Legend of the Condor Heroes 2006 (Ariel Lin, Hu Ge)

[NuDaFu]

Truthfully speaking, LOCH was my least favorite of the trilogy, I wouldn't be able to say why, but it was. I did not like the 80's version and could only sit through the 90's tvb because Athena was pretty, 03 was way to muted for my taste

Hmm...why didn't you like LOCH?

Aww...the 80's version had some mighty charismatic greats.

That such a common opinion...that Athena was pretty. I didn't find her really attractive at all. I like her acting (sometimes), but I've never found her visually appealing.

In what way did you find LOCH03 muted? I'd concur that Zhou Xun's voice sounded pretty muted, but quite a few have felt (including myself) that Zhou Xun didn't seem to have put in her greatest efforts to play HR. I consider her an actress with skill of the highest calibre, but I gotta admit, her HR disappointed more times than I could stand.

OYK was also someone I liked, he's acting was great and he moved with such grace that I wondered if he was going to turn gay for YK. I wished they kept him in love with HR instead of MNC but I can understand, as HR wouldn't give him that time of day because she could see pass the hurt little boy to the wicked man inside.

Exactly what I thought...err, except the OYK going gay part.

LJ himself thought OYK loved HR (which was a relief to my OYK/HR fanshippy heart). But then, OYK dreams of MNC and wants to run away with her. I convince myself she was the consolation prize .

One of the biggest issue I had with the previous version's was the fact HR in the novel's was a child at the start that grew into a young lady. Although she was smart and a bit mischievous, she had depth to her character, Like when she spoke or did something, you could always feel there was something more going on in her mind.

That's an interesting perspective. I always thought there was a consistency to her wit, intelligence, and rebelliousness, with once in awhile these lucid/clear moments of insights that made her seem very wise for one so young. Like a sage trapped in a child's body, and through her journey with GJ, she learnt how to balance these two parts of herself.

The arrival of the greats was...just that, they came, without a bang.

I thought Anthony Wong as HYS's appearance was kinda 'bangy'. Then again, I love him to bits, so I may be a little bias .

Which brings up an interesting scene that was not previously in the novels or other adaptions, this is the only time we see HR actually beating the crap out of YK because he beat up GJ. Same as when GJ's teachers threaten to hit him when HR argued with him. I thought it lovely how she would stop because she didn't want GJ to get hurt. Somehow it feels like she loves him more then he loved her.

These scenes were a physical way to express how much HR loved GJ. Honestly, I don't think it beat the examples from the novel e.g. HR playfully forcing QCJ to marry the fat lady to punish him for forcing GJ into a marriage with MNC, when she encourages GJ to honour his promises because she knows how much it means to him (giving her hairpin to the child scene). It's good to improve or give another novel perspective based on the source material, but when ideas/scenes go underpar than the source, it's kinda sad.

Due to this film, I have become an Ariel Lin fan and have also picked up her In Time With You drama currently airing on TV in Taiwan weekly. I will also go through my stash of Ariel Lin films that I never watched. I bought them because she looked cute. I've already admitted I'm superficial. If I was a guy I think I'll be dirt poor since I'm so easily taken in by a cute face. Damn all those babies on the street just begging for me to pinch their cheeks.

I had such a good laugh reading your review Linda. You must be an innate comedian. I don't think you're superficial - not clearly from your insightful comments - probably have a different aesthetic view of the show perhaps.

I recommend ISWAK. It's quite pretty on the outside but has a lot of depth IMO. ISWAK2 has some truly superb moments (there is one crying scene which I think is one of the MOST HEARTWRENCHING you'll ever see, she also won Golden Bell best actress for this), but as a whole, cannot compare with ISWAK. Ariel is superb in it...especially considering the fact she is actually so different in person from the role. Also see Love Contract...very indie, edgy, almost noir in some respects (one of my favourites). I went through a whole Ariel phase...she is quite the writer, I loved translating her literary material at the time.

[cherieluv]

And did Hu Ge’s GJ win you over, cherieluv? hehehe

Well, he left an impression, a good one. I must admit I didn't finish the drama until very recently. I think I gave up when the short YK/MNC toilet breaks became longer ones when they focused on YK trying to befriend OYF. I never forgot the GJ and HR moments though. So many heart-warming scenes. I loved how she was so protective of him, how she saw through that simple mind into the heart of gold. Btw, I loved OYK and HYS too.

I only came back to LOCH08 after I saw Hu Ge in Shangri La and wanted to watch every drama he made. I haven't achieved that yet but whew, it has been a whirlwind of dramas after dramas recently.

I've also never finished LOCH03. Loved MNC there but hated GJ and not excited by HR. I also felt that Zhou Xun didn't put in enough effort into the role - she was surprisingly a rather flat HR. I found it hard to associate her with the effervescent HR in the novel. Still, I would like to finish this drama one day as it's so close to the novel. It fills in the gaps that I missed out in the Eng translated version.

[laisee]

Oh wow, it's been 3 years since I saw LOCH08 and people are still discussing it? What I can remember now is very vague, but excuse me if I offend any rabid Hu Ge-Ariel fans...I know their story was good, nice and touching, but I still cannot remember any of their scenes. Yet 3 years on, I can still clearly remember HR's first meeting with OYK, HR & OYK's betting game in Wanyan Honglie's palace, OYK's marriage proposal to HR inside the little inn where the Yang family was staying, OYK sighting HR's flower-smelling signal when he was on the tree during the competition for her hand in marriage, OYK being cruelly rejected by HR in that little island when he was trying to reach out to her, OYK's legs being crushed by HR and HR having to help OYF construct a pulley system with a tree to get the boulder off OYK. For the very hated YK-MNC, I can remember the joust for a spouse, the weird feet-washing and hot kisses (I thought I had very base taste in remembering scenes of such a hateful couple, but ah hah! I saw Hunan TV's top honcho William Peng posting those guilty pics on his weibo! So he also shares my v.base taste). But for the life of me, I can't remember a single GJ-HR scene.

Oh dear, I guess I was guiltily shipping OYK & HR all along rather than her canon pairing with GJ *hiding from spear attacks from Hu Ge-Ariel shippers*. But can't help it that OYK & HR were so delicious together oh my, I can just replay a lot of OYK-HR scenes in my head.

Anyway, don't mind me. I have very base & cheesy taste as I come from a v.illogical profession (I'm a lawyer - guilty!). Most of you are much smarter than me.

[fuyuko]

I saw this either beginning of this year or last year but I don't remember much beside my three favorite characters: OYK, Yang Kang (more at the beginning and less towards the end), and Wanyan Hong Lie. This is the series that started my liking of YH. His emoting was great. I wasn't impressed with Ariel being HR, but I guess that was because I love Barbara's HR too much. I've never like MNC so I didn't really care about her. GJ was so-so, just like how I think of Hu Ge's acting, so-so. I've never read the novel so the changes didn't bother me. Actually I love the changes they've made for OYK. While watching it, I wished OYK and Wanyan Hong Lie could become father and son instead. One yearned for a fatherly-love and the other for a son-love.

[cherieluv]

And so I re-watched bits of LOCH03 last nite after making my post. Looking at it critically, I think the reason why Zhou Xun did not live up to my expectation was because she had to act and react opposite a GJ with a lobotomy. GJ may be slow but LYP made him retarded.

I also remember vividly the betting game btw OYK and HR. One of the best scene in the whole drama.

[Dragon Heiress]

Oh wow, it's been 3 years since I saw LOCH08 and people are still discussing it? What I can remember now is very vague, but excuse me if I offend any rabid Hu Ge-Ariel fans...I know their story was good, nice and touching, but I still cannot remember any of their scenes. Yet 3 years on, I can still clearly remember HR's first meeting with OYK, HR & OYK's betting game in Wanyan Honglie's palace, OYK's marriage proposal to HR inside the little inn where the Yang family was staying, OYK sighting HR's flower-smelling signal when he was on the tree during the competition for her hand in marriage, OYK being cruelly rejected by HR in that little island when he was trying to reach out to her, OYK's legs being crushed by HR and HR having to help OYF construct a pulley system with a tree to get the boulder off OYK. For the very hated YK-MNC, I can remember the joust for a spouse, the weird feet-washing and hot kisses (I thought I had very base taste in remembering scenes of such a hateful couple, but ah hah! I saw Hunan TV's top honcho William Peng posting those guilty pics on his weibo! So he also shares my v.base taste). But for the life of me, I can't remember a single GJ-HR scene.

Oh dear, I guess I was guiltily shipping OYK & HR all along rather than her canon pairing with GJ *hiding from spear attacks from Hu Ge-Ariel shippers*. But can't help it that OYK & HR were so delicious together oh my, I can just replay a lot of OYK-HR scenes in my head.

Anyway, don't mind me. I have very base & cheesy taste as I come from a v.illogical profession (I'm a lawyer - guilty!). Most of you are much smarter than me.

LOL, well I'm much worse than you.
I watched LOCH08 very recently and the only scenes I can remember very clearly are a few YK-MNC scenes, plus a few scenes with OYK. A lot of my memories of this series are eclipsed/blurred by the extraordinarily memorable (for me) 2003 version so I keep thinking of details from LOCH03 when I think about certain LOCH08 scenes. Oh, and I also distinctly remember GJ and YK's superb bromance, the scene when GJ makes everyone eat noodles, and that's pretty much it. I can't even remember the HR-OYK scenes because the details of those scenes from the LOCH03 version keep cutting in.

[laisee]

But yeah, my top fav couple in this version was OYK/HR.

Oh man, I just saw your comment. And I thought I was the only one here. Yes, LOCH08 greatest impression on me was the awesome OYK/HR couple! Man, they gave me sweeter memories than XLN/YG in any adaptation!!!

For GJ-HR, OK...I do remember them being good and everyone keeps saying they are fantastic, fabulous etc etc, but how come they aren't memorable?

[autuymnrain]

For GJ-HR, OK...I do remember them being good and everyone keeps saying they are fantastic, fabulous etc etc, but how come they aren't memorable?

I think that would be subjective, since I found them memorable.

cherieluv, you went back to watch LOCH 2003? HAHAHA I must do the same! :]

[Linda]

Hmm...why didn't you like LOCH?

Aww...the 80's version had some mighty charismatic greats.

I can't say for sure why I didn't like LOCH, I guess for one I never felt the emotional connection to HR, I generally get more attached to female characters. I liked ROCH because I liked XLN mainly due to her being the 1st wuxia female character I was truely introduce too. Having started from ROCH first, my impression of HR was not that great, so with this prejudice I read LOCH.

I watched the 80's version in the late 90's or early 00's so for me at that time, the dubbing was horrid, the makeup was horrid and the general make up of the show was horrid.

The acting I agree was great, regardless of time, great acting is still great. However as LOCH I read the book just before I watched the series. I had decided to start from the 80's and work my way up.

In my mind at the time, HR was from the book, a child of 16, she was sweet to GJ, devilish to everyone else. Babara's HR was fun to watch, but there was so many diversions from the storyline I hated it. Babara did not fit my image of HR, she was so punk and less of the teenager she was suppose to be.

That such a common opinion...that Athena was pretty. I didn't find her really attractive at all. I like her acting (sometimes), but I've never found her visually appealing.

I found Athena pretty because I saw her and liked her in Tear From Heaven with Shui Ling. She had nice clothes and hair, her acting is still bad but I was ok with it.

In what way did you find LOCH03 muted? I'd concur that Zhou Xun's voice sounded pretty muted, but quite a few have felt (including myself) that Zhou Xun didn't seem to have put in her greatest efforts to play HR. I consider her an actress with skill of the highest calibre, but I gotta admit, her HR disappointed more times than I could stand.

I would say the general ambiance of the who series was muted. There were cleaver use of colour and backdrop but somehow I still felt that way. Maybe it's due to the monotone's of voices. Zhou Xun was one of them.

Zhou Xun is one of the actress I whole heartily believed in, she had great acting caliber and screen presence, I still remember her guest role in Emperor and Assassin, but here, I've lost all respect for her. For an actor/actress to not give a script they were intrusted with the respect and the effort it required, truly unprofessional.

I would say it was Zhou Xun who ruined LOCH 2003 for me.

That's an interesting perspective. I always thought there was a consistency to her wit, intelligence, and rebelliousness, with once in awhile these lucid/clear moments of insights that made her seem very wise for one so young. Like a sage trapped in a child's body, and through her journey with GJ, she learnt how to balance these two parts of herself.

Please excuse me but I read this as a teen, about the same age HR was when the story started, so my perspective of her was she was like any other teen, some of us are mature, some of us a childish, but regardless of how mature we are, we are still a child.

Hence I have never bought into the whole sage thing. It's one of the most hated storyline for me.

I could also never understood the whole concept of her wit and cleverness, she inherit this from her parents? read lots of books? Spent time on the street?

I don't believe wit can be inherited, scientifically, do smart parent's means smart kids? Our kids are more likely to achieve because we simply provide them with the nourishment they require and we as the 'smart' parent learn to nurture.

There is only so much one can learn from a book, but knowledgeable and being witty are two separate issue. I don't doubt HR's little grey cells but I find one of the downfall's of JY is the fact that perfectly sane and smart people who would not have fallen for the trick would just because it was HR.

I thought Anthony Wong as HYS's appearance was kinda 'bangy'. Then again, I love him to bits, so I may be a little bias .

He was most definitely 'bangy'. He made me laugh so much when he looked that the 7 Freaks and told them he doesn't fight with ugly people.

These scenes were a physical way to express how much HR loved GJ. Honestly, I don't think it beat the examples from the novel e.g. HR playfully forcing QCJ to marry the fat lady to punish him for forcing GJ into a marriage with MNC, when she encourages GJ to honour his promises because she knows how much it means to him (giving her hairpin to the child scene). It's good to improve or give another novel perspective based on the source material, but when ideas/scenes go underpar than the source, it's kinda sad.

I can't answer this, I've not seen the novel in so long and last time I watched LOCH before this was back in 2004. I think what I most liked about Ariel's HR was she transported me back to the feeling I had at 16 and reading it for the first time, a young HR, a girl who loved and wanted to be loved.

I recommend ISWAK. It's quite pretty on the outside but has a lot of depth IMO. ISWAK2 has some truly superb moments (there is one crying scene which I think is one of the MOST HEARTWRENCHING you'll ever see, she also won Golden Bell best actress for this), but as a whole, cannot compare with ISWAK. Ariel is superb in it...especially considering the fact she is actually so different in person from the role. Also see Love Contract...very indie, edgy, almost noir in some respects (one of my favourites). I went through a whole Ariel phase...she is quite the writer, I loved translating her literary material at the time.

I'm dead tired from doing an ISWAK marathon and I have to go to work early everyday. THANK SO MUCH!!!

In all seriousness, thank you for the recommendation, I was always two minds about watching the show. I love the direction of the show, I going to follow the director around now. Oh and Ariel Lin was so cute and I felt so bad for her i wanted to smack Joe.

For all OYK and HR lovers and GJ and HR lovers. I loved them two and wanted to split HR in two...or just be naughty and have her marry both. Bigamy FTW.

Has anyone seen this. It was hilarious.

The song is called I'm Not Huang Rong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZGEstrkAE

[Dragon Heiress]

Okay, I definitely wouldn't say that Zhou Xun didn't put respect and effort into HR.

[xiaolong]

Zhou Xun is one of the actress I whole heartily believed in, she had great acting caliber and screen presence, I still remember her guest role in Emperor and Assassin, but here, I've lost all respect for her. For an actor/actress to not give a script they were intrusted with the respect and the effort it required, truly unprofessional.

I would say it was Zhou Xun who ruined LOCH 2003 for me.

I'd say the views here are very subjective. I personally loved Zhou Xun's portrayal and felt she breathed an elegant wisdom and brought out the intelligence of the character, which was an essential attribute of Huang Rong in the book. In fact, Zhou Xun was praised by Jin Yong himself as being the best ever Huang Rong. LOCH2003 was a much bigger budget and highly acclaimed production of the "shi li pai"/serious drama league, whereas LOCH2008 was a pure idol drama. Plus LOCH2003, which was shown on the nation-wide powerful CCTV channel, had far far wider viewership than LOCH2008 which was only shown on a start-up provincial channel, Kunming TV.

LOCH2003 was actually the series which propelled Zhou Xun into the big league and had her moving on to star in international movies with big-time actors like Chow Yun Fatt and Michelle Yeoh. Hu Ge and Ariel Lin are no where near Zhou Xun's star power league.

BTW, the film set for Peach Blossom Island in LOCH2003 is also a big tourist attraction in China.

[NuDaFu]

I can't say for sure why I didn't like LOCH, I guess for one I never felt the emotional connection to HR, I generally get more attached to female characters. I liked ROCH because I liked XLN mainly due to her being the 1st wuxia female character I was truely introduce too.

I was introduced to ROCH first before LOCH. I'm intrigued by XLN, but found HR more earthy and relatable (for me anyhow).

In my mind at the time, HR was from the book, a child of 16, she was sweet to GJ, devilish to everyone else. Babara's HR was fun to watch, but there was so many diversions from the storyline I hated it. Babara did not fit my image of HR, she was so punk and less of the teenager she was suppose to be.

Yes, I agree. LOCH82 not only diverged, but like to get into a bit of a drama fest for HR-GJ-HJ triangle. Although, seen on its own, it is rather fun.

I found Athena pretty because I saw her and liked her in Tear From Heaven with Shui Ling. She had nice clothes and hair, her acting is still bad but I was ok with it.

I saw Athena in Tears of Heaven too, though Shui Ling stole the show in that! From coincidence, I've seen quite a few of her films. She was quite good in Treasure Venture (with Nicky Wu) and Rulai Palm (with Julian Cheng). As HR...well, she's the only HR I can't recall.

Please excuse me but I read this as a teen, about the same age HR was when the story started, so my perspective of her was she was like any other teen, some of us are mature, some of us a childish, but regardless of how mature we are, we are still a child.

I don't believe wit can be inherited, scientifically, do smart parent's means smart kids? Our kids are more likely to achieve because we simply provide them with the nourishment they require and we as the 'smart' parent learn to nurture.

Don't need to be excused. We just have different perspectives (understandably, as I didn't read - well I couldn't - the novel until early 20s) .

Ah...that's the 'nature or nurture' you're talking about. It's a difficult one to define and as far as I'm aware, has had no satisfying answer yet. But yes, there actually is science to support discrete forms of intelligence as inheritable (ergo studies of gifted children). The thing is, inheritance is but one of many factors.

I don't doubt HR's little grey cells but I find one of the downfall's of JY is the fact that perfectly sane and smart people who would not have fallen for the trick would just because it was HR

Perfectly sane and smart people are in fact not immune to deception (I generally thought otherwise, until I read some research into deception early this year).

I think with HR, her daring and rebelliousness couple with her intelligence made a difference. Even intelligent adults are more often than not constrained by social etiquette - if not by pride, then by innate tendencies towards social conformity). HR's daring and rebelliousness - plus being brought up by HSY who was a social recluse - allowed her to execute her intelligence in ways that could blindside people. Then again, she wasn't infallible either i.e. tricked and hurt by CQR.

I'm dead tired from doing an ISWAK marathon and I have to go to work early everyday. THANK SO MUCH!!!

In all seriousness, thank you for the recommendation, I was always two minds about watching the show. I love the direction of the show, I going to follow the director around now. Oh and Ariel Lin was so cute and I felt so bad for her i wanted to smack Joe.

Has anyone seen this. It was hilarious.

The song is called I'm Not Huang Rong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ZGEstrkAE

Yes, the direction for ISWAK was quite unique, one of the reasons why I love it so much too .

"I'm Not Huang Rong" is hilarious. Lyrics has one rolling in stitches.

Okay, I definitely wouldn't say that Zhou Xun didn't put respect and effort into HR.

I was waiting for that comment .

I'd say the views here are very subjective. I personally loved Zhou Xun's portrayal and felt she breathed an elegant wisdom and brought out the intelligence of the character, which was an essential attribute of Huang Rong in the book. In fact, Zhou Xun was praised by Jin Yong himself as being the best ever Huang Rong. LOCH2003 was a much bigger budget and highly acclaimed production of the "shi li pai"/serious drama league, whereas LOCH2008 was a pure idol drama. Plus LOCH2003, which was shown on the nation-wide powerful CCTV channel, had far far wider viewership than LOCH2008 which was only shown on a start-up provincial channel, Kunming TV.

LOCH2003 was actually the series which propelled Zhou Xun into the big league and had her moving on to star in international movies with big-time actors like Chow Yun Fatt and Michelle Yeoh. Hu Ge and Ariel Lin are no where near Zhou Xun's star power league.

BTW, the film set for Peach Blossom Island in LOCH2003 is also a big tourist attraction in China.

When are views not subjective .

Despite my earlier comments, I also agree ZX "breathed an elegant wisdom and brought out the intelligence". In certain parts, I do really like ZX's portrayal, just not overall. There was a certain vitality/spark that I associate with HR (that makes her intelligence unique) that I failed to see in ZX's portrayal. I could see her trying for it (e.g. opening scene where HR is stealing GJ's food), but didn't feel it as tangible/believable as moments when she expresses her conflict/sadness/love for her relationship with GJ.

I know about JY's comment. Then again, I haven't always agreed with everthing he says or writes (especially the latest changes to his novels). I love his material, but because I do, I try and be honest with how I view/feel about what he writes.

Hmm...I always assumed ZX already had fame before LOCH.

[xiaolong]

Hmm...I always assumed ZX already had fame before LOCH.

Ariel also had fame before LOCH But LOCH08 definitely wasn't as pivotal to Ariel's career as LOCH03 was to ZX's career.

Although LSS' MNC character was seriously butchered by the scriptwriter (and definitely one of the worst roles in her career), the role did bring her out of obscurity and noticed by Zhang Ji Zhong to cast her as Yellow Dressed Maiden (MNC's descendant) in the big budget HSDS09.

[Dragon Heiress]

I know LOCH03 was definitely where I noticed ZX and became a fan. I'd say that Suzhou river was her breakthrough and LOCH03 defined her fame and made her really big.

[autuymnrain]

yea, i think Ariel's HR was really pivotal to her career too

and totally almost off topic, but NaDaFu, i think it was Vicki Zhao and not Athena in Treasure Venture with Nicky Wu :]

[NuDaFu]

Although LSS' MNC character was seriously butchered by the scriptwriter (and definitely one of the worst roles in her career), the role did bring her out of obscurity and noticed by Zhang Ji Zhong to cast her as Yellow Dressed Maiden (MNC's descendant) in the big budget HSDS09.

Good for popularity, but also not the best role. I couldn't stand the in-your-face XLN martial art repeats. Perhaps for someone who hadn't seen ZJZ's ROCH it might of been ok. Although, the saving point of more screen time for her (because Miss Yellow Robed Yang is so mysterious) and a display of 'true' 9 Yin Claw was unique among the adaptations.

I know LOCH03 was definitely where I noticed ZX and became a fan. I'd say that Suzhou river was her breakthrough and LOCH03 defined her fame and made her really big.

I happened to see Suzhou River after LOCH03. I loved SR to bits (one of my fav movies). I think I only like ZX in movies (even The Banquet...as kooky as that was).

Vicki Zhao and not Athena in Treasure Venture with Nicky Wu

Yes, wrong series. I meant Si Yi Liang.

[xiaolong]

yea, i think Ariel's HR was really pivotal to her career

Really? I would say ISWAK was pivotal to her career, not LOCH08, as she didn't film any more Mainland or period dramas after LOCH08 and went back to T-dramas where ISWAK on her CV matters more. But I guess that's also because she chose to continue developing her career in Taiwan, not in Mainland. I'm sure she could have done well in Mainland too

I remember LOCH08 for Hu Ge's near-tragic car accident. Tangren was in the red for some time due to Hu Ge's accident during LOCH filming and withdrawal by investors. They continued to bleed even after LOCH was aired on KMTV and Taiwan's CTV, and only went back into the black after the phenomenal success of CP3.

Good for popularity, but also not the best role. I couldn't stand the in-your-face XLN martial art repeats. Perhaps for someone who hadn't seen ZJZ's ROCH it might of been ok. Although, the saving point of more screen time for her (because Miss Yellow Robed Yang is so mysterious) and a display of 'true' 9 Yin Claw was unique among the adaptations.

I guess it was to place Yellow Robed Lady firmly as a descendent of XLN. I was quite taken in by her 9 Yin claw on ZZR's head though. Her hands look so soft, then suddenly they grow claws . I actually really liked that costume and overall lighting effect on LSS - she looked the most mysterious/unearthly amongst all the Yellow Robed Ladies in other adaptations.

Despite my earlier comments, I also agree ZX "breathed an elegant wisdom and brought out the intelligence". In certain parts, I do really like ZX's portrayal, just not overall. There was a certain vitality/spark that I associate with HR (that makes her intelligence unique) that I failed to see in ZX's portrayal. I could see her trying for it (e.g. opening scene where HR is stealing GJ's food), but didn't feel it as tangible/believable as moments when she expresses her conflict/sadness/love for her relationship with GJ.

Well, I'd say ZX emphasized HR's intelligence and elegance, but not so much her spunk and vitality, whereas Ariel emphasized the spunky part which is more alike to Barbara Yung's portrayal.

Just going off-topic - Jin Yong always described HR as having a goddess-like beauty which subdued OYK at first glance. I've seen discussions pointing out that directors tend to choose cutesy/pixie-like actresses rather than those known as beautiful to play the HR role, although HR is known to be this goddess-like beauty. But an actress with that kind of beauty (e.g. LYF, Liu Tao) would tend towards an elegant portrayal, and not a spunky portrayal.
Here's the English translation of how HR's beauty struck GJ at first sight.
"He saw, at the end of the boat, a woman holding the oars, with her long hair draping over her shoulders, wearing all white. Her hair was bound by a golden sash that, once the snow reflected it, brightly shone even more. Guo Jing saw that she was dressed as if she were a fairy* and was stunned by looking at her. As the boat slowly floats closer, he sees that the woman has just came of age, no more than fifteen or sixteen, with skin better than snow, and unbeatable beauty and cuteness. Her beauty could not be ignored, and she faced people with a smile..."

[autuymnrain]

hahaha, well, I do take back my word if it's comparing series...considering ISWAK did shoot her to fame. But I felt it was HR that challenged Ariel's acting abilities, so that's probably what made me feel it was so important. :] Oh, and thanks for the English translation of that part xiaolong. I don't think I ever really paid attention to it until now--where it's in a single paragraph on its own.

Totally not important anymore, but at first when they were casting for HR in this series, the actress that came to my mind was Yang Mi--she has that beauty and can also do the spunk. But she already played Guo Xiang in ROCH 06

[xiaolong]

Happy Birthday ARIEL LIN!!!

The main cast of LOCH08 send their weibo wishes to Ariel who turns 29 today.

[Linda]

Happy belated b'day to Ariel Lin, I saw that article on the LOCH 2008 family wishing her a happy b'day as well.

I've been a way for a few days since some of you said ZX was actually a good HR. Originally, I watched her right after I watched Emperor and Assassin and when I was quite literally still a teen I didn't like her portrayal very much. However I've gone back to watch it again, and I can still say, I don't hate her as much but I still don't like her HR, I think mainly for 'first impressions'. I didn't like her the first time round so the 2nd time round only dimed my dislike. I guess somethings can only be appreciated with older age. She felt very much like an adult though.

I guess a perfect HR will be hard to find and since this was only made in 2008, I hope they don't make another one for at least another 5 years.