Legend of the condor heros

[strawberry]

Can someone tell me more about LOCH starring Zhou Xun and Li Ya Peng?
also, I am curious if you feel this is a better version or the one starring Julian Cheung and Zhu Yin?

[strawberry]

have started watching the zhou xun version...story's still a little slow..kind of boring ...li ya peng fitted guo jing's role....zhou xun is lively but I have yet to see scenes where I felt she was really intelligent.

[steffy]

I have watched 3 version (1982, 1993, 2003) and think that the 2003 version is the one which matched the novel the most and it is also the one I loved most amongst all 3.

A lot of people do not really like the 2003 version staring Zhao Xun and Li Ya Peng because they kept comparing it to Felix Wong / Barbara Yung's version. However, coming from someone who had read the book, believe me, Zhao Xun / Li Ya Peng's version is the best and gave you the same feeling as when you are reading the book and made you understand what Jin Yong was trying to say about the feeling GJ and HR had for each other.

1993's version (Julian / Athena) also followed the book well but I did not like it as much, perhaps because the chemistry between the two characters wasn't as great as 1982 nor 2003. In addition, Julian's GJ was a bit too smart / handsome looking for my liking. GJ was supposed to be rugged and strong but plain looking. Julian's GJ was handsome, lean and looked too worldly. But that just me....

2003 LOCH portray the best devotion / love which GJ had for HR and vise versa. 1982's version HR came across as a bit more cunning and uncaring for anyone but herself.

However, 2003 LOCH's really showed the emotions between the character. You can see in the little, little gestures of how much the characters loved each other (the director is really good in this...) For example, there is one scene which HR was hurt and GJ took her to Ying Ku's house. When QQR's people came and their voices was heard, you can see how GJ reflectively, protectively gather her even more tightly in his arms. In another, Ying Ku and GJ were getting ready to fight and Ying Ku moved towards GJ menacingly. GJ had HR behind him and suddenly HR fainted, GJ immediately shielded her with his body and forgot about Ying Ku who striked him with her palm...


The stars' chemistry with each other is awesome but that might be because Li Ya Peng and Zhao Xun were in love in real life at that time as well.

[strawberry]

Thanks!

I think the theme song is great...very appropriate and has a 'sa tuo' feel to it..like the novel should be. I do feel that zhou jie is miscast. My impression of Yang Kang is a very good-looking man which disguises an evil heart. I feel that if they had cast a handsome actor who can act decently for the role, it would be more convincing. I think Huang Xiao Ming would have been a good choice...of course Yang Kang is not a crowd-pleaser.

I felt the chemisty was lacking bet zhu yin and Julian Cheung too. Zhang Zhilin had an honest look though Li Ya Peng fitted the wholesome and plaing looking description better. Was Guo Jing supposed to be innocent like Zhang Wu ji? Li Ya Peng does not have that innocent look.

I heard so much about the chemistry bet zhou xun and Li Ya Peng....but I have not seen or felt it for myself yet....when does it get noticeable? i am now at episode 13. I hope I do not get disappointed.

some scenery i seen so far looks quite good.

but I also wish to know what is so awesome about this story? I genuinely do not sense its magic.

[strawberry]

oh yes..I think it takes some getting used to watching china serials in general because they are filmed differently from Hong Kong, Taiwan and singapore serials.
but I really felt this serial was kind of boring and slow-moving. In comparison, Da Han tian zi (another china serial) which I finished a mth back was much more interesting, had a more engaging story/plot and pace/development of the story was much faster. I still think that there must be something magic/appealing about Legend of the condor heros..I would like to be enlightened on why so many of you enjoyed the serial mayebe for eg, the zhou xun version in particular since many of you, feedback under the review that its the best among the 3 versions. thanks!

[Lady Zhuge]

I've watched two complete versions of LOCH: the 1994 one with Julian Cheung and Athena Chu and the 2003 version with Li Ya Peng and Zhou Xun. Despite popular opinion, the 1983 one never struck me as that great, but to be fair, I've only seen the first 5-6 episodes of it. It was just starting to get better when I had to return it, but I've never felt inclined to finish watching it.

Although I like both versions, overall, I enjoyed the 1994 version slightly more, mainly because of the three leads and the fact that the story didn't seem to drag at all. I love Julian and thought he did a great job as Guo Jing. A lot of people say he looks "too smart" for the role, but I don't think that worked against him at all. As for the lack of chemistry between him and Athena...I disagree with that too. I felt that they had good chemistry together. I really like the Hong Qi Gong in this version (same one as the one in the 1983 version as well as in ROCH 1984). He's played by one of TVB's best veteran actors, Lau Dan. The H7G in 2003 doesn't even come close IMO. LYP and ZX had good chemistry together as well (especially since they actually dated in real life), but I still prefer the Julian-Athena combo. I didn't like how LYP was cast as Linghu Chong AND as GJ; I liked him a lot as LHC, but not so much as GJ.

Although Gallen did a decent job as Yang Kang, he looked to be about 10 years older than the character was supposed to be and I didn't think he and Emily Kwan had good chemistry together. She looked completely washed out whereas Shui Ling in the 2003 version looked absolutely gorgeous. Zhou Jie was okay as Yang Kang; he is just not good-looking like the character is supposed to be. I've often heard that the actor who played Yang Kang in the 1983 version (Miu Kiu Wai) is the best. I've seen pics of him and he is pretty handsome.

One of the major pluses for the 2003 version is obviously the cinematography. TVB just can't afford such a grand production and doesn't have the available scenery/resources. LOCH 2003 also had much better songs and music.

The Zhou Bo Tong in the 2003 version was funnier and cuter compared to the one in the 1994 version where he came off as more annoying. The Qiu Chu Ji in the 2003 version rocks!!! It's great that the same actor will be playing this role in this upcoming new ROCH. Last thing. LOCH 1994 had a better Wangyan Honglie. Even though the character did some despicable things, the actor managed to convince me to feel sorry for him at some points. The 2003 one was just too much of a jerk.

[Sugar]

I thougt LOCH 2003 was decent. Scenery and casting wasn't bad. THo i liked 82's Hong 7..


anyways, I didn't laugh as much when i watched this one.
I thought 1982 was funnier even if it wasn't close to the novel *Dodges form jin yon's fan*

[strawberry]

thanks.

I might try watching the Julian Cheng version again....still I don't get zhou xun and Li Yan Peng's chemistry and Huang Rong's intelligence..as in no particular scences stood out to exhibit this trait for me. and yes...its draggy....slow-moving really. Failed to see what its a great story too...but really love the theme song for 2003 version..its so nice!

[flyingfox2002]

I feel that ZX underplayed HR. I think she was alright, but she didn't "steal the show."

The GJ/HR and YK/MNC interaction was interestingly a contrast of each other. GJ and HR hardly showed enough emotion while YK and MNC were always wet eyed LOL.

I liked H7G. At first he was too over the top when he showed up, but as he settled down he was pretty close to the novel version. Although he lacks the craving for food look.

I watched LOCH83 as a kid, but I wouldn't be able to rewatch it now. I would laugh nonstop at the cheesy props and funny costumes.

I think LOCH had a more "realistic" feel to it while TVB stuff tends to be overacted sometimes. IMO TVB actors do a lot of "acting" with facial expressions while mainland actors actually act. You can see that they feel the character, although at times they can underact.

[Sugar]

costumes? LOCH 2003, had HR in a houswife dress and GJ in a leather jacket

and i didn't like ZY as much as barbara. She didn't bring life to HR

[girly]

anyone has a pic of these serie??

[junny]

I watched all three versions. Agree with Fox that Zhou Xun underplayed Huang Rong. There was nothing spectacular about her portrayal, nothing to make Huang Rong stand out. Barbara brought Huang Rong to life, imbued the character with a style of her own and made her personable and likeable. Athena too, far as I could recall, also had a decent portrayal. Considering she was being compared to Barbara, I thought Athena did a good job.

Guo Jing: Tie between Felix and Julian. Li Yapeng looked about to blend into the background.

Yang Kang: Lady Zhuge, you really should watch LOCH82. Miu Kiu Wai was the best Yang Kang of the three adaptations. Gallen looked too old for his role, and Zhou Jie was . I was actually sorry for Miu's Yang Kang, that's how good he was for me

Four Greats: The 4 in LOCH82 win hands down.

Zhou Botong: Definitely Chun Wong of the 82 version. You really have to watch him in there. Wayne Lai in 94 was a bit of a joke, and I was like ??? for the 2003 guy.

Mu Nianci: Looks-wise, Shui Ling would probably come out tops. But I really like Yang Panpan's portrayal. I could empathise with her Nianci a lot. Emily Kwan was all right, but nothing fantastic.

Chemistry between the leads: The chemistry between Barbara, Felix, Miu Kiu Wai and Yang Panpan was very obvious in the way they acted their roles. Julian and Athena had chemistry too, though not by the truckloads. Gallen and Emily were a mismatch. Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun were all right too.

[wandering]

the sina.com site with pix can be found here

http://ent.sina.com.cn/sdyxz/index.html

[Trinie]

Well I thought that LOCH 03 was ok, but wasn't the best version to me. The plot line was good since it followed the novel the most, but the acting wasn't the best. I still think the acting in the 83 version was the best, but it wasn't the best adaption since it didn't followed the novel as closely as the 03 version did. I like it the most out of the all the Mainland China JY productions though. I only read some of the novel though. I must say that not everyone likes the 03 version even if they did read the novel. For example, my mom who has read the novel did not like the 03 version very much at all. So just because someone has read the novel does not mean they will like the 03 version and vice versa. Although I didn't read the whole novel. The 83 version was pretty accurate to the novel overall. But it is true that it isn't as close as the 03 version.

But overall, I like the plot in the 03 version the most and the cast and acting in the 83 version the most. So both versions had their strong and weak points. I only saw some of the 94 version and thought it was ok, but nothing special from what I saw.

I also agree that Miu Kiu wai was the best YK and Chun Wong was the best CBT. They make the characters really memorable. WHo can ever forget Barbara as Wong Yung and Felix as Guo Jing??

[NextNoName]

The chemistry between ZX and LYP will come through later as the series progress.

One thing I notice of mainland series is that their pace is a little slow, so you have to see each series in its entirety instead of one episode at a time. This admittedly is a weak point. However mainland series make up for the slower pace with their meticulous and deliberate shots. You have to strain a little to see the emotion on each actors. They may appear as underacting but I prefer this than sappiness. I find all the actors here, including H7G and WYHL, very good in their roles in LOCH2003. You can say that the mainland actors do their roles in a collective instead of individualistic manner. If ZX stole the show how was that a good point? At best its a neutral point. Other pluses are already mentioned: great cinematography, scenery, songs, casting and others.

[XiaoYu]

I've seen the old 1982? HK version of Condor Heroes and the latest, I guess that's 2003 (with Shui Ling.)

Haven't read the actual novel, so I can't offer anything about how well they cater to the original plot. But overall, comparing series with series, the 1982 was much, much better. Though props/special effects weren't as real looking as they would be nowadays, I think the acting made a big difference in making me like the old HK version over the Mainland one, which is opposite of what I usually have to say. (An example would be Journey to the West; some people may scoff at the old Mainland's "CG" but the spirit and acting are unsurpassable; I think the same goes here.)

I'd point out that Rong Er's much more youthful, playful and alive in the HK version; both her and Guo Jing in the 2003 version seemed much stiffer somehow. But the clincher for me is definitely Yang Kang's portrayl; the Hong Kong actor absolutely blew me away. What a jerk...yet understandably so. The actor for the HK version is very handsome, but I don't think Zhou Jie is particularly bad looking. In a way, he's actually too gallant. In the HK version I hated Yang Kang, but also felt very much for him. I do say that Shui Ling is much more worth any man's time than almost any of the actresses in the HK version , but half the time I was watching the 2003 version, I thought her and Zhou Jie would make a great couple, so it kinda makes it hard to hate Yang Kang then...

Besides Rong Er and some of the Daoists, the antagonist Yang Kang was my favorite character from the '82 version. Now that's some brilliant acting...

[ashmm]

anyone got the song from the series?? the ending one...

[Li Nhi]

I've watched all three adaptations of LOCH and I loved this one the most. Maybe that's because I watched it first before buying the TVB 83 version. What is there to say? Scenery? Beautiful. Songs? Beautiful. Storyline? Straightforward and the most faithful to the real book. Choreography/figting scenes? Not bad at all.

The only bad thing I'd have to say is the actors & actresses. Li Ya Peng really looked stupid. And I still love Felix. I thought Zhou Xun succeeded in portraying a Huang Rong different from previous actresses. Barbara was awesome, but she was too kiddyish at times even when she tried being serious. Shui Ling was great! I actually cried in some of her screentime. Her acting truly improved from her first series called "Heaven Also Cries," one of Qiong Yao's stories.

But then there's Zhou Jie's Yang Kang. OMG, I'm sorry! I tolerated him with Ruby in HZGG, but seriously, his acting skills (and looks) cannot be compared to Miu Kiu Wai's. I thought Gallen was also much better than him. I think the director should have had another actor give it a try. Maybe that would've helped made this series more popular. Yang Kang's was desribed as a really handsome prince or whatever. Zhou Jie should've tried for another role.


Below is the sub theme song sung by Sun Nan and Valen Hsu. Enjoy, and get it while it last. (Only 7 days!!!)

http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2...E2I9U8O0RMMICB

[sunnysnow]

can someone post up the opening and ending themesongs as well as the other tunes in the series if possible? thanks!

[Li Nhi]

can someone post up the opening and ending themesongs as well as the other tunes in the series if possible? thanks!

Yes. I really love the opening theme b/c it sounds really heroic and such. But I only have the ending (which is as good). If anybody has the opening, that'd be great.