Product Details

• Actors: Dennis Chan, Paul Chun, Ben Lam, Ching-Ying Lam, Tony Leung Chiu Wai
• Directors: Hark Tsui, David Chung
• Writers: Hark Tsui, Gai Chi Yuen
• Producers: John Sham, Hark Tsui
• Format: AC-3, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Language: Mandarin Chinese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Chinese
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Universe Laser & Video Co.
• DVD Release Date: October 26, 1999
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305621519
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,116 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Art House & International > Asian Cinema > Hong Kong > Comedy

• For more information about "I Love Maria" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
You could think of this as a live-action Hong Kong version of a Japanese superhero cartoon (the best Power Rangers picture ever made) or as The Three Stooges Meet RoboCop. Either way, it's a mind-boggler. The action work is amazingly fast and dense, featuring giant transformer-style 'bots battling sexy flying lady 'bots who sometimes get their wires fetchingly crossed. Sally Yeh (the gold digger in Peking Opera Blues) plays the evil cyborg Maria, who runs a gang of crooks; her new boyfriend is the movie's Rotwang-Strangelove figure, a black-clad new-wave weirdo who believes that "perfect order is only found in machines." Tsui Hark and John Sham are the bumbling cops fighting to defend humanity. As usual when Tsui's involved, even when he isn't officially one of the directors, the film is promiscuously inventive. It's crowded with cool-looking junk and edited at such a breakneck clip that the action is often hard to follow. There are jokes about eating dog meat and a giant robot that swoops around the skyscrapers, hunting down pesky humans. The overall effect is of A Chinese Ghost Story gone high-tech, amped up to the point of no return. --David Chute

Product Description
Lovely songstress sally yip plays an evil super-charged robot but a mismatched trio of good guys john sham leung chiu-wai and tsui hark try to harness her powers for good. Subitles with on/off function in english chinese and indonesian. Studio: Tai Seng Entertainment Release Date: 12/14/2004 Starring: Sally Yeh Tony Leung Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Nr Director: David Chung

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Real fun!, March 7, 2001

By	Markus Risser (Berlin, Deutschland) - See all my reviews

When I first had the opportunity to watch this movie some years ago I had the 'treat' of a terribly dubbed (into German)'comedy' version filled with lame jokes and stupid gags adapted to German humour (or at least what the distributor thought it would be - for example John Shum's character had been dubbed "Inspector Loony"). Somehow, still, the movie survived the treatment (alas, it is a comedy, and a low-key one at some times) and I always had a special feeling for it.

"I love Maria", like so many HK-movies, has a somehow confusing plot, several great action scenes, some very funny moments of cartoon-styled humour and some nice FX work (I prefer the special FX of "I love Maria" over those of "RoboCop"). Sally Yeh (of "The Killer" fame) gives a great performance (love that robot suit of hers), John Shum and Tsui Hark (the same) are funny to watch (I always liked Tsui Hark's excursions into acting).

The DVD is not spectacular concerning sound and picture quality but adequate, the subtitles are clear to read; short biographies of the principal contributors are added as a small extra. If you're into HK-movies this should definitely be a part of your collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Action, comedy, sci-fi, and Maria -- it all works., September 25, 2001

By	Serdar S. Yegulalp "carbon-based unit" (Huntington, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Imagine "RoboCop" as rewritten by the screenwriters of "Patlabor" and you've almost got your mind around this thoroughly whacked-out comedy/action hybrid courtesy of Tsui Hark (he directed; David Chung was apparently only responsible for the setting up of shots and the like).

A criminal gang uses a giant robot, Pioneer 1, to perform daring smash-and-grab raids on the city's banks. The police are hopeless, and the one man who has a clue (John Shum) is being marginalized in the department because his work makes the other cops look bad. He runs into a former member of the gang (Hark), the two become friends, and soon they're being chased by Pioneer II -- a robot that looks exactly like Hark's old childhood friend Maria (Sally Yeh), who now happens to be one of the gang leaders. If this sounds complicated, don't worry -- the plot is secondary to wild, inventive imagery, kung fu, things blowing up, and a climactic fight that is straight out of all your giant-robot wet dreams.

A great choice for HK lovers, aficionados of the strange, and anime fans as well. The slightly off-kilter subtitles and on-the-cheap FX only add to the fun. Get hooked.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wild Wild Robot Fun in Live Action, May 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: I Love Maria (DVD)

BUY THIS MOVIE! 'I Love Maria' is a fun, fast live action sci-fi romp with a decidedly 'Anime' feel to it. The plot is cool, but doesn't really get in the way and the effects are state of the art! The acting is comedic (whether it's meant to be is a mystery) and worth watching. This a fun film, to watch with a large audience and LOTS of popcorn.