digitally restored to its technicolor glory. (The Blu-Ray edition offers the same features in a single disc.) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) on Amazon.com (United States) The Adventures Of Robin Hood [1938] on Amazon.co.uk (UK/Europe) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (Bilingual) on Amazon.ca (Canada) 2ff7e9595c
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