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Thread: Musa - The Warrior

  1. #1
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Default Musa - The Warrior

    I don't normally watch Korean movies, but got bored yesterday so bought this DVD called "Musa - The Warrior" starring ZiYi Zhang.

    I have to say this movie was a total blast. Great action scenes that looked very realistic. The acting was great. It was one of the best "last man standing" type films I have seen.

    Can anyone recommend other good Korean movies??
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  2. #2
    Senior Member Eliar Swiftfire's Avatar
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    Depends what kinda Korean movies you want.

    My fave Korean movie of last year is OLD BOY

    Check it out, man.
    Swifty, Writing
    Film and book reviews, short films, videos from a Malaysian filmmaker based in Tokyo

  3. #3
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eliar Swiftfire
    Depends what kinda Korean movies you want.

    My fave Korean movie of last year is OLD BOY

    Check it out, man.
    wuxia/martial arts (not modern day martial arts - like that kill bill crap)/brave heart type epics - not the modern stuff...
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  4. #4
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Well I just bought another DVD called 'Bichunmoo' which is another high powered Korean film. Look forward to watching it tonight.
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  5. #5
    Senior Member Laviathan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Long
    wuxia/martial arts (not modern day martial arts - like that kill bill crap)/brave heart type epics - not the modern stuff...
    You do realise that Kill Bill is totally Wuxia, right?
    ¹ï ¼Ä ¶· ¬½ ¡A ±Ù ¯ó °£ ®Ú ¡A ¨k ¤k ¦Ñ ¥® ¡A ¤£ ¯d ¤@ ¤H

  6. #6
    Senior Member Eliar Swiftfire's Avatar
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    He doesn't want movies with contemporary settings.

    Bichunmoo? Horrible crap. I lost faith in Korean films immediately after seeing that. It took My Sassy Gal to convince me again.
    Swifty, Writing
    Film and book reviews, short films, videos from a Malaysian filmmaker based in Tokyo

  7. #7
    Senior Member cheek's Avatar
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    I second that. Bichumoo is total CRAP. CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP. SO BAD!! I feel sad for myself wasting 15min to give it a chance. NEVER touch that.
    Your panties are on too tight.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cheek
    I second that. Bichumoo is total CRAP. CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP. SO BAD!! I feel sad for myself wasting 15min to give it a chance. NEVER touch that.
    Bichumoo is a rather weird movie... The mind boggles with what was going on in that film... The main dude liked killed the father of his lover, yet the lover and the brother sought no revenge...

    When finally chance presents itself for the main dude to fix his relationship after his weird friend/enemy dies, he goes off to die??????? WTF???

    The ending had me like WTF?? WTF?? WTF??

    I'm glad I watched Musa - The Warrior first, otherwise, I'd think that the Koreans are just as crazy as the Japanese...

    Because I was like WTF, WTF, throughout Kagemusa, and Ran.
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Long
    Because I was like WTF, WTF, throughout Kagemusa, and Ran.
    Don't like King Lear too much?
    春花秋月几时了,
    往事知多少?
    小楼昨夜又东风,
    故国不堪回首明月中.
    雕栏玉砌应犹在,
    只是朱颜改.
    问君能有几多愁,
    恰似一江春水向东流.
    --南唐后主,李煜.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moinllieon
    Don't like King Lear too much?
    Hated King Lear, and Titus.

    I didn't like Hamlet either, but there are some colourful phrases...
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Long
    Hated King Lear, and Titus.

    I didn't like Hamlet either, but there are some colourful phrases...
    How can you not love murder, rape, incest, and cannibalism?

    Heheh... any Shakespeare you do like? Macbeth maybe?
    春花秋月几时了,
    往事知多少?
    小楼昨夜又东风,
    故国不堪回首明月中.
    雕栏玉砌应犹在,
    只是朱颜改.
    问君能有几多愁,
    恰似一江春水向东流.
    --南唐后主,李煜.

  12. #12
    Senior Member Eliar Swiftfire's Avatar
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    I shall piss upon Bichunmoo. Still one of the crappiest Korean crap I've ever seen.
    Swifty, Writing
    Film and book reviews, short films, videos from a Malaysian filmmaker based in Tokyo

  13. #13
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eliar Swiftfire
    I shall piss upon Bichunmoo. Still one of the crappiest Korean crap I've ever seen.
    You've got to give the movie some credit at least for the colour, fighting scenes, and 'original' story - even though it was a little weird.

    I really hate stories that just play the same plot as other movies, but with a worst storyline.

    For instance one could say that "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" starring Zhao Wei was similiar in nature as Musa, ie a last man standing battle in the desert. The group protects a monk and relic in Heaven and Earth, which replaces the Princess in Musa, But I'd say Musa kicks that story of Heaven and Earth 99 to 1. Plus Heavn and Earth has one of the most ridicolus endings I've seen...
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  14. #14
    Senior Member Zhuge Liang's Avatar
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    Heaven and Earth ripped off Musa big time. I preferred it to Musa though. Musa was so long and draggy. I really could not care less who died. And the person i wanted to die most did not... Zhang Ziyi! Heaven and Earth i like the characters a bit more.

    Bichunmoo was very wuxia but it lacked something...
    TristeCoeur on Lady Yang: Someone needs 2 tell her that when u want 2 save people from being killed, u need to hurry the hell up, not play bull#### music & dance around. Her mission failed big time

  15. #15
    Senior Member Long's Avatar
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    Well I thought I'd post my review of this movie here before it's finally edited and posted on SPCNET:

    MUSA – THE WARRIOR (2001)

    Cast:

    Woo-sung Jung as Yeosol
    Sung-kee Ahn as Jinlib
    Jin-mo Ju as General Choi Jung
    ZiYi Zhang as Princes Buyong
    Yong-woo Park as Jumyeong
    Jeong-hak Park as Ganam
    Hye-jin Yu as Duchung
    Du-il Lee as Jisan
    Yeing-mok Han as Danseng
    Rongguang Yu as Rabmulhua

    Review

    “Musa” which also translates into “The Warrior” is a film directed by the highly acclaimed Korean director, Kim Sung Soo. It is also the retelling of the 1954 classic masterpiece “Seven Samurai” directed by Akira Kurosawa.

    The film is set in China in 1375, shortly after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty by Chu Yin Cheung in Nanjing. During this period there is continued fighting along the Great Wall for the supremacy of China between the Yuan and Ming armies. In the middle of this Koryo (ancient Korea) has sent a delegation of diplomats, warriors, and servants hoping to establish peaceful relationships with the new Ming Dynasty. Amongst the group is a slave called Yeosol (played by Woo-sung Jung) who doesn’t talk much. As a result of a misunderstanding the delegation are accused of being spies and have been exiled to a remote desert on the outskirts of China.

    Along the way, the Ming armies charged with guarding the delegation are ambushed and murdered by a group of Yuan soldiers. The head of the delegations died during the battle and it is up to young General Choi Jung (played by Jin-mo Ju) to lead them across the harsh baron desert and safely home. In order to avoid further confrontations with the Ming and Yuan armies, General Choi takes the most difficult path across the plains of Central China. Many lives are lost along the way as some people are virtually swallowed up by the desert.

    Yeosol’s master dies of exhaustion during the journey and declares him to be a ‘free man’. The delegation reach a temporary salvation in the middle of the desert after many days of weary travel. There they meet a kind old monk called Jisan who is also from Koryo and seeking to go home along with the delegation. Seeing his fellow countrymen in such a wretched state he offers to pay for their meal.

    Bad luck strikes them when a Yuan army arrives after kidnapping Princess Buyong of the Ming Dynasty (played by ZiYi Zhang). In the evening General Choi receives a call for rescue from Princess Buyong. After deliberating on a final decision for over a night, General Choi, finally orders his men to ambush the Yuan soldiers near a ridge. Despite being accused as spies General Choi thought, by rescuing the Princess, that he could clear this confusion and establish peaceful relationships with the Ming Dynasty. His delegation would then return to Nanjing and receive a warm reception. Besides he had fallen for the Princess Buyong also. But General Choi gets more than he bargained for as he would later discover.

    During the skirmish with the Yuan army Yeosol saves Princess Buyong. She immediately falls for him, despite not showing it outwardly. She later asks Yeosol to be her guard but he refuses by stating that he is now a free man. He would rather return to his master’s burial than be her guard. His actions angers General Choi who decides to order his men to beat him for failing to comply with orders. Yeosol would have been killed by General Choi had Princess Buyong not pleaded on his behalf.

    Once again the group set off to find a boat so they can cross the Yellow River and escort Princess Buyong back to the capital at Nanjing. But the vengeful Yuan army pursue non-stop after them, setting up camp along the Yellow River and murdering anyone who attempted to cross it. A group local Chinese villagers, fearful of being murdered by the Yaun army follows one of the Koryo warriors, and seeks refuge with General Choi. He eventually has to accept responsibility to protect them after much deliberation. This slowed the group in reaching the delegation as they had many old men, women, and children amongst them. Furthermore, Princess Buyong refused to swallow her pride and walk, so the group had to make a carriage for her. It took four able soldiers to carry Princess Buyong, draining their strength for battle.

    Eventually the Yuan soldiers caught up and ambush them in the forest. Desperate to please Princess Buyong and at the same time prove that he is a worthy leader, General Choi seeks to eliminate the pursuing Yuan soldiers in spite of advice from his loyal Lieutenant friend. All of General Choi’s mighty warriors are murdered during the battle. But the Lieutenant of the peasant Koryo army, Jinlin (played by Sung-kee Ahn) leads his peasant warriors and achieves a stunning victory against the Yuan army. This causes the delegation to question the leadership of General Choi who has made a lot of difficult decisions thus far. A small internal revolt leads to Jinlin being elected as the new leader of the delegation.

    Jinling leads the men safely to a castle where Princess Buyong had promised that the Ming army would greet and protect them. But they were greeted with only despair when they uncovered that the castle has been abandoned a long time ago. Soon the Yuan army arrive and set up camp around the castle, blocking all possible escape paths. The Chinese villagers, including the Koyro warriors begin verbally abusing and blaming Princess Buyong for leading them to a dead-end. General Choi decides to speak up and vows to protect Princess Buyong at all costs.

    When the Yuan army offers a trade of Princess Buyong for their own freedom, Yeosol rides out alone to greet Yuan messenger. He uses his spear and decapitates the messenger’s head from his shoulders. This sparks a heated battle between the Yuan army and the Koryo army. During the skirmish Princess Buyong is surrounded by a group of warriors. Yeosol leaves his post to save her, causing great casualty amongst the delegation. The castle would have been taken had it not been for the fact that Rabmulhua (played by Rongguang Yu) ordered a retreat of his armies to morn over the death of their great Khan, Cooko Temur.

    Once again the local Chinese villagers and peasant Koyro warriors blame Princess Buyong for their troubles. Feeling partly responsible, lonely, and unwanted, Princess Buyong opens the gates of the castle and attempts to give herself up to the Yuan army to stop further bloodshed. But Yeosol who loves her deeply, would not allow that occur and rushes out to restrain her as the Yuan army approaches. They fight and General Choi who also loves Princess Buyong rushes out to save her as well. Together he and Yeosol manage to help the Princess to safety. But they are both trapped as a result and would fight to the death together. But General Choi is saved by his loyal Lieutenant friend who sacrifices his life. Yeosol is captured by Rabmulha who respects his abilities and wants him to join the Yuan soldiers.

    Later Rabmulha orders a final siege on the castle. That day it snowed. Jinlin and general Choi finally unite in an effort to protect the safety of the Princess, local Chinese villagers, and their own delegation. But they were outnumbered and defeated despite fighting bravely. All of the peasant Koyro warriors under Jinlin are killed tying to protect local Chinese Villagers. Just when all hope had faded, Yeosol arrives to assist them after turning down an offer to become a general of the Yuan army. He fights side by side with General Choi to protect Princess Buyong. But during the skirmish, General Choi is seriously wounded and assumed dead by Rabmulha. Princess Buyong was now at his mercy. He picks up a spear and attempts to kill her, noting that many soldiers on both sides had died because of her. But Yeosol leaps out and takes the spear in the stomach instead and is slained. Rabmulha appears to be shocked upon realising that he had killed a prized warrior whom he wanted to convert as a general of the Yuan army. General Choi with his last once of strength seizes upon this opportunity to kill Rabmulha. In the process General Choi gets killed as well. He falls on the ice, and smiles at the only Koyro survivor Jinlin before finally dying.

    General Choi’s and Yeosol’s combined efforts ensure that Princess Buyong escaped the battle with her life. Jinlin, the lone Koyro survivor attempts to travel back to his homeland on a small raft across the wide open sea. He takes with him a lock of hair from each member of the delegation that has travelled to China with him as a sign of respect.

    Rating – 4.5/5

    I’ve never seen such an epic film before. This is comparable to the feats of “Braveheart” and “Gladiator” in terms of gruesome and realistic battle scenes. The spear fighting skills of Woo-sung Jung has to be reckoned with. Each thrust and each swing looked like a natural trained martial arts expert. The casting and the acting was just simply fantastic. The level of detail put into each and every shot is stunning. Jin-mo Jung looked like a dashing heart throb in that General outfit.

    You almost felt as if the actors and stuntmen had actually sacrificed their lives for this movie, such was the realistic nature of the fights and beheadings. It’s simple the best modern day film in the ‘last man standing’, and ‘small group against all odds’ genre. It’s a must see for all movie lovers.

    As the acting goes, you can’t really fault any one actor/actress. Then again with the level of effort and detail put into making movies these days, the director of the film, and not the actor/actress, would be the one ultimately blamed if a piece of bad acting appearing on the big screen. After all the director would be the person responsible for selecting from 30 odd takes of the same scene, the one take with the bad acting to appear in the final film.

    This is the first time I’ve seen Jin-mo Jung and Woo-sung Jung, and I was impressed with both of their performances. So much so that I actually felt sad when their characters died. After all it’s only natural when watching a movie to only care about the characters that your favourite actor/actress plays. They both portrayed the struggle of the delegation, and tensions between the various characters well.

    ZiYi Zhang played a rather spoilt and stubborn Princess in this movie. Once again the character she played was a ‘hated’ character. Such was the level of her acting abilities, that she made me hate and curse at the character of Princess Buyong throughout the movie. I have to admit that I was greatly annoyed when Princess Buyong survived the last battle. I have to thank ZiYi Yang’s superb acting skills for drawing out such hatred towards the character she portrayed. This is my third experience with ZiYi Zhang, and she has a lot of natural acting talent for a long career ahead.
    "Seems, madam! Nay it is, I know not seems!" - Hamlet, William Shakespeare

  16. #16
    Banned chuy605's Avatar
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    i find that is movie ok, it was kinda long and got boring in the end. But the fighting was great.

  17. #17
    Senior Member Dagger Lee's Avatar
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    The movie was excellent. It had great action and a nice scenery. The DTS track on the DVD made the experience better.

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    i never knew why it called "Musa" after read this thread now i understand its call musa cuz it translate into the warrior.

    i like watching asian cinema movies although i am indian and dont understand any asian lang but its kool to know other culture!

    I think Musa the warior is proille one the best movie i have ever watch. its rfeally gr8 10+

  19. #19
    Senior Member Surferket's Avatar
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    Bichunmoo the movie is really crap although Bichunmoo the tv series seems to have better reviews.

    But Musa is definitely tops. Very much under rated as it was made at a time when the K-wave did not make the leap into movies yet and also when Zhang Ziyi was cheap to employ.
    Later there was another movie almost along the same line but this time it was about escorting a Buddhist relic across the desert. The Holy aspect ruined the plot's believability. Can't remember the name of that movie but it's essentially a copycat of Musa.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Wanlie Tong's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Surferket View Post
    Bichunmoo the movie is really crap although Bichunmoo the tv series seems to have better reviews.

    Later there was another movie almost along the same line but this time it was about escorting a Buddhist relic across the desert. The Holy aspect ruined the plot's believability. Can't remember the name of that movie but it's essentially a copycat of Musa.
    Warriors of Heaven & Earth

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