House of Flying Daggers

 

 

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"House of Flying Daggers" brings you a wonderful tale you can delight in, and the opportunity to watch a movie where the use of color is so impressive that it is almost surreal, poetry in motion. Notwithstanding that, I think that you probably won't like this film unless you are prepared to suspend your disbelief at least for 119 minutes, the duration of this movie. Personally, I did exactly that, and I don't regret it at all :)

The story is set in 859 AD, when a corrupt dynasty held power in China. There is an organization called "House of Flying Daggers" that is trying to change things, but the government won't allow that. Two officers, Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Leo (Andy Lau) are ordered to stop the rebels, and so they devise a plan to infiltrate the "House of Flying Daggers". They capture Mei (Zhang Ziyi), the blind daughter of the previous leader of the revolt, who had been posing as a courtesan. Jin rescues Mei from the jail, and tries to convince her that he would like to join the rebels, when in truth his objective is to destroy the "House of Flying Daggers". But even if everything started as a plan, will Jin be able to remember Leo's advice, "Don't fall in love for real"?.

I want to point out that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The story was great, with enough twists to keep you entertained, and plenty of outstanding fighting scenes. Chinese director Zhang Yimou made such a great use of the elements at his disposition (great actors + inspiration + music + choreography + use of colors) that many sequences seem directly out of a dream, and the spectator feels as if he were bearing witness to a real story that happened a long time ago. In a word, the results are impressive... Watch "House of Flying Daggers", and decide whether you share my opinion :)

Belen Alcat

I think Yimou Zhang has made the two most visually beautiful films I have seen in the recent years, with "Ying xiong" ("Hero") and "Shi mian mai fu" ("House of Flying Daggers" but literally translated as "Ambush From Ten Sides"). The common denominator is not the martial arts action couple with the Hong Kong wire work but Zhang's use of rich colors. I know that Akira Kurosawa pained a field of grass gold for a scene that ended up being deleted in "Ran," and for all I know Zhang painted all those bamboo trees green in this 2004 film. But Zhang has been paying attention to color for as long as I have been watching his films, which goes all the way back to 1991's "Da hong deng long gao gao gua" ("Raise the Red Lantern"). The man is an expert at creating scenes of spectacular visual beauty on a motion picture screen and this time he is really into blue and green big time.

This is a movie where you do not really care about the plot beyond its ability to move us from one beautiful set piece to the next. Mei (Zhang Ziyi) is the blind daughter of the former leader of the Flying Daggers, a secret group that is combating the corrupt Tang Dynasty of the 9th century in China. The name comes from the fact that they throw daggers, and there are some daggers that are followed by the camera in this film the same way George Lucas followed the X-fighters in the trench during the attack on the Death Star. Mei is a dancer at the Peony Palace, and Captain Leo (Andy Lau), a local cop, sends his young colleague Captain Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) to investigate the mysterious blind dancer who is suspected of having ties to the Flying Daggers. While you know this is the beginning of a romance, because who could not fall in love with the beautiful and talented Mei, what matters is that we are up to the first spectacular set pieces, the Echo Game, played between Leo and Mei where the blind dancer shows she definitely knows how to play the game (and strike a pose).

The battle in the bamboo forest is the most impressive of these sequences, but I liked the choreographed battle in the field of grass with the two lovers encircled by swordsmen and the part in the final fight where it starts to snow. I understand there are homages in this film, but while I get the link to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" going back to the bamboo forest scene from "A Touch of Zen" is beyond me because I do not watch too many of these films. But, wow, the ones I have seen make me wonder why I am not watching at least one in a week and the answer is I know in my heart they cannot all be as beautiful as this one. What will Zhang come up with next? We cannot but wait to find out (he is currently filming "Qian li zou dan ji," which literally translates as "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" and is apparently about a Japanese father her take his ailing son to China's Yunnan province to learn opera).

Granted, "Shi mian mai fu" has flaws despite its great beauty. The political backdrop of the film seems to matter at the start, what with the emperor being weak and the officials being corrupt and all, but all that really matters is that Mei starts off on the opposite side of Leo and Jin, who best laid plans are going to go astray in ways too tragic for them to forsee. That is because the story is an excuse to get us from one spectacular set piece to the next and the sides exist simply for one lover to cross over to the other. The swordplay is more stylized than I have seen in other films of this genre and seems to involve less wire work as well, which is fine with me, because I would rather see it used selectively as it is here. There is also a song that Mei sings early on where you need to pay attention because it will come back more poignantly later on. The film has an English audio track, but you are obviously advised to go for the sub-titled original audio track because dubbed always sounds dubbed and that means tacky. Gorgeous films do not deserve tacky audio tracks.

We got the DVD, and have seen the movie more than 8 times since we bought it. It's an excellent movie. From the dancing and music part, the political sacrifices and revenge, the love trial and betrayal, breathtaking sceneries - this is my thing.

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4.0 out of 5 stars great!
The package came in good condition. The company delivered it on time and in great condition. THanks very much for everything. I will for sure buy from you again!

Published 2 months ago by Shakeel Chaudhry

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant film
I loved this film. Brilliant cinematography. It's stunning, Explosive and Spectacular. A brilliant martial art film and the visual effects are really good. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Ben Nicholson

4.0 out of 5 stars The House of Flying Daggers (Bilingual) [Blu-ray]
Great movie, visuals were amazing! Typical Japanese movie plot with lots of twists. Also recommend "Hero" very similar type movie, tons of twists, but the scenery...just wow.

Published on Oct 30 2009 by Barbara Lundrigan

1.0 out of 5 stars Good movie; bad price
This Blu-ray movie can be bought at amazon.com for 14.99 so why is it 32.00 at amazon.ca?????

Wake up amazon.ca and lower your prices! Even 19. Read more

Published on Dec 13 2007 by Carey D. Mackenzie

4.0 out of 5 stars Fly like a butterfly
Here's one word that sums up this film: Beauty. The plot of "House of Flying Daggers" (original title: "Shi mian mai fu") is lacking, but in a way it's made up for with the... Read more

Published on Mar 31 2007 by E. A Solinas

4.0 out of 5 stars Flies like a butterfly
Here's one word that sums up this film: Beauty. The plot of "House of Flying Daggers" (original title: "Shi mian mai fu") is lacking, but in a way it's made up for with the... Read more

Published on Feb 23 2007 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Love Story Amidst Clandestine War
Better than "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" this story gradually reveals an unexpected love triangle which contains amazing martial arts choreography woven into a stunning visual... Read more

Published on July 16 2006 by Erika Borsos

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful music and good movie
I enjoyed the music in the movie more than the movie itself. The theme music is truely outstanding. I bought the sound truck CD instead of the DVD movie! Read more

Published on May 28 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best movies ever
It has wonderful scenes and all the actors and the actress are wonderful. Very wonderful plot. The music is excellant in the movie. If you like Kung fu and romance movies. Read more

Published on May 25 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning
Yimou is a true artist of cinema. Hero and House of Flying Daggers are beautiful and spiritual adventures in Asian cinema. Read more

Published on May 24 2005 by coolhand666

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