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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Color, texture and movement
dominate director Yimou Zhang's "House of Flying
Daggers" a fascinating martial arts/action
adventure film in the mold of "Hero." In the year
859 AD Two government officers Jin and Leo
(Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau) search for an
underground rebellion calling themselves House of
Flying Daggers. Posing as an escort for the
deceptively quiet but deadly Mei (Ziyi Zhang) a
blind woman who is affiliated with the group, Jin
travels through the forests as savior and guide.
After she's imprisoned Leo has Jin travel with her
in hopes of uncovering the lair of the rebels. All
is not tranquil, however, as soldiers make Jin's
own soldiers attack them when escaping. The two
become romantically involved as they travel
together complicating their situation even more.
Featuring marvelous swordplay and fight sequences,
"House of Flying Daggers" focuses more on the
narrative action story at the core of the film
more so than "Hero." Borrowing from the Wushia
genre of Chinese martial arts films, "House of
Flying Daggers" features some strong performances
and the direction is taut throughout. While the
script could be better developed, the visual flair
of director Zhang saves the day much as it did for
"Hero."
Featuring a stunning transfer, "House of Flying
Daggers" looks positively sumptuous almost like a
moving feast of color and motion. The rich,
vibrant colors of the original theatrical release
are accurately captured in this high definition
transfer of the film. The 5.1 mix captures every
bit of motion from the film and places the
audience smack dab in the middle of the action.
We get a number of interesting featurettes. "The
Making of House of Flying Daggers" provides a neat
glimpse from conception to final production.
"Creating the Visual Effects" looks at some of the
outrageous stunts that are performed in the film
and the wire work. "Storyboard Comparisons"
provides an A-B comparison to key sequences in the
film. The "Costumes Gallery" focuses on the
beautifully designed gowns and outfits. There are
also a "Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery" and
Columbia previews. The video for the theme song
"Lovers" is also provided as well.
Since the director doesn't speak all that much
English, his commentary track is provided as a
text commentary throughout the film. Actually,
this unique approach works better as you're able
to watch the movie in English or Chinese and watch
the commentary whenever you want. Ziyi Zhang also
does her commentary in text format. It's a
passable commentary track focusing more on the
production side of things. It can make it a bit
confusing when both the director and Zhang make
comments.
A marvelously colorful Wushia style martial arts
film, "House of Flying Daggers" has all the motion
and color that made "Hero" so memorable. While the
story itself is fairly simple, the stunts and
martial arts on display will distract viewers from
this flaw. It's a well-performed minor classic
portrayed with vibrant, bright colors and stunning
cinematography by Xiaoding Zhao. |
