Customer Reviews

Swordsman II

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

DO NOT BUY "Legend of the Swordsman" by Buena Vista. This is an edited and English dubbed version butchered by this studio. Buy ONLY the original HK version "Swordsman II."

I'm going to pass on some valuable info to my fellow Hong Kong movie buffs. Do yourselves a favor and visit www.Goodwillco.com - they are a terrific Canadian distributor of original HK version dvds. "Dream Lovers" is only about $7-$8 USD. Most of their HK titles fall within this price range. "Hero" now at theatres starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung is also available for this price. Their service is outstanding. You can pretty much find any title with original Chinese audio and English subtitles.

Don't buy any American studio dubbed or edited versions!!! Always read the packaging carefully - don't judge by it's cover. Boycott Disney and their subsidiaries such as Miramax/Dimension films and Buena Vista until they SHOW RESPECT for Asian cinema. Don't throw your hard earned money away and allow studios to treat YOU THE MOVIE FAN with disrespect! They are buying HK catalog titles and butchering by editing and English dubbing. They edit and dub because they wrongly believe American audiences will be less accepting of viewing HK films with original Chinese audio and English subtitles. Talk about racism and insulting the intelligence of American movie-goers!!! Disney is also purchasing HK titles to keep in storage without release. By doing so, Disney can keep the original HK studios from releasing these titles and have a monopoly on the catalog. Fans are left unable to own their favorite HK films. These studios do not care about art or movie fans by their disrespectful treatment of the original versions...all they care about is MONEY! Talk about DisNazi tactics! If Sony Pictures can release "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with Chinese audio and English subtitles both at movie theatres and DVD, then why can these studios not do the same?? "Crouching Tiger" grossed over $125 million alone at the box office. But Disney still thinks American movie-goers are narrow-minded and ignorant. And Disney probably thought their release "Freddy Got Fingered" was the highest expression of the movie art form. The studios know that DVD is a top money grossing format and can save any box office bomb from total annihilation. Miramax is making minor improvement - they did release "Iron Monkey" in original audio and subtitled. However, they could not keep their hands from EDITING this great film. They thought it was too long! I believe fans deserve to see the uncut original version regardless of length. Did we not sit through 3 hrs of "Titanic" and almost 4 hrs of "Dancing with Wolves?" both box office blockbusters. So why the double standard with HK films?

Visit the WEB ALLIANCE FOR THE RESPECTFUL TREATMENT OF ASIAN CINEMA to sign the petition to Miramax. Read all about our mission. I gave you a summary of what is happening to the HK movie catalog. Over 13,000 signatures have been collected. We need all fans to help save the original HK studio versions and preserve our rights as fans to see the original cut as intended by the filmmaker.

"Swordsman II" kicks off one year after the events in "Swordsman", although it is not necessary to watch the first movie in order to appreciate its sequel. Both movies are adaptations of Louis Cha's novel, "The Hero who Laughs at the World" ("Xiao Ao Jiang Hu"), although extensive changes have been made to the original story. Most of the main characters from the first movie return but are replaced with different actors. In "Swordsman", the leader of the Huashan clan sacrificed many of his disciples in order to obtain a sacred martial arts manual called the "Sacred Flower Scroll". Disillusioned by his betrayal and by the constant power struggles in the pugilistic world, his remaining disciples, including eldest disciple Ling Huchong (Jet Li) and daughter Yue Lingshan (Michelle Reis) decide to retreat to the Ox Mountain for a life of seclusion. Unfortunately, the Scroll has fallen into the hands of a power-hungry warrior called Tongfang Bubai i.e. "The Invincible Dawn" (Brigitte Lin). Dawn has captured the father of Ling's old flame, Ren Yingying (Rosamund Kwan), and usurped his position as leader of the Miao tribe. He now plans to march north to the Chinese capital with a troop of 300,000 to overthrow the Ming Emperor. Ling agrees to help Yingying rescue her father, and the last of the Huashan disciples are again drawn into a deadly power struggle. "Swordsman II" is absolutely the best martial arts movie ever made. Jet Li is at his charismatic best and is far better as "the hero who laughs at the world" than Sam Hui was in "Swordsman". Ling is not a perfect person - in fact, he is a drunkard and a womaniser, not the best of role models - but he is also upright and loyal, and Jet Li plays him with such good humour and optimism that we easily forgive Ling's flaws. The three lead actresses who play Ling's love interests also give wonderful performances - not to mention they are amongst the prettiest faces in the Hong Kong movie industry. Michelle Reis (who takes over Cecilia Yip's role in "Swordsman") is excellent as the naïve, jealous and tomboyish Lingshan, whom Ling treats as his "little brother". Rosamund Kwan is also great as the world-weary Yingying, who would love nothing more than to leave for a life of seclusion with Ling but remains tied to her father and her people. But the greatest accolades must go to Brigitte Lin for portraying a complex (and male!) character, the Invincible Dawn, a villain for whom audiences could feel empathy. Dawn starts off as a man (Brigitte Lin's voice was replaced with a man's voice in the early parts of the movie) but becomes increasingly feminine as the movie progresses, for reasons revealed later in the movie. He sacrifices everything for power, not for himself, but for the sake of the oppressed minorities he leads. He is quite invincible, except for the fact that he lets his heart and emotional attachments get the better of him during a crucial battle (note: this movie is actually a disguised gay romance!! *grin*). Brigitte is wonderfully icy cold in some scenes but also remarkably vulnerable as the lonely and misunderstood villain in others. So successful was Brigitte (who was a popular actress in romance movies in the 1970s) at portraying Dawn that her acting career, in the doldrums since the 1980s, was spectacularly revived. She later reprised her role as Dawn in the audaciously spectacular but silly sequel "The East is Red". Two other supporting cast members deserve mentioning - Fannie Yuen as Blue Phoenix, Yingying's lieutenant and confidante, and Candice Yu as Dawn's lovely concubine. Fannie was so good as the vivacious Blue Phoenix in "Swordsman" that she was the only character not replaced with another actor in "Swordsman II". Candice, a great favourite amongst Asian TV audiences in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was drawn out of retirement for a cameo in this movie. And finally, while the fight scenes in "Swordsman II" do not have the poetic beauty of those in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" nor the authenticity of those in "Iron Monkey", it uses wireworks to excellent effect. After over a decade, "Swordsman II" is still the definitive martial arts movie yet to be topped by another. Zhang Yimou's "Hero" comes close, but not nearly enough. Tsui Hark (the producer) and Ching Siu Tung (the director) are still my favourite Hong Kong movie makers.

Most of the people in these reviews who are UNhappy with the DVD are so because they bought "Legend of the Swordsman", the one with the "Jet Li Collection" notation on the cover. DO NOT BUY THAT VERSION. These reviews are shared between "Swordsman II" and "Legend of the Swordsman", so some of the reviews that instruct you to buy the "other one", are erroneous, depending on which version you're already looking at. Make sure you look at 2 things which will tell you if you are buying the right one:
1) the title - just to reiterate, get "Swordsman II"
2) the DVD cover - It should by an orange/red, with Jet Li, Bridgitte Lin, Rosamund Kwan, and Michelle Reis on it, total of 4 people. It also spells "Swordsman" with only the first "s". You don't want the one that *only* has Jet Li on the cover.

Whew. That all said, this movie is epic. Even admittedly confusing at times. Some say it's unecessary to have seen the first one, but right at the beginning, they hit you with a lot of information about what sect is doing what, and how the japanese are interfering, etc... and the english translation isn't superb, so unless you're willing to pause and read the subtitles over a couple times, you will miss information. This is less so the case if you've seen "Swordsman".

Nonetheless, even if you don't understand everything, there is a plethora of things to enjoy in this movie. I first watched this movie when I was about 14. I only fully understood what was going on when I bought the DVD when I was 23. I watched the movie periodically throughout my life, and enjoyed it every time.

It's a skillfully done movie, excepting the translation. The subject of the transsexualism is treated VERY well. It is neither overly graphic and sensationalist about it, nor is it too prudish. The fighting is good, though if you're a martial arts fanatic, you might be dissapointed because the scenes are more about spectacle than display of kung fu skills. Flying and diversity of weapons and fighting methods play more than single-human prowess.

And one other thing - the translation isn't a good one at all, but I really don't think it should take the rating down more than one star. The movie is still great and exciting, and the poor translation doesn't prevent you from understanding the important drama when it happens.

Another instance of a perfectly good HK film being unnecessarily hacked up, repackaged, reformatted, and retitled for American audiences. The entire run of the "Jet Li Collection" DVDs are just plain awful in terms of everything except image quality. Buena Vista (Disney/Mirmax) regularly cuts a considerable amount of footage out of the original movies, rescores them, and for some bizarre reason refuses to offer the option of subtitles, only a very cheesy English Dub. No widescreen option, either. I would recommend avoiding ALL foreign DVDs distributed by Buena Vista, because you are getting an incomplete, censored, altered, and improperly titled version of the film by a company just trying to milk a hot trend for quick cash.

In the particular case of this movie, 10 minutes have been cut all together, which you can see clearly by comparing the technical specs here with those of the imported "Swordsman II" DVD (which, incidentally, is the *actual* title of this movie.)

The import versions of these movies sometimes have their own failings -- mediocre image quality and/or clumsy subtitling are the most common problems -- but if you want to see the *real* versions of these movies, I suggest you avoid Buena Vista's releases at all costs, until they start releasing the films as they were intended to be seen.

I just bought this DVD from Amazon on the strength of positive reviews all over the net and Chinese friends who recommend this film or have it in their movie collection.

As a film, it looks beautiful and has some of the most intricate swordplay scenes and imaginative fantasy elements I've ever seen in a film. Among the long list of captivating characters/moments - ninjas flying through the air on giant shurikens, a character named Blue Phoenix who shoots snakes from her sleeves, sword fights where swords magically spin around and fight on their own, a male character who fights with hooks and has the ability to absorb the lifeforce of other humans, a sexually ambiguous enemy whose weapon of choice is a needle and thread - it's basically loaded with all the stuff that makes HK fantasy flicks such an trip to watch.

Unfortuantely for English speakers, this movie has to have the worst subtitling job I've ever seen in my life. I just finished watching this one all the way through and I have no clue what just happened. The subtitles read like a nonsensical array of bad grammar and gibberish that appear for less than a second at a time. Basically the only thing you can get out of them without putting in major mental work are the characters names.

The good thing is that the movie is exciting enough for me to want to watch it again and again. Maybe I'll understand a little bit more this time. But damn, I really want to kill the fool who wrote those subtitles.

The excellence of this film is difficult to convey. It can be enjoyed on so many different levels. First of all, the swordfight sequences are all dazzling and handled effortlessly by the venerable Tsui Hark and company. They almost make it look easy. From start to finish, there isn't one dull moment. However, the reason I loved this film so much was for the emotional level. Swordman II easily contains veteran Chinese actress Brigette Lin's finest and most stunning performance as "Asia the Invincible". Her ambiguous and ultimately tragic relationship with the main character (Ling Hu Chong, played by Jet Li) is handled with pure craft and skill by the actress. Brigette Lin perfectly conveys both the sexual ambiguity and undeniable feminine allure exuded by her character. Her fascinating and complex relationship with Jet Li's character is both delicious and disturbing to watch. Even after the breath-taking fight scenes, it is that relationship that will keep you thinking about the movie long afterwards. That said, I must warn Western viewers that this is a fairly "hardcore" Chinese movie, filled with references to Chinese culture and mythology. Think of it as the Chinese version of Lord of the Rings. It's a self-contained universe that a Chinese viewer would easily accept and understand, but Western viewers might find it a little hard to swallow. I recommend that Westerners just starting out to opt for some of the "softer" Chinese movies that are more suitable for Western consumption. However, once you've got the "hang" of it, treat yourself to this masterpiece of Chinese Hong Kong cinema.

Legend of Swordsman dvd review - dreadful, dubbed, cut, americanised, renamed, new dreadful audio track, poor disc = do not buy this version! (buy Swordsman 2)

film review - Swordsman 2 was Jet Li's largest grossing domestic film in Hong Kong in the early 90's, even outperforming Fist of Legend and the Once Upon a Time in China Series. Although the cast is very similar to the Once Upon a Time in China series due to the Tsui Hark influence (Jet Li, Yen Shi Kwan, etc). The only cast member from the original Swordsman (King Hu classic 90) is the gorgeous Fannie Yuen (Blue Phoenix).

The wire-fu fighting and fantastical set make this an enchanting film, and the costumes are award-winning. This is not Jet's best film in my opinion, but is right up there with his best.

Conclusion - get Swordsman 2 (Megastar), get an HK import - do anything but buy this butchered version that pays no respect to the culture or ethos from which this movie emerged.

..."Swordman 2" is actually the 2nd film of a trilogy, and also the best one of the three. It is a delightful, hilarious, over the top, kung fu swordplay fantasy film. There are superpowered heroes and villains flying all over the place. If you like that sort of thing (as opposed to realistic martial arts) then "Swordman 2" can not be beat for sheer entertainment.

Unfortunately, Disney/Miramax has completely ruined this film. They have added an atrociously amateurish English dub. Where do they find these voiceover "actors"? They must all be infomercial rejects. Perhaps they are Harvey Wienstein's relatives. Who knows? In any case, they are bad. Bad.

And 9 minutes of footage have been cut from this movie. That is almost 9% of the movie. Imagine watching a movie and every ten minutes someone grabs the remote control and turns off the TV for the next 60 seconds. That's what Disney/Miramax has done with this DVD...

And of course, this DVD only has the horrible English dub track and the edited/censored/ruined version of the film even though it is easy to include multiple audio tracks and even multiple versions of films on DVDs...

Fortunately, the original "Swordman 2" is also available on DVD right here from Amazon for around the same price. Do yourself a favor: go up to the area of the "Product Details" area which says "Other Formats" and click on the link that says "DVD". This takes you to the listing for "Swordman 2" - the complete, unedited, original language, subtitled version of this film.

Please avoid this ... and instead buy his classic "Swordman 2".

Swordsman II is one of my all time favorite martial arts movies--the movie itself I'd give 5 stars. HOWEVER...this DVD edition is TERRIBLE! The picture quality isn't bad, hence my 2 stars, but the english translation is just AWFUL! Not only are there typos in the subtitles (example: two characters are galloping along on horses, one says, "just keep RIDDING!"), but there are many other blatant errors. Brigitte Lin's great Asia the Invincible is called "Invinvible Dawn" on this DVD. Take a look at the title on the DVD cover here, it's SWORD-MAN not Swordsman--they didn't even get the cover right! As a film, this is fantastic though, and not to be missed. So, unless you can understand Mandarin and/or Cantonese and don't need the English subtitles, please buy the VHS version, you'll be much happier! Don't miss this great movie, just don't try the DVD.

Although there was a lot of string work, it was used pretty well in this movie. The sword play in this movie was awesome. As always, Jet Li shows a strong presence on screen. George Lucas should watch this film and consider him to be a Jedi.