| Review by: J.R.
McNamara |
| Date:
18/5/06 |
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Director: Han Hsiang
Li
Starring: Peter Yang
Kwan, Hu Chin, Wang Lai
Screenplay: Han Hsiang
Li
Music: Chen Yung-yu
Country: Hong Kong
Year: 1974
AKA: Jin Ping Shuang
Yan |
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The Shaw Brother studios output is nothing short
of phenomenal. Founded in the 30s, they have been
the hosts of some of Asia's finest talent,
and have created some masterful films, in all genres,
although mainly involving wuxia or wushu elements.
This film, The Golden Lotus aka
Jin Ping Shuang Yan, was directed
by Li Han-Hsang, who was well renowned as a director
who used his camera as a brush, painting beautiful
set and staged environments, which were more often
than not interiors. This probably came from his
artistic background, which led him to direct many
Chinese operas on film.
The classic tale of The Golden Lotus
tells us about the life of Eastern lothario, Ximen
Qing (Yang Chun) foot fetishist and businessman,
whose money and power allow him to take any woman
he desires. Already he has several wives and concubines
when due to an accidental meeting, he adds more
to his household. After she accidentally drops a
bamboo pole on him, his attentions are turned to
the demure Pan Jinlian, (Hu Chin) who proceeds,
with the assistance of her interfering neighbour,
Madam Wang (Wang Lai), to murder her husband, a
pancake selling Dwarf, so that Ximen Qing can take
her as one of his wives. Things are fine at the
house of Ximen Qing, until his attentions leave
that of Pan, and are led to the lovely Li Pinger
, which causes Pan Jinlian to become jealous and
bitter, and the spirits to be angered which leads
to the eventual downfall of the small empire Ximan
Qing has built.
This film is based on the Chinese text, Jin
Ping Mei, which literally means 'The
Plum in the Golden Vase', and whose name is derived
from an amalgam of three of the female leads names
(Pan Jinlan, whose name literally mean The Golden
Lotus, Li Pinger and Peng Chunmei, one of the house
maids), and is considered the fifth Chinese classical
novel, one of which is Journey to the West,
the tale on which the TV show Monkey
was based. Jin Ping Mei is considered
an important part of Chinese literature as it was
the first to portray sexuality in a graphic nature,
including the description of various acts and sex
toys as well. Unfortunately, as titillating as that
sounds, the movie, while still receiving an R rating,
is no where near as risqué or sexy as what
you would think. |
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| Video |
| The image is crisp and bright and only suffers
from the very occasional artifact, which barely
even bears mentioning. |
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| Audio |
| The movie is in Dolby Digital stereo, but when
you consider it is a sexual drama, it doesn't
matter too much, the only real sounds are the speaking
and the music, which are both clearly audible throughout. |
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| Extra Features |
Shaw Bros Star Profiles is a text piece of
the body of work produced by some of their stars.
This disc features trailers for four other Shaw
Bros. Productions: The Heroic Ones,
Heroes Two, The Master
and The Trail of the Broken Blade.
Featurette: The Servant: Li Han-Hsang (15 minutes
31 seconds) is an interesting documentary about
not just this director, but also the Hong Kong
film industry in general.
Documentary: Kung Fu. (47 minutes 27 seconds)
is a fascinating, if not out of place on a film
such as this, look at the Kung Fu influence on
Western cinema.
Photo Gallery (2 minutes) is a silent slide show
of 20 images from this film.
Original Poster (20 seconds) is a look at the
original promotional artwork for this film.
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| The Verdict |
| The only real problem with this film is its age,
which hasn't been kind to it. It is beautifully
filmed, but the performances are at times comical,
and the sex is not sexy enough. One thing the film
has of note is a very early appearance of Jackie
Chan, who features as a local pear seller. This
film would really only be interesting only to Shaw
Brothers or Jackie Chan complete-ists or who have
an interest in Chinese literature. |
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| User Comments |
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0 user comments have been posted so far |
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| Regional Coding |
All |
| Format |
PAL |
| Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 |
| 16x9 Enhanced? |
No |
| Audio Options |
Mandarin DD 2.0 |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Country |
Australia |
| Distributor |
Siren Visual Entertainment |
| Running Time |
111 minutes |
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