Handsome Twins (1992) starring Andy Lau

[flyingfox2002]

This is a really old movie (very loosely) based on Gu Long's Jue Dai Shuang Jiao. I just saw it on DVD yesterday.

Interestingly, Wong Jing wasn't involved in this movie... but the changes are just as drastic. In fact the "twins" aren't even related at all, and one "twin" is a woman, and the "twins" fall in love. Therefore the title of the movie doesn't even make any sense other than retaining the novel's name. That said, I still liked it more than the Swordsman II with Jet Li. (It could be because I saw HT in the original Cantonese dialogue while I saw the English dubbed version of SMII which was a ridiculous movie seen in English.)

There is no kung fu in this HT movie, just lots of wire use and "remotely controlled" swords that go everywhere depending on where one's fingers point.

I am not sure if this movie was trying to take itself seriously or not. There were lots of sex jokes, beastiality jokes, double entendre jokes, some of which were really funny, but then there were some out of place serious scenes too.

The one thing that bothered me about the movie was Brigitte Lin. It could be because the only other work I remember her in is SWII when she played DFBB. Here she plays another sexually ambiguous character. What's the deal? Is she supposed to be a "handsome" woman? I think she's supposed to be very attractive, but I don't see it. She seemed to old to play an 18 year old in the movie, and actually so was Andy.

[Radken]

Seemed like Brigitte Lin was typecasted into playing androgynous roles that year. And Hong Kong stars playing characters much younger than they look is acceptable according to Hong Kong audience. Especially when they let something go as ridiculous as Andy Lau and Louis Koo pretending to be nine year olds in the ROCH adaptions.

[pandamao]

saw the movie. thought it was only funny. i didn't even know it was the rendition of jue dai shuang qiao until when i got older ...

bridgette lin, she's just a box office figure with andy lau, so pretty much explains why they were in so many movies during that time frame ... this probably all started with white maiden (leslie cheung) ...

she's at least a decent actress with a good look

[PJ]

The one thing that bothered me about the movie was Brigitte Lin. It could be because the only other work I remember her in is SWII when she played DFBB. Here she plays another sexually ambiguous character. What's the deal? Is she supposed to be a "handsome" woman? I think she's supposed to be very attractive, but I don't see it. She seemed to old to play an 18 year old in the movie, and actually so was Andy.

Seemed like Brigitte Lin was typecasted into playing androgynous roles that year.

Not just for that year, but it impacted the rest of her film career (which consisted only 2 more years).

Here are her wuxia films since 1992, and ** denotes a cross-dressing role (or some element of gender-bending).

**Dragon Inn (1992) ... Yau Mok Sau
**Handsome Siblings (1992) ... More
**Royal Tramp II (1992) ... Divine Lady of Dragon Sect
**Swordsman 2 (1992) ... Dong Fang Bu Bai
**The East Is Red (1993) ... Invincible Asia
The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993) ... Third Princess
The Bride with White Hair (1993) ... Lien Ni Chang
The Bride with White Hair 2 (1993) ... Lien Ni Chang
**Ashes of Time (1994) ... Murong Yang / Murong Yin
Fire Dragon (1994) ... Ha / Fire Dragon[title char]
Deadful Melody (1994) ... Adult Snow
**The Three Swordsmen (1994) ... Ming Kim
The Maidens of Heavenly Mountains (1994)

[expression]

Brigitte is one of my all-time favorite actresses. Loved her mesmerizing look. Her Xiu Mo Yan in Dragon Inn was my favorite (my avatar! ).

It's true that she's ~40 at the time of handsome siblings and she DOESN'T look 18. She's not the fresh bubbly beauty at that time anymore (she used to be), but she gained mature charisma. At that age a death-glare role like DFBB compliments her best, not a cutesy soft love-bird role.

Handsome siblings was just one of the many pathetic spin-offs from the success of Swordsman II. And yes, that movie couldn't decide whether to go cheap-funny or cool-serious. Good list from PJ, they did type-cast Brigitte to a ridiculous degree. The HK movie industry was like that, squeezing out every ounce until it becomes stale.

Swordsman II was a classic, but the cut and dubbed English version was horrible.

[PJ]

Hey expression. Do you remember to what extent, if any, was Brigitte's gender bent in Dragon Inn? I think she looked like a guy at various points with her outfit and hat.

[bellamia]

I have always been curious to why BL portrayed so many male roles? Growing up watching her movies, I just didn't get it. Was it common back then to cast female in male roles or was it just a Brigitte Lin thing?

[expression]

Hey expression. Do you remember to what extent, if any, was Brigitte's gender bent in Dragon Inn? I think she looked like a guy at various points with her outfit and hat.

Her character is a girl through and through. Mo Yan was Zhou Hui An's (Tony KF Leung) girlfriend.

She dressed up as a guy because it's more convenient on the road (on the run to be exact), especially since she's travelling with rough guys. Much less gossip and attention that way. That's common practice in the world of Jiang Hu. And of course, Brigitte at that stage actually looked more charismatic in men's clothes. Although as bellamia pointed out, the young Brigitte has always been the wide-eyed love-sick beauty in Auntie Qiong Yao's love stories.

[expression]

While we are at it, let's do a little show and tell of Ms. Brigitte's versatility.

The fresh young Brigitte:
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/BrigitteLin2.jpg') $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/BrigitteLin1.jpg')

Playing the pretty innocent girl (Poor chasers):
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Playing the patriotic tomboy (Peking opera blues):
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/BrigitteLin4peking.jpg')

The mature feminine lady:
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Playing the undercover agent (All the wrong spies):
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Playing the naive nun who knows kung-fu (30 Million Dollar Rush):
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Playing the androgynous Dong Feng Bu Bai (Swordsman II):
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Playing the drug dealer in a wig (Chung King Express):
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~~Legendary actress~~

[remember_Cedric]

Brigitte is indeed Dongfang Bubai! She is absolutely brilliant and talented!

[expression]

Her face is indeed quite neutral: feminine with her big eyes, delicate lips and fair skin (add to that a great figure), and masculine with her thick brows, straight nose and square chin. Very unique and striking combination, which is what an actress needs.

[shellie]

I have always been curious to why BL portrayed so many male roles? Growing up watching her movies, I just didn't get it. Was it common back then to cast female in male roles or was it just a Brigitte Lin thing?

i love brigitte lin too!! one of my all time favorite actresses.

i have always assume that she did an awesome job in playing dfbb in swordsman II that made directors want to cast her again in that type of roles, whether it was cross-gender or dressing like a guy. it became somewhat like her signature role.

i also love her in the early taiwanese weepies. she's absolutely gorgeous!

as for this particular movie, i still can't decide whether i like it or hate it. wait, i would probably hate it without the presence of brigitte and andy.

[expression]

Yay!! Fellow Brigitte fan.

[flyingfox2002]

Unfortunately it weirds me out. I would rather watch two gay guys in a love movie. I had no problem with Brokeback Mountain. And even Will and Grace I can watch even though it's not a show that I usually watch. Something about the sexually ambiguous thang turns me off.

[expression]

yeah, I wasn't easy with the DFBB-androgynous concept either. Still, she looks really cool in disguise.

[PJ]

Part of the reason that I returned to wuxia, was being exposed to Brigitte Lin's Dongfang Bubai. There was something spellbinding about this character - No, I would say there was something enigmatic about Brigitte Lin. It was not the character but the actress that did me in. She was the character, but she was more than the character. Always more...

[expression]

Yes, I departed from wuxia but Brigitte's roles still did me in.

I think the only real androgynous roles she played were DFBB and to a certain extent the split personality Murong in Ashes of time. She played an actual male character in Three Swordsmen.

Most of the time her characters were just females dressing up as guys (usually at the beginning) for convenience or simply to look cool. Eg. Dragon Inn, Royal Tramp II, Handsome Siblings, Dreadful Melody, Boys are Easy...

My favorite character Xiu Mo Yan (Dragon Inn):
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$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/new_dragon_gate_inn3.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/dragon_inn_b-1.jpg')

[PJ]

Ah, it's been a while since I indulged in a session of worship for my favorite performing artist of all time. I love her facial expressions - the most famous of all being the Icy Stern of Death, which was achieved to perfection in the Bride With White Hair, and can be traced in many of her wuxia films. But there have been other unforgettable soul-penetrating expressions throughout her filmography: for example, the enigmatic-turned-helpless Dugu Qiubai in Ashes of Time. The way of her face is delicious, soul-stirring, and priceless.

[expression]

Stills of Bride with White Hair:

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$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/Bride%20with%20white%20hair/Bride4.jpg')
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$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/Bride%20with%20white%20hair/Bride2.jpg')
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn61/expressionexp/Brigitte%20Lin/Bride%20with%20white%20hair/bride1.jpg')

Thanks to the thread owner Fox for the indulgence.

[bellamia]

Yeah, Brigitte was GREAT in the "Bride with White Hair." Though, I was shock at the passionate (and explicit) love scene between her and Leslie. Whoa, I thought HK society was quite conservative at the time.