A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy

[hman]

I just got done watching the trilogy today. It was a pretty cool series. The first movie combined the creepy with the romantic and some high-octane, old school FX-laden action. The second movie had a somewhat political tone but had action that was even more off the wall and even some monsters in it. The third movie was essentially a remake of the first set 100 years after the fact and has some good wirework and crazy action scenes, although it's not as good as the first two.

For those of you who aren't familiar, the series deals with a tax collector (Leslie Cheung) who falls in love with a ghost (Joey Wong) in the employ of the Tree Demon (Lau Siu-Ming), a demon with enormous tongue. He teams up with a Taoist swordsman (Wu Ma) to save for from an impending marriage to the Lord of Hell. In the second movie, Leslie teams up with another Taoist swordsman (Jackie Cheung) and two swordswomen (Joey Wong and Michelle Reis) to take on a corrupt high priest (who turns out to be a giant centipede). The third movie tells the story of a monk (Tony Leung) who has some run-ins with the Tree Demon and its entourage, including Joey Wong.

The series was directed by Ching Siu-Tung, of Swordsman, Heroic Trio, Butterfly and Sword, Shaolin Soccer, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers fame (and a whole more). He's known for his over-the-top, FX-fueled action sequences. The first movie was made in 1987 and the series ended in 1991, so it's nice to see how he matured in his use of wires and special FX over the course of the trilogy.

For anyone who likes fantasy movies, these three are worth a look.

[Xenorama ™]

i really enjoyed the first movie- cool stop-motion zombies, right? but the other two... although i bet if i saw nicer copies i'd like them more. there's a cartoon movie as well.

David

[hman]

The first movie was really cool. There was a good mix of creepy atmosphere, swordplay, romance, comedy, magic, and of course, those cool stop-motion zombies (Ching did something similar in Heroic Trio, which was also cool). I think when #3 tried to remake it, it was too colorful and glossy and the atmosphere was lost.

You have to give them credit for #2 simply for not recycling the same storyline from the first one.