Customer Reviews

Legend of the Black Scorpion

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

LEGEND OF THE BLACK SCORPION (a.k.a. The BANQUET) is the Chinese rendition of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Directed by Mainland China's own acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang, joined with the lush cinematography by Tim Yip (Croaching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and the action choreography by Yuen Woo-Ping( Fearless); the film is set to bring Chinese Wuxia epic to new heights. Feng even acquired the services of one of China's most renowned international actresses; Zhang Ziyi.
The film was released in Asia in 2006( before "Curse of the Golden Flower"), set for the American market but for reasons unknown, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was marketed instead to U.S. shores.

Synopsis loosely derived from Media Asia DVD back cover:
The story is set in ancient China during the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Against this backdrop of internal turmoil and external threat poised by the neighboring Khitan Empires, lives Empress Wan (Zhang Ziyi). As beautiful as she is limber, she harbors forbidden desires for her stepson Crown Prince Wu Luan (Daniel Wu). When the Emperor dies of reasons undetermined and his younger brother Li takes the throne, Wan marries Li to protect Wu Luan and seal her own position in the ruling body. But Li is not a fool and dispatches assassins that ultimately fail to kill Wu Luan. When Emperor Li proclaims a big banquet, Wu Luan and Wan realize it is time to strike.

The Banquet (I prefer to call it by its original title) is a beautiful film; elaborate costumes and set designs are the main draw of the film. Frankly, I liked this film's cinematography, atmosphere and set designs more than "Curse of the Golden Flower". The film simply looks astounding, the colors and way it is shot is truly amazing. However, beauty and cinematography can only carry a film so far. The expectations for "The Banquet" are extremely high, and while it does succeed as a high-quality spectacle that is a visual and aural feast; it fails to deliver on emotions and its characters. Even Yuen Woo-Ping's action direction feels a little hampered with the overused slow-motion approach undertaken by the director. Still, the film is better than most. It presents itself similar to a stage play (which is fine, it is "Hamlet") but I believe this style does hurt the film a little. The film is carefully and superbly arranged with characters well-mannered that even assassins conduct themselves politely even in the face of blood. The Banquet is more a period drama than a Wuxia film, in fact, I believe the film could have survived without any martial arts action.

Amazingly beautiful Zhang Ziyi struggles to carry the film. As good and beautiful the actress is, even Zhang cannot carry a film all by herself. Her portrayal of Empress Wan is actually the film's center; Zhang's character is in the middle of deception, lust and eventual betrayal. Thankfully, Zhang has the charisma to pull off an underdeveloped character such as Empress Wan. However, Zhang feels a bit unseasoned and too young (perhaps) for the role of the empress. Don't get me wrong, I think Zhang Ziyi is an awesome actress, but the role feels tailor-made for Chinese veteran actress Gong Li. Daniel Wu plays Wu Luan; a brooding, quiet and never shows his emotions in calculating vengeance. Wu plays an acceptable performance, after all, he does play "Hamlet" which was meant as a person with minor momentum, instead of displaying raw anger he imposes his wrath through indirect means. I guess it was a good move for the screenplay to emphasize Empress Wan's character than Wu Luan himself, I doubt Daniel Wu will be able to carry the film at all.

The performances are good for the most part. It's just that the characters seemed a bit underdeveloped that the lead characters will have some difficulty connecting with its audience. The film does take off strongly but it couldn't stay aloft. Supporting actress Zhao Xun (Ming Ming) has huge talent but her character of Quing is too simple and a bit one-dimensional. Ge You comes out with an outstanding performance as Emperor Li; his powerful portrayal is truly superb and note-worthy. Ultimately, while this film is loosely based on "Hamlet", the climax does occur in a banquet and this is a Chinese film where the old adage applies: No evil deed will go unpunished and repaid.

The Banquet is a very difficult film to judge. The film feels too mainstream for a Wuxia Epic drama and it seems geared towards international audiences and not to the people of Feng's native land. The film is definitely a part of the superficial, overindulgent popular Chinese film for viewers in the U.S. It is not a contemporary Wuxia film but rather one so polished for international acclaim (then again, I've read it was its intention). The lack of emotions and character depth never allows the film to surpass its gorgeous costumes and set designs. The film does succeed in the classic manipulations and plots of betrayal; but ultimately, the lasting impression is how beautifully shot and expensive the film is that it falls a bit short of epic grandeur. The film is better than most, it is better than Chen Kaige's "The Promise" but if you saw "HERO" and " HOUSE of FLYING DAGGERS"; the film just cannot surpass the coldness of its exterior.

RECOMMENDED [3 ½ stars]

Note: The Dragon Dynasty release (re-titled Legend of the Black Scorpion) will carry an English dubbed track.

How this film missed the American theater circuits is inexplicable! One of the most visually sumptuous portrayals of court life and intrigue since Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, and on par, if not surpassing, the historical martial arts epics of Yimou Zhang. This is a must for anyone that enjoys or appreciates this genre of Chinese cinema, and is the best cinematic adaptation of Hamlet that I can recall. It also is accompanied by an excellent critical commentary (which may aid those who find the film "cold" or the ending incomprehensible).

There's no point in rehashing the premise/actors/other details of this film, as other reviewers are hitting it. I'll simply make my arguments.

I agree that this film, for all its depiction of treachery and pathos, is cold and cerebral. I agree that the action is also depicted on a very cerebral level: it is so stylized that it is robbed of its intensity--certainly robbed of the visceral aspect that would appeal to those who are looking for an action movie. So I certainly advise against it for those looking for a great martial arts film. Check out "Tai Chi Master" or "Fong Sai Yuk" for that!

What is left after the emotional attachments and thrill of combat are removed? A purely aesthetic masterpiece. This is truly an "art" film: sight and sound combine in moving paintings, symbols, and stylized archetypes.

You will not be drawn in by the story and the characters. You will be drawn in by the crystalline imagery and sound that form an alternate universe in which everything is perfect form, hypnotic motion. Beautiful images are frozen in space and time, haunting music and movement and color supersede all other concerns.

We know Hamlet. We know this story. We know these characters. Here story and character are cyphers. In this film the source Hamlet simply functions as a framework to hang a filmed aesthetic, a transformation of the world into stylized form. Is it enough? Is this all that is necessary to make a great film? Yes. If you are sensitive to it, you will be stunned and enthralled. If you are not, you will be bored.

My husband ordered this DVD so I had no expectations on quality or any knowledge of the story. It didn't take me long to figure out it was based on Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Unfortunately, it didn't do justice to that classic, tragic story.

This film is a good example of what has almost become a genre - films that attempt to duplicate the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." We've bought and seen "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers," and "Curse of the Golden Flower." They all have the near-flying martial arts, expertly choreographed fights and gorgeous costumes. We enjoyed them all, but where these films fall short, including Black Scorpion, is the stories lack the magic of CTHD. That tale of unattainable love, wrapped in a mystery was original, with superb acting and a new take on action. This one would have been better served to follow Hamlet more closely as the changes they made did NOT improve the story. They slowed the movie down, or caused confusion. And the movie was very slowly paced to begin with.

The story is focused on the empress' point of view, rather than the prince as in Hamlet. That works just fine, as Ziyi Zhang is captivating in the role. She gives life to what could have been an awful movie rather than just a disappointing one. The old emperor dies from a Scorpion bite and his brother usurps the throne from the prince and steals the empress, who had already been stolen from the crown prince by the last emperor. Familiar characters appear, from Polonius, to Ophelia (who is the best represented character in the film) to Laertes and the royal family. We have the mousetrap play, wherein the prince does indeed catch the conscience of a king and the kill all the lawyers ending. Except, the ending has a distracting and confusing change that leaves the viewer hanging - literally. I won't spoil it, but one of the main characters dies after the climactic confrontation, but who does the deed is never revealed and is all the more confusing since everybody who is anybody has already died or been exiled!

As to this edition, the DVD does have a dubbed track available and is very well done. After 15 minutes, I forgot it was being dubbed. Though it is a two disc edition, there is nothing spectacular in the extras. The making of featurette is perhaps the most interesting, but there are also two translated interviews and a behind the scenes bit. There is no extra footage, or featurettes on costumes, or better yet a piece on the historical time period.

Overall, if you enjoyed the other films you'll enjoy this one though likely not as much. If you've never read Hamlet, you'll like it even more. I recommend the single disc edition over paying so much for 2 discs, but some viewers will enjoy the extras. Cautiously recommended.

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.

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.

Well, I seem to have developed a taste for Asian "art house" type movies, especially martial arts epics with great choreographed fight sequences, vivid colors, interesting storylines.

I've previously seen and enjoyed such fare as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Forbidden Kingdom, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Iron Monkey. Each of them has its strengths and weaknesses.

Getting back to Legend of the Black Scorpion, from my understanding, it's a Chinese martial arts retelling of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. While I don't think I've seen or read Hamlet, I don't think it's essential to have previously read it or seen it to understand what's going on here.

Similar in theme to Curse of the Golden Flower, Legend of the Black Scorpion is a martial arts / drama piece about Chinese dynastic royalty and empire. Though it mainly focuses on the family / political dynamics of the royal court, with various plots to seize power, etc.

A number of the fight scenes have an almost ballet-like quality about them. They're often more like a well-choreographed dance than a battle per se. It makes sense, insofar as there is also a sub-plot about the crown prince taking up the arts of Chinese song and dance.

Now, one thing that I noted was the overemphasis on blood in this film. it spurts, it gushes, it drips everywhere. There seems to be a special focus on showing the blood itself, sometimes in slow motion. I thought it was excessive, and I'm not sure why so much attention was paid to emphasizing blood and bloodiness in this film.

The blood issue was minor to me, as I'm more-or-less desensitized to it at this point. Overall, I really liked this movie though (outside of the blood and brutality of some scenes). I thought the sets and costuming were colorful and first rate. The choreography was great. Etc. I think it makes a good addition to the other "art house" type movies listed above.

I'd certainly take this movie over Butterfly Sword or Warriors of Heaven and Earth (neither of which I particularly cared for, despite decent reviews on Amazon and/or DVD Empire).

Addendum (8-12-08): Apparently this film was originally titled "The Banquet." So, if you've seen that one, this is the same movie from what I understand.

Again, rather bloody at times, but otherwise pretty gorgeous cinematography. Right up there with some of the other good "art house" cinema.

I have gotten slightly addicted to asian films since watching the AZN Channel (which, sadly, is no more) so I picked up some films from Amazon. This was one of them and I was very impressed by it. Visually it's stunning, the sub-titles are easy to follow. I highly recommend it.

Visually stunning. Impeccable sets, costumes and makeup and wonderfully shot.

While this movie has been labeled as "wuxia" and many viewers seem to have watched it "for the fight scenes," it's not about the fight scenes at all (and there aren't many of them). Actually, a few of them were completely unnecessary and disrupted the flow of the movie (despite how pretty and ballet-like they are). The director probably tacked them on to sell it as a martial arts movie and attract more audiences in the west. So if you're watching the movie for fight scenes, you'll be disappointed.

The Banquet is an interesting mix of western and eastern elements. While the backbone of the plot is undeniably Hamlet/Macbeth, the different parts of the overall story were definitely nothing new in Chinese history. The only tidbit that was blatantly Shakespearean was the performance of "Hamlet's" play portraying his father's murder before the court. The director did emphasize the theatrical quality of the film by employing slow, stilted, somewhat affected speech cadences. Hence some may complain about the under-emoting, which is an effect of trying to establish "a play within a movie."

My gripe with the movie is that certain scenes seemed very out-of-place and contrived. There are also moments when the characters would change moods and behavior quite suddenly.

What I thought was great about this movie (aside from the visuals) was the dialogue. Since the emoting was toned down quite a bit, sometimes you can only glean what the characters really think from the words they are using. The subtle insinuations and suggestions between the Empress and the new Emperor were especially delicious. However, during some of the odd scenes mentioned above, the characters can utter some ridiculously trite sayings.

The film has a good score, and the main theme (the song that the prince brings back with him) is haunting. The thoroughly modern end theme, however, seems a little anachronistic.

Another note about the ending (no spoilers): there's a reason why the director decided to end it the way he did. The people who find it unsatisfying probably don't get the message he's trying to send.

Overall a truly great film. Very beautiful and great lines. Plus Zhang Ziyi and Ge You are spot on in their roles. Be prepared for a long play on film. Do not watch it if you're only interested in martial arts, but stay if you're into political intrigue and soul-twisting effects of desire.

LEGEND OF THE BLACK SCORPION

I have always been a fan of Asian cinema ever since I was born obviously as any one who has read my stuff before will tell you. As I have collected film after film and anime after anime [I hunt down the live action while my girl hunts down all anime] I'd like to think I have a pretty good collection. That is why when the Weinstein Brothers created the Dragon Dynasty company to introduce more of these films to an American audience. Here we have the very beautiful "Legend of the Black Scorpion" or "The Banquet" in its entire glorious splendor, it really is a wonderfully shot film.

This film is a take on Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and tries to tell that story in a new way, on some levels it works and on others it fails. Directed by Xiaogang Feng this film is very amazing as far as style and cinematography but the storytelling lacks a little, underdeveloped characters hamper the film a bit. Still there is a lot good with this film and is worthy of your time but be prepared as it does move a bit slow. But it is based on a really well known and famous play so it has elements that will be appealing to the average viewer.

Empress Wan (Ziyi Zhang) has lost her husband and is now being put into a relationship with her brother in law Emperor Li (You Ge) as he wants the power of the kingdom. The thing is she has a thing for her step son Prince Wu Luan (Daniel Wu), and this is not lost on Emperor Li. He hires some assassins to kill the prince so that there will be no competition to the throne. But they fail to do so and the prince makes his way back to the kingdom. Upon arriving it is announced by the Emperor that there will be a banquet and it is in this a plan is devised to end the Emperor.

The film starts very strong and is at its most enjoyable throughout the first half of the film, but it starts to lack and can't keep the pace going. Also like I said before the film is beautiful and just amazingly shot, to be honest it really is a spectacle for the eyes more often than not. The astonishing and breathtaking cinematography mixed with wonderful scenery and sets make this a wonder to the retina. Add in the wonderful atmosphere and great slow motion fight scenes this is a good film.

But that does not mean it is a perfect movie, in fact one of its positives is also a negative. The slow motion fight sequences tend to be over used a bit here, it is better than it is bad but it is still an issue. Still the biggest flaw of the film is the lack of character development, for such a beautiful film there is a lack of emotion from the characters that can not be over looked. Ziyi Zhang does a good job here as does everyone really but the script did not add enough depth to the characters. To be honest this really did have a good chance at being a classic, any film that has Yuen Woo-Ping, Tim Yip, Li Zhang, and Xiaogang Feng behind the scenes had that potential.

The film does not reach that classic status but is very much worth a look if you have never seen it. The original release of course is great but for any American fan that may be interested may want to pick up the Dragon Dynasty release. It is comes with some great special features in a 2 disc collection including a great commentary track with Bey Logan. Of course the behind the scenes and all that stuff is featured as well, so I do recommend getting this film.