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List Price: $19.95 | | Label: Dragon Dynasty
Salesrank: 11577
Released: February 26, 2008 |
| Our Price: $9.98 |
| Used Price: $7.64 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
(Action) A cross between Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tarantino’s Kill Bill, scheming royals and other officials attempt to consolidate power in a empire in chaos. Packed with deadly plots, sweeping camerawork, and elaborate fight choreography.
Description of The Legend of the Black Scorpion:
Tackling William Shakespeare's Hamlet, director Xiaogang Feng presents a unique take on the bard's famous play with the action drama Legend of the Black Scorpion, which is beautifully filmed and well acted. Ziyi Zhang stars as Empress Wan, a conniving woman whose beauty is equaled by her taste for power. She lustfully longs for her stepson Wu Lan (Daniel Wu). But when the Emperor dies, it is Wu Lan's younger brother who ascends to the throne, setting off a chain of events that are tragic. Though the story is familiar, the presentation is anything but; just as Hamlet captivated readers with its tale of lust, greed, and betrayal, Legend of the Black Scorpion draws viewers in with a story that is both fascinating and repulsive, but shot so beautifully that the eyes are drawn to the screen. Legendary fight choreographer Woo-ping Yuen (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Matrix trilogy) orchestrates some beautifully fierce aerial battles that while no longer novel are still thrilling to watch. We are used to seeing Zhang in the wide-eyed ingénue roles. As the cold-hearted matriarch, she more than proves her abilities as an actress who is ready to move onto meatier roles that aren't driven by her beauty. --Jae-Ha Kim
The Legend of the Black Scorpion Reviews:
Beautiful!!! Artistic!! Amazing 
2008-12-31 - Boy would I like a field trip with the mind of the person that created this movie. WOW. It was just simply amazing. If you like martial arts and dance, you cannot go wrong with this movie.
Great Movie 
2008-11-08 - I like this movie. I just purchased it last night and I watched immediately. I loved the beauty and the way it was shot. I am a huge fan of Wuxia and this is going to my collection. The only big issue i had with this film was that the movie seemed so drawn out.
Marcel Marceau: The Chinese Connection 
2008-10-19 - This movie will be highly satisfactory if you appreciate ornate court costumes. Not my cup of tea. The film demands attention, but it is just too slow and stilted. The narrow range of emotions displayed doesn't involve us. The thousands of waiting minions thing was interesting, the first time. The fight scenes seem added on to try to inject some life into this sloth. A fight scene must be filmed and especially edited correctly or it will present as a bunch of unrelated blurs of action, uninvolving to us folks that crave this action. This film is maybe 50% guilty of this. Near the beginning there is a savage attack on what looks like a mime school. The mimes just strike those goofy "mime poses" and allow themselves to be slaughtered without resistance, it just appears dumb. There seems to be a genre in China nowadays that specializes in intimate examination of historical supremely decadent emperor's and their courts. There is always treachery and disloyalty. Always a tragic ending. Overall though, the film is well made. It is sumptuous in it's high court details. I would like the emoting/drama turned up a few notches. And the fight scenes a bit more coherent. Worth watching, but not to be treasured.
GREAT VISUALS 
2008-08-27 - THE STORY IS REALLY LAME, THE FIGHT SCENES ARE NOT THAT GREAT, BUT THE COLORS, THE PICTURE AND VISUALS ARE REALLY GREAT, SO IT ONLY GETS 2 STARS!!!
A visual feast
2008-08-24 - Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet aka The Legend of the Black Scorpion certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful looking films ever made. A spectacular Chinese adaptation of Hamlet filmed on an epic scale with no expense spared and with all the action scenes that Shakespeare forgot to write, it's clearly aiming to be another Hero, with nods to Akira Kurosawa's Japanese samurai Shakespeare films along the way. Although it never quite hits the same highs, it works surprisingly well, with Daniel Wu's Crown Prince brooding over his father's murder by his uncle while his former beloved Ziyi Zhang is consumed by revenge in her desire to kill the new emperor as courtiers plot and intrigue around them. With superb art direction by Tim Yip, excellent cinematography by Li Zhang, striking fight sequences courtesy of Yuen Wo-Ping at his best and a fine score by Tan Dun (Andrew Lloyd Webberish end title song notwithstanding) and filled with colour, light and movement, it's always a treat for the eyes and ears, especially in this 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.
