Customer Reviews

The Delightful Forest **SHAW BROTHERS**

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If any of you have Image's The Water Margin DVD, then you know (thanks to Kenneth Woo's liner notes for that disc) the significance of this Well Go USA DVD reissue.

In 1972, three Shaw Brothers films featuring stories excerpted from the epic Chinese novel "Outlaws of the Marsh" (a.k.a. "The Water Margin") were released: the previously-mentioned epic, one-third of "Trilogy of Swordsmanship" and "The Delightful Forest". In terms of the book (according to Woo), the events depicted occur early in the story; in terms of MOVIES, "TDF" is a "pre-quel" to "TWM", centering on the Liang Shan bandit Wu Sung ("The Tiger Killer"), played by Ti Lung. If you liked his [limited] role in the latter movie, then "TDF" is a must-see!

Simply put, you get some backstory on Wu Sung (and how he wound up the way we see him in "TWM") in this well-executed film, co-directed by Chang Cheh and Pao Hsueh-li. (They're two of the three directors of "TWM"--Wu Ma is the third--but as things go, we KNOW Cheh was the "maestro" for BOTH movies!) The combination of action and plot is strong with strategic placing of humorous bits adding to the whole mix; only a slight lapse in the script (by Cheh, Ni Kuang and Chin Shu-mei) before the finale crimps an otherwise solid story!

After Tong Gaai and Lau Kar Leung, Lau Kar Wing and Chen Chuan contribute fight choreography, and it's all dazzling as it is [often] brutal. The intensity of the violence (as it's captured by the cinematographer and presented by the film editor) does compare strongly with the best work of the "Venoms"; I'd even go as far to say "TDF" seems MORE violent than "TWM"!

Great performances are plentiful here with no "clinker" in this fine cast (not always the case with most Shaw productions). It's nearly hard to believe the same guy who was "King Eagle" is this variable of a "drunken kung-fu" master, that's how impressive Ti Lung's acting is. (If his role here is compared with the other "wandering swordsmen" like Jimmy Wang Yu and David Chiang, then he OBLITERATES Chiang and just EDGES out Wang Yu!) Chu Mu comes off more ROTTEN here as the main "heavy" Jiang Zhong (nicknamed "Jiang Mun San", or "God of the Door") than he ever did in Heroes Two, and that INCLUDES his fighting! Of the two women in the whole feature (Chiang Ling is the other), Yu Feng's precious few minutes on-screen combine above-average acting with a PALPABLE sexiness in her small part as the wife of an ally of Wu Sung; it's too bad she didn't do many more movies after this. Of course, many familiar Shaw faces round up the rest of the players, too many to bring up in this limited space.

The DVD (remastered by Celestial Pictures) IS anamorphic 2.35:1, and the picture is pretty sharp. The Mandarin audio track (including good subtitles with few typos) is MORE enhanced here (that's music PLUS sound effects) than on most of Well Go/Shaw DVDs, and the English dub has limited tampering; still, for screwing up the soundtracks, I take a "star" off in my rating. As it went with Well Go's Heroes Shed No Tears, there is NO "Original trailer".

Those who enjoy Ti Lung and "TWM" will not regret buying this at all; as for the uninitiated, you need not get "TWM" in order to help you enjoy "TDF" as the movie's story works on its own merits. It makes for one GREAT first look, and repeat viewings will reinforce how well done this movie is! It's not a big extravaganza like "TWM" or "The Heroic Ones" are, but it IS another small, testosterone-fueled "gem" from the directing genius of Chang Cheh [and Pao Hsueh-li]!

All the best, Brother Fang.

I just finished watching The Delightful Forest. In my opinion, it is one of the best ever made by the Shaw Brothers. The action was intense with plenty of blood for hardcore, die hard Kung Fu fans. Ti Lung is lightning fast and shows off his skills as a martial artist. On par with the "Venoms" for those of you in the know, not to mention incredibly handsome for the female Kung Fu fans out there in Amazon. I highly recommend this one to all fans of Kung Fu. You will not be disappointed. Big Thumbs Up. Available in Epic Heroes four pack at Amazon Shaw Brothers Metal Tin: Epic Heroes (4 DVDs and T-Shirt Offer) for those of you who don't want to wait for the individual release.

For those fans who know the story about "The Water Margin" might enjoy this prequel even more. While "The Water Margin" was based on chapters 66-68 from the sprawling epic novel OUTLAWS OF THE MARSHES & featured many of the Liang Shan bandits, "The Delightful Forest" centered on hero "Tiger Killer" Wu Sung (played by Ti Lung in both movies). "...Forest" was based on chapter 24 & focused on Sung's exploits/initiation into the Liang Shan bandits. This was co-directed by Chang Cheh & Pao Hsueh-Li, but I have a feeling Chang Cheh was the mastermind behind this classic. Thanks to Kenneth Woo's liner notes for "The Water Margin" DVD.

Expertly choreographed by the Lau brothers & Chen Chuan, highlights include the opening restaurant brawl between Ti Lung & Lau Kar-Wing (Liu Chia-Yung) and the finale where Lung's white oufit is practically drenched in blood. We get to see Ti Lung's character show off his Mandarin Duck kick technique from "The Water Margin". Although here it's called in the subtitles the Yin/Yang Feet & the Jade Green Steps techniques. Needless to say, Sword Masters got their transfer from the widescreen, remastered Celestial version so it looks & sounds great. Audio is in either Mandarin (with remastered subs) or a decent English dub. Not really for fans of "wire-fu" or New Wave stuff, but if you're a fan of the Shaws or Chang Cheh, purchase it - NOW.

I hate to be the dissenting opinion, but I thought this movie was boring. Off the top of my head there were only really three fight scenes. Granted, they were very good and featured sometimes spectacular choreography, but in between those I found myself wondering what else I could be watching. Overall picture quality was excellent considering the age of the picture. A couple places I thought lost clarity and had downright blurry backgrounds, but overall a decent picture. The sound is what you would expect, some crackling but again very good and forgivable considering the age. I suppose if you are really into these types of movies its worth picking up, but I personally think only the die-hard fans of this genre will enjoy it. Personally, unless it's a really captivating story, I'm in it just for the fights, and this one didn't do it for me. One thing to note, a couple times during the movie the picture got REALLY bad just for a moment. If it was a VCR tape you'd have thought that the machine was eating the movie, but then it would clear up. Not sure what caused it but something to note. I'm very excited to see the old Shaw bro's films being released on BR and I hope to see more, just didn't really care for this one.