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Post by kyc on Dec 25, 2018 9:07:30 GMT
I have just watched Killer Clans (1976) on iTunes. It's the uncensored, Mandarin version.
Wow, I have no idea Shaw Brothers productions can be so risque. The actress playing Madame Gao, the assassin head, is primarily there for sexual titillation. She shows her breasts on three occasions and there is none of the characterization as in the original novel. She is in short a slut. Unfortunately Chen Ping, the Taiwanese actress, seems to be in the movie exactly for male roving eyes. Poor Yueh Hua has to play with her naked breasts before killing her off.
Also, another actress is raped and her blouse is ripped off and the assailants are playing with her breasts. I don't think the scene is necessary at all.
Before I proceed, let me nitpick a bit about the casting. Chung Wa and Yueh Hua play the protagonist and the antagonist. They are both decent enough, but are around 8-9 years too old for the roles. Yueh Hua especially is competent but not outstanding. Ku Feng, who played Uncle, is depicted here as an old man in his 70s... I remember in the book the character is at most in his late 50s or early 60s.
The only person who comes out of the casting with any credits is Ching Li, who is better than the tenuous Xiaodie in the book. She lit up the scenes with her beauty, at least making some sense of her character.
The screenplay is by Ni Kuang, adapting Gu Long's classic wuxia novel. The movie is generally clear enough, but I find it lacks the necessary suspense as in the book. Some parts are over-simplified; the most memorable scene for me, when Uncle is assassinated when he is having sex (!), is deleted from the movie. Here, for some inexplicable reason, Lu Xiangchuan simply stabs Uncle on his back. The relationship between Lu and Xiaodie is also non-existent.
Costumes, cinematography and direction are good to very good, as befitting an important Shaw Brothers production. However, I find the Gu Long original to be much better. The mood in the book is intoxicating; the movie is just interested in telling a complicated story without reproducing enough mood or suspense. This Shaw production is to me competent, but doesn't reach the heights of the original.
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Post by kyc on Dec 25, 2018 9:10:51 GMT
Review from a Western perspective, from Time Out magazine. Reviewer: Tony Rayns.
The first of some 20 adaptations from martial arts novels by Gu Long made at Shaw Brothers by Chu Yuan (latterly better known by his Cantonese name, Chor Yuen). This is essentially a triad gangster movie in period drag, centred on the struggle for underworld supremacy of the Longmen and Roc clans; Gu admitted inspiration from The Godfather, and it's easy to see the shadow of Mario Puzo looming over all the tricks, traps, fluid loyalties and ruthless hits. The dramatic focus is on the trust - or is that rivalry? - between Sun (Ku), head of the Longmen clan, and his lieutenant Lü (Yueh). But that leaves the ostensible protagonist Meng (Chung, dull) looking like the wallflower at the dance: he's a freelance swordsman hired to kill Sun who ends up fighting for him because he's fallen in love with his virginal daughter (Ching). The broken-backed plotting also reduces the action to a supporting role.
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Post by reinafu on Dec 25, 2018 11:31:54 GMT
I have just watched Killer Clans (1976) on iTunes. It's the uncensored, Mandarin version. Wow, I have no idea Shaw Brothers productions can be so risque. The actress playing Madame Gao, the assassin head, is primarily there for sexual titillation. She shows her breasts on three occasions and there is none of the characterization as in the original novel. She is in short a slut. Unfortunately Chen Ping, the Taiwanese actress, seems to be in the movie exactly for male roving eyes. Poor Yueh Hua has to play with her naked breasts before killing her off. Also, another actress is raped and her blouse is ripped off and the assailants are playing with her breasts. I don't think the scene is necessary at all. Before I proceed, let me nitpick a bit about the casting. Chung Wa and Yueh Hua play the protagonist and the antagonist. They are both decent enough, but are around 8-9 years too old for the roles. Yueh Hua especially is competent but not outstanding. Ku Feng, who played Uncle, is depicted here as an old man in his 70s... I remember in the book the character is at most in his late 50s or early 60s. The only person who comes out of the casting with any credits is Ching Li, who is better than the tenuous Xiaodie in the book. She lit up the scenes with her beauty, at least making some sense of her character. The screenplay is by Ni Kuang, adapting Gu Long's classic wuxia novel. The movie is generally clear enough, but I find it lacks the necessary suspense as in the book. Some parts are over-simplified; the most memorable scene for me, when Uncle is assassinated when he is having sex (!), is deleted from the movie. Here, for some inexplicable reason, Lu Xiangchuan simply stabs Uncle on his back. The relationship between Lu and Xiaodie is also non-existent. Costumes, cinematography and direction are good to very good, as befitting an important Shaw Brothers production. However, I find the Gu Long original to be much better. The mood in the book is intoxicating; the movie is just interested in telling a complicated story without reproducing enough mood or suspense. This Shaw production is to me competent, but doesn't reach the heights of the original. You say that you watched an uncensored Mandarin version. does it mean that the IVL Mandarin version dvd is censored ? If so, what is the difference between the two versions ? I don't remember to have seen a rape in the dvd. Also, from what you say, in the book, the guy you call Uncle (it seems to be that his name is Sun-something) is killed ? I don't remember what happens with Ku feng in the movie, but I remember that in the series with Adam Cheng (which helped me to better understand what happened in the movie, even with no subtitles), Sun doesn't die and with the help of the killer sent by Gao, he finally finds out who wanted to kill him and they get rid of him. If Sun dies in the book, how is it discovered that it's Lu Xiang Chuan who had planned his death ? Also, is there any mention to the other clan (the one belonging to Norman Tsui in the series) in the book and how it is related to Sun's clan and if they finally reunite in order to confront Lu Xiang Chuan ? Actually, in the series, it's Norman Tsui's daughter who helps the two assassins, Xiao Die and her father to get rid of Lu, from what I remember (and I'm not even sure that Xiao Die is in the final fight...).
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Post by kyc on Dec 25, 2018 12:22:45 GMT
reinafu, I don't know if your DVD is censored, but do you remember any nudity in your DVD? Because if they won't censor the first scene (where Madame Gao is having sex), there's no reason they will censor the other.
Uncle, alias Sun Yubo (孫玉伯), does not die in the book after being stabbed by Lu Xiangchuan. Yes, he and the Ku Feng assassin manage to kill Lu Xiangchuan together or something like that. Lu's friend Xia betrayed him, but I can't remember if Xia killed Lu himself or Uncle and Meng Xinghun (the assassin) did that in the book. Anyway, Lu Xiangchuan has been heavily injured when he visits Xia.
In the movie, Uncle and Meng Xinghun (Ku Feng) kill Lu Xiangchuan.
I never watched the 2002 TV series with Adam Cheng, but I don't believe that Roc King (萬鵬王), played by Norman Tsui, has a daughter in the book.
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Post by reinafu on Dec 25, 2018 12:34:08 GMT
reinafu, I don't know if your DVD is censored, but do you remember any nudity in your DVD? Because if they won't censor the first scene (where Madame Gao is having sex), there's no reason they will censor the other. Uncle, alias Sun Yubo (孫玉伯), does not die in the book after being stabbed by Lu Xiangchuan. Yes, he and the Ku Feng assassin manage to kill Lu Xiangchuan together or something like that. Lu's friend Xia betrayed him, but I can't remember if Xia killed Lu himself or Uncle and Meng Xinghun (the assassin) did that in the book. Anyway, Lu Xiangchuan has been heavily injured when he visits Xia. In the movie, Uncle and Meng Xinghun (Ku Feng) kill Lu Xiangchuan. I never watched the 2002 TV series with Adam Cheng, but I don't believe that Roc King (萬鵬王), played by Norman Tsui, has a daughter in the book. Thanks for the clarification. Norman Tsui's daugther in the series is absolutely annoying and capricious. She wants the young assassin for herself when he is amnesic and she finally ends with the last assassin. I think that the beginning scene with Chen Ping is in the dvd, but I'll have to watch it for the...4th time in order to be sure !!
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Post by siuyiu on Dec 25, 2018 19:11:51 GMT
yes, there was usually a bit of soft pornness to the shaw brother productions of GL adaptations--i guess they felt they had full poetic license because the source has these elements. you can totally tell who the target audience were. and yeah, this production, especially, really tested censorship. they wouldn't be able to get away with it nowadays. to be fair to SB and CY, as GL adaptations went, this is one of the better ones. too much focus on the conflict and the sex, agreed. and completely lacks the moody poetry of the source, also agreed. but i'd binge-watched several SB adaptations, so by comparison, this is a better one. ching li was always portrayed in the best light by chu yuan, so yeah, the true relationship between xiaodie and lu xiangchun would not be portrayed, given it was an abusive one. i'm sure it was no hardship for yueh hua to fondle madam gao before killing her.
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Post by galvatron prime on Dec 26, 2018 1:11:46 GMT
yes, there was usually a bit of soft pornness to the shaw brother productions of GL adaptations--i guess they felt they had full poetic license because the source has these elements. you can totally tell who the target audience were. and yeah, this production, especially, really tested censorship. they wouldn't be able to get away with it nowadays. to be fair to SB and CY, as GL adaptations went, this is one of the better ones. too much focus on the conflict and the sex, agreed. and completely lacks the moody poetry of the source, also agreed. but i'd binge-watched several SB adaptations, so by comparison, this is a better one. ching li was always portrayed in the best light by chu yuan, so yeah, the true relationship between xiaodie and lu xiangchun would not be portrayed, given it was an abusive one. i'm sure it was no hardship for yueh hua to fondle madam gao before killing her. siuyiu Do you mean almost all of GL adoption have nude scenes by Shaw Brothers? What about Jinyong by Shaw Brothers? I never watch this movie before but I heart that the actress Chen Ping is a real prostitute ,am I right? I heard from my Friend who is a former journalist who work Chinese newspaper entertainment section that In 1970an ,HK movies producer hired real prostitute to act in nude scenes and double for actress as HK law not allowed the HK actress appear in nude ,am I right on this? Is this A Categories 3 Movies ,Am I Right? This movie have available in Malaysia but all the nude scenes have cut off and the actress name Chen Ping was not listed ,my Muslim Malay friends have this DVD .
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Post by kyc on Dec 26, 2018 1:28:55 GMT
yes, there was usually a bit of soft pornness to the shaw brother productions of GL adaptations--i guess they felt they had full poetic license because the source has these elements. you can totally tell who the target audience were. and yeah, this production, especially, really tested censorship. they wouldn't be able to get away with it nowadays. to be fair to SB and CY, as GL adaptations went, this is one of the better ones. too much focus on the conflict and the sex, agreed. and completely lacks the moody poetry of the source, also agreed. but i'd binge-watched several SB adaptations, so by comparison, this is a better one. ching li was always portrayed in the best light by chu yuan, so yeah, the true relationship between xiaodie and lu xiangchun would not be portrayed, given it was an abusive one. i'm sure it was no hardship for yueh hua to fondle madam gao before killing her. Madame Gao is depicted as promiscuous in the book, but at least there is a hard edge to her and some bitterness. In this adaptation she is completely reduced to a vamp. So sad, As for Yueh Hua, from what little I know about him, he always strikes me as a consummate professional. And he is sort of a utility man in Shaw Brothers, acting all sorts of roles. Since Chen Ping is not exactly pretty, it must not be so easy for him to fondle her under the tireless gaze of all the crew and the lightings etc. --at least not in public. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Ping_(actress)I would be surprised if they hired real prostitutes for the scenes, but it's not entirely impossible. There are two women who went topless in the uncensored version, Chen Ping and another actress who is raped.
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Post by siuyiu on Dec 26, 2018 1:38:26 GMT
kyc in his personal life, yueh hua was supposed to have been a bit of a ladies' man, so in that way, he wouldn't've minded. @galvatron i have not watched every SB adaptation of GL works, so i can't say. but several of them do have sex elements, much more than any of the tv series or the later movie adaptations. i don't recall porn elements in the SB adaptations of JY's works, but then again, sex is taboo in the JY world--hell, even on their wedding night, YG and XLN didn't consummate their union; and because it's not mentioned or even implied subsequently, if you were to take JY literally, it means that YG and XLN didn't consummate until 16 years later. i don't know enough about the HK entertainment industry to comment on whether they had rules to govern who could or couldn't do nude scenes.
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