Top 5 Wuxia Series of All Time (TVB)

[Ghaleon]

Hi Ken, I know, I'm a bit of a minority here (perhaps massively so!) but I do think the script tries to give some context to the characters-

Who cares about being in the minority As long as you stick up for your tastes, that's a good thing! I enjoyed Against the Blade of Honor even though it's not a popular series.

Hi Ghaleon, you think I qualify as a HSDS fan? What are your favorite wuxia movies of all time?

Like you mentioned, I loved Swordsman II and Bride with White Hair. I thought the fight scenes in Swordsman II were absolutely amazing, particularly Jet Li's Dugu 9 Swordplay. I liked how they rotated the sword and the made the sword circle around Jet Li's body. That looked really amazing at the time. I also liked how they introduced the ninja character as DFBB's sidekick. So we get to see some Japanese swordsmanship. The romance between Jet Li's LHC and DFBB also made the series stand-out. The theme of falling in love with a "man-women" was pretty deep and heavy stuff

I enjoyed Bride with White Hair because it was so exotic and dark. I never seen a wuxia movie portray the Evil Sect as demonic as this series (with the Siamese Twins and the Gender-Changing Tribal Dancer). I also liked the "laid-back" and "give-no-shit-about-wuxia-politics" main character played by the late Leslie Cheung.

PS I do really like Tian Xia Di Yi (actually rewatched it a few times), and SOD 2001, though the former had a little too weak acting from the younger leads (as much as love as I do the characters of Hai Tang and Yi Dao) plus a bit oddly paced storyline. SOD 2001, was amazingly grand, had superb action- great wire work with none of the gimmicky CGI's so popular today, solid storyline and of course Zhou Xun was in this... but I couldn't get over the lackluster LHC from Li Ya Peng and somehow grand and well-scripted as it was, the story never engaged me. It's a bit of a mystery to me still why not but I absolutely see where people who put it as their top 5 of all time are coming from.

I enjoyed TXDY because of the grand storyline and cast. I liked how they developed each of the 4 heroes showing their past histories and fleshing out their characters. All the mini-stories and side-adventures really added to the main plotline (like the Samurai side-story and the Evil Sabre side-story) making the series feel really "grand". In some ways the series reminded me of the Wind and Cloud Tinha comics because of all the side-stories, adventures and cast of colorful characters.

Yeah i would actually rank XAJH 2001 in my top 5. It's not TVB but i think its the best mainland wuxia series yet. Although LYP was no Jacky, the storyline and atmosphere was really mature. When LHC's sifu learns Pixie Swordplay, the series changes gear and became more dark and unsettling. I'm a fan of dark wuxia so i loved this aspect of XAJH. It's probably the most "realistic" wuxia series i've seen. I also thought the fight scenes were absolutely amazing especiallly the DFBB one.

[Ian Liew]

Took a lot of thinking and still no definitive list, but here's my try

1) New HSDS 86
Everything worked, script, acting, characterizations- as mentioned many times, this version really hit the "brotherhood" theme on the head as Jin yong mentioned is the focus of HSDS, and yet managed to pull away from the awkward romance that Jin yong envisioned and gave us a wonderful ZM ... plus it stars Dodo Cheng, Simon Yam, and actors I don't even recall the names for as 1st wudang disciple, Zhang San Feng, Golden haired lion (famed for his Hong Qi Gong role), 2nd, 4th, 6th disciples of Wudang, Wei yi xiao (bat king), etc... all very strong actors in their own right, and yet all gathered together to give us a short, sweet HSDS. Do I even need to mention the sublime Tony Leung and the four lead ladies- Kitty Lai, Sheren Tang, Maggie Siu, Idy Chan? The cast list is a name-dropping exercise!

HSDS 86 was really nice, and had a really strong cast. It kind of surpassed 79 in almost all respects bar soundtrack - Tony Leung wasn't that good a singer then, and while the song was decent it lacked the epic feel of some of the other 70s and 80s themesongs.

Song Yuanqiao was played by Wong Yanchoy, Zhang Sanfeng by the late Bao Fong, Golden Hair Lion by Kenneth Chun Kong (who played Huang Yaoshi, not Hong Qigong - which was Lau Dan, relegated to the minor role of Mr Iron Zither He Taichong). 2nd disciple was Long Tinsang (and I think you're the first person to ever single him out for praise, not because he was bad, but because he always has minor roles and was not particularly good looking), 4th disciple by Ai Wai (who was still in his kelefe days, although happily his best years with TVB were still to come), 6th disciple by Tai Chiwai (more famous for his creep and villain roles) while Wei Yixiao was played by Hui Siuhung (who, like Ai Wai, only really got appreciated once the great 80s support staff had retired or left TVB).

Idy Chan wasn't in HSDS 86 - she was Xiao Zhao in HSDS 79 (the role Maggie Siu took for 86). The fourth leading lady was Chan Onnying, in the role of Zhu Er.

2) HSDS 01
Fabulous script and insightful casting of Gigi Lai, Lawrence Ng, Charmaine Sheh... not to mention the dream team of Damian Lau and Michelle Yip. I've raved about this already in a long review here, so nothing more to add.

Like other people said, not many purists rate this serial. I personally loved it, though, even if I didn't like some of the fillers (Chen Youliang controlling the Wudang disciples in their drugged formation, the Holy Fire Tablets causing fire deviation etc..) but in general it was really well done. Gig Lai really carried Zhao Min well, and I always love Charmaine when she's playing a villain (and detest her when she's a heroine for some reason). I even loved the tango themesong.. I'm surprised that Jin Yong would react such to this when he tolerated Sunny Chan's Flying Fox and Gordon Lam's Crimson Sabre. I'd say this didn't help, but to single HSDS 01 out as being the cause of Jin Yong pulling out of TVB collaboration (and starting the drought of quality wuxa from TVB) is probably unfair to the serial. The problem lies with TVB themselves, I mean, they can do any Gu Long they want, and they haven't. Actors are just too lazy to do wuxia these days.

3) HSDS 03
The idol version of HSDS- what can I say, sorry HSDS is my favorite wuxia story bar none!

This is the Alec Su one? It's wonderful, it's not often I love both Zhao Min and Zhou Zhiruo, but this one really nailed it with Alyssa Chia's and Gao Yuanyuan's performances. It's not TVB, though.

7) Condor in September 86
Classic Gulong in my opinion- I was left guessing who the real villian was until the last moment and even after that, the resolution was a big surprise to me. Fabulous script and good, subtle execution led by Damian Lau and his lovely leading lady whose name I don't even know!

I must have completely missed this series.. Is it the one with Francis Ng?


Ian

[Trien Chieu]

4) LOCH 83
Fabulous cast, I loved ALL of them except Felix, which is why it's not my favorite TV series... all my favorite supporting actors are here- it's beyond classic!

I think you are the only one here dislike Felix's Gwok Jing. Gwok Jing is said to be his most famous role thoughout his career.

[Ian Liew]

SOD 2001, was amazingly grand, had superb action- great wire work with none of the gimmicky CGI's so popular today, solid storyline and of course Zhou Xun was in this... but I couldn't get over the lackluster LHC from Li Ya Peng and somehow grand and well-scripted as it was, the story never engaged me. It's a bit of a mystery to me still why not but I absolutely see where people who put it as their top 5 of all time are coming from.

Zhou Xun was not in XAJH 01. Li Yapeng was cast opposite Xu Qing, who was an amazing Ren Yingying. You're thinking of LOCH 2003, where Li Yapeng played Guo Jing and Zhou Xun played Huang Rong. I think most people agree that Li Yapeng's Linghu Chong was far superior to his Guo Jing.

[Ghaleon]

I think you are the only one here dislike Felix's Gwok Jing. Gwok Jing is said to be his most famous role thoughout his career.

One thing i like about yanfeng is that he/she gives her/his honest opinion regardless of what the popular opinion is. That's why i like reading his/her reviews. People have their own tastes so you're bound to have different opinions and viewpoints, that's what makes things interesting.

[yanfeng]

Like you mentioned, I loved Swordsman II and Bride with White Hair. I thought the fight scenes in Swordsman II were absolutely amazing, particularly Jet Li's Dugu 9 Swordplay. I liked how they rotated the sword and the made the sword circle around Jet Li's body. That looked really amazing at the time. I also liked how they introduced the ninja character as DFBB's sidekick. So we get to see some Japanese swordsmanship. The romance between Jet Li's LHC and DFBB also made the series stand-out. The theme of falling in love with a "man-women" was pretty deep and heavy stuff

I enjoyed Bride with White Hair because it was so exotic and dark. I never seen a wuxia movie portray the Evil Sect as demonic as this series (with the Siamese Twins and the Gender-Changing Tribal Dancer). I also liked the "laid-back" and "give-no-shit-about-wuxia-politics" main character played by the late Leslie Cheung.



I enjoyed TXDY because of the grand storyline and cast. I liked how they developed each of the 4 heroes showing their past histories and fleshing out their characters. All the mini-stories and side-adventures really added to the main plotline (like the Samurai side-story and the Evil Sabre side-story) making the series feel really "grand". In some ways the series reminded me of the Wind and Cloud Tinha comics because of all the side-stories, adventures and cast of colorful characters.

Yeah i would actually rank XAJH 2001 in my top 5. It's not TVB but i think its the best mainland wuxia series yet. Although LYP was no Jacky, the storyline and atmosphere was really mature. When LHC's sifu learns Pixie Swordplay, the series changes gear and became more dark and unsettling. I'm a fan of dark wuxia so i loved this aspect of XAJH. It's probably the most "realistic" wuxia series i've seen. I also thought the fight scenes were absolutely amazing especiallly the DFBB one.

Meanwhile, if you like dark even creepy I thought Green snake with Maggie Cheung and Joey Wong was pretty dark too- but yeah, I think it's hard to beat those cult scenes from Bride with White Hair for erotic/dark/creepy!

Thanks for all the name corrections guys- bah, must be age, I'm starting to mix old serials up!

Also thanks loads Ian for the names of my fav actors from HSDS 86- I'm going to save those up somewhere for future reference- one thing about TVB's long history of serial making, they've trained up some really awesome "bit actors" who appear in everything and anything and who I've come to know and love over the years!

For some odd reason I've never liked Felix in anything I've seen him in... except perhaps "The Foundation", where he was a bit more of a foil character for Michael's prince. He doesn't give me as much of a "dai hap" feel in my personal view, compared to two of the other Tigers Michael Miu and Tony Leung, or earlier Adam Cheng or David Cheng (who BTW, I've left our in my top serials, but who I love a great deal!).

So I do think LOCH was Felix's most famous role, but still feel lukewarm at best about him in there... I confess I was so much more enamoured by the actor for Xi du's son, his protagonist in LOCH, who I now know is Wong Yan Choy, also playing 1st Wudang disciple in HSDS 86. I though Yan Choy had so much more charisma that I half wanted Huang Rong to pick him over Guo Jing! (I know, I know you can throw stones at me now! ) Of course, having said that the best/most charming male characters in there were still undoubtedly Hong Qi Gong and Huang Yao Shi!

Condors in September- I don't know if Francis was here... I only recall Damian in the lead role and the faces of the two lead actresses. Try the two reviews here on Spcnet for the story and some actor names.

[Trien Chieu]

One thing i like about yanfeng is that he/she gives her honest opinion regardless of what the popular opinion is. People have their own tastes so you're bound to have different opinions and viewpoints, that's what makes things interesting.

Agree, that is why I said she is the minority. I did not criticise her about anything. I was/am in the minority in many discussions as well.

[chickenfeet]

7) Condor in September 86
Classic Gulong in my opinion- I was left guessing who the real villian was until the last moment and even after that, the resolution was a big surprise to me. Fabulous script and good, subtle execution led by Damian Lau and his lovely leading lady whose name I don't even know!

This is ATV

[smurf120]

Only limited to 5! I can't bring myself to rank:

Jin Yong
Duke of Mount Deer (Tony Leung and Andy Lau)
HSDS 86
SOD 96
LOCH and ROCH (80's versions) tie
DGSD (with Felix as Kiu Fung)

Non Jin Yong
Legendary Siblings (80's)
Chor Lau Heung (with Michael Miu)
Grand Canal

A Step into the Past (Louis Koo) - no one mentioned this one!!! I basically thought this was only wuxia show able to fill the TVB wuxia void for that period of time! It had some problems but the story was interesting and new.


More like fantasy with wuxia elements
Legend of the Twin Swords
Zu Mountain Saga (part II)
Yang Family Saga

[dictionary]

For some odd reason I've never liked Felix in anything I've seen him in... except perhaps "The Foundation", where he was a bit more of a foil character for Michael's prince.

So I do think LOCH was Felix's most famous role, but still feel lukewarm at best about him in there... I confess I was so much more enamoured by the actor for Xi du's son, his protagonist in LOCH, who I now know is Wong Yan Choy, also playing 1st Wudang disciple in HSDS 86. I though Yan Choy had so much more charisma that I half wanted Huang Rong to pick him over Guo Jing! (I know, I know you can throw stones at me now! ) Of course, having said that the best/most charming male characters in there were still undoubtedly Hong Qi Gong and Huang Yao Shi!

Me too, I don't really care for Felix's Gou Jing. I never cared for the character Gou Jing until I watched Hu Ge's portrayal. In LOCH 82 I love the greats and the bad guys. They're more interesting and entertaining to watch. I love Felix Wong in The Young Wanderer though.

My list of favorite wuxia series, only three:
1. HSDS 86
2. DGSD 97
3. SOD 96

[BlueWhiteRed]

1) Return of Condor Heroes 1983
2) Legend of Condor Heroes 1982
3) Demi Gods and Semi Devils 1982
4) The Grand Canal 1986
5) Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 1986

Wuxia on the movie :
Duel To The Death 1983 (Damian Lau and Norman Chu)

[nicfanz]

Legend of the Condor Heroes 94
Return of the Condor Heroes 95
Twin of Brothers- someone said it was the best Wuxia series this decade and I agree or at least the last five/six years
The Holy Dragon Saga- not really that popular but I loved Frankie Lam in that series
Weapons of Power- I still watch it again and again. Leo Ku was hilarious.

[skygarden]

yeah, i really like HSDS 1986 version very much. Tony Leung really suits Zhang Wuji role. Among all the versions, I still prefer TVB 1986 version and I still feel that the best person to act Zhang Wuji still Tony Leung. I have watch this version for so many times until I can remember the story although I never read the novel before but in my heart this version is more close to the novel.

yeah, The Holy Dragon Saga is not really popular but I feel that this series is quite nice. Me too I like Frankie Lam in the series. I also like he pair up with Catherine Hung Yan. If not wrong this is the only series Jojo Cho is the female lead in a series and she pair up with Marco Ngai.

Legend of the Condor Heroes 94
Return of the Condor Heroes 95
Twin of Brothers- someone said it was the best Wuxia series this decade and I agree or at least the last five/six years
The Holy Dragon Saga- not really that popular but I loved Frankie Lam in that series
Weapons of Power- I still watch it again and again. Leo Ku was hilarious.

[Ian Liew]

yeah, The Holy Dragon Saga is not really popular but I feel that this series is quite nice. Me too I like Frankie Lam in the series. I also like he pair up with Catherine Hung Yan. If not wrong this is the only series Jojo Cho is the female lead in a series and she pair up with Marco Ngai.

Is Holy Dragon Saga the one with Frankie Lam playing the archer and Catherine Hung playing the tribe warrior girl?

[bonniec1]

In no particular order:

1- LOCH 82- Unbeatable cast -need we say more?
2- DGSD 82- Excellent cast, gorgeous classic costumes and I thought Leung Ka Yan's Qiao Feng was spot-on. The main female leads also looked classically beautiful, especially Cecilia Wong Hung Sau as Ah Chu.
3- ROCH 83-Classic and memorable
4- Luk Siu Fung original series part 2- Loved the cool Wong Yuen Sun and Adam Cheng- both the epitome of a wuxia swordsman.
5-State of Divinity 1996- I think this is the best adaption.

Honourable mentions (may not be exactly wuxia)
The Conquerer Story, The Gods and Demons of Zu Mountain I and II, Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 85, HSDS 86, The Return of Chor Lau Heung (Miu Kiu Wai), The Return of Luk Siu Fung (Alex Man)

[Ken Cheng]

yeah, i really like HSDS 1986 version very much. Tony Leung really suits Zhang Wuji role. Among all the versions, I still prefer TVB 1986 version and I still feel that the best person to act Zhang Wuji still Tony Leung.

The only problem I have with Tony Leung as Cheung Mo Gei is that Leung was a bit short for the character. I believe Jin Yong described Cheung Mo Gei as being exceptionally tall, so it was funny to watch Leung's Cheung Mo Gei giving orders to his Ming Cult subordinates when, to a man, the Ming Cult guys all towered over him when they stood near him.

[skygarden]

Yeah, that's the one.

Is Holy Dragon Saga the one with Frankie Lam playing the archer and Catherine Hung playing the tribe warrior girl?

Oh really? I'm not sure about it since I never read the novel before.

The only problem I have with Tony Leung as Cheung Mo Gei is that Leung was a bit short for the character. I believe Jin Yong described Cheung Mo Gei as being exceptionally tall, so it was funny to watch Leung's Cheung Mo Gei giving orders to his Ming Cult subordinates when, to a man, the Ming Cult guys all towered over him when they stood near him.

[yanfeng]

The only problem I have with Tony Leung as Cheung Mo Gei is that Leung was a bit short for the character. I believe Jin Yong described Cheung Mo Gei as being exceptionally tall, so it was funny to watch Leung's Cheung Mo Gei giving orders to his Ming Cult subordinates when, to a man, the Ming Cult guys all towered over him when they stood near him.

Interesting- I actually loved it that Tony Leung (and Alex Su) gave us a short ZWJ... makes him seem more vulnerable, and yet so cool when, surrounded by the top martial artists from the 6 sects who towered over him, he still ends up beating them! A slight David-Goliath feel.

Actually I feel the same, but stronger, for ZM... I liked the petite ZM's who command tall, impressive warriors. As the saying goes "Diamonds and dynamite come in small packages" and ZM I imagine to be both diamond and dynamite!

[VeganInvestor]

The Return of the Condor Heroes (83, 95, 98tw, 06)
The Romance of White Hair Maiden (95)
The Legend of the Condor Heroes (83, 94)
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (86)
Two Most Honorable Knights (88)

[charbydis]

Top 5 Wuxia Novel Adaptions:
(1) The Legend Of the Condor Heroes 82 - perfect casting coupled with great acting and chemistry between the cast, beautifully choreographed fights, great costumes, good expansion on the themes (altered storyline but without losing the essence of the novel), good pacing, great songs

(2) Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils 96 - near perfect casting, good chemistry, good choices of leads (I though Felix was better as KF than GJ, it gave him more space to show his acting chops, and good casting of a newbie, Benny Chan), good dialogue, good expansion on the themes (had some minor changes to the storyline but like LOCH 82, keep the essence of the novel), good juggling between the comical and dramatic moments

(3) The Return of the Condor Heroes - good casting and chemistry, good choreographed fights, beautiful costumes, great songs, bad disco fight though and I don't actually like ROCH as a novel but fun series

(4) Luk Siu Fung 76 - Love the chemistry between the male leads, but can't say the same for the female leads (other than Mary Hon and Cecelia Wong, everyone else was horribly stiff), good accuracy to the novel (though I was devastated that they killed off Suen Sau Ching, it made the love between her and her husband even more romantic), great fights (love that slow-mo fight between Yip Goo Sing and Sai Moon Chui Shuet), Damian was nimble, (plus I'd always thought Alex Man was too big to be Luk Siu Fung), great themesongs

(5) State of Divinity 96 - good English title, great male lead, good supporting cast (like Wong Wai, Henry Lo Chun Shun (best DFBB ever!!!), Timmy Ho, Cherie Chan) though think Fiona was miscasted as Yam Ying Ying, good fights, good accuracy to the novel, not so keen on the themesong but the instrumental inserts were nice, Ruco was in it

- I actually disliked HSDS 01 as I though the story was dragged out too long at the end, and the dialogue was too modern, the fights were bad and Lawrence looked bored and unattractive, bad chemistry between non-main casts (e.g. 7 Wudang brothers), generally bad hairstyles
- I enjoyed "The Two Most Honorable Knights 88" a lot and it had a near perfect cast (best Princess Yee Far ever!!), but too much deviation from the novel, the sets very nice but it did not rank in the top 5

Best "Original" Wuxia Series by TVB
(1) The Final Combat - it combined a lot of common wuxia storylines into one hilarious plot, but it still explored a lot of the wuxia themes (like good vs evil, human nature, love vs be loved, family vs ambition), had perfect casting and good character development (even for the villians, Ng Man Tat did great as 2 different twins), good choreographed fights, good pacing, ending was weird but it was all in good fun

Honourable Mentions (political rivalry series bordering on wuxia category):
- Battle In the Royal Court - it was not a great series and Gallen was not a great lead, but Eddie Cheung stole the show as the good guy turned bad, had good fights as well
- The Sword of Conquest - great fights and scenery good storyline (though morally challenging), TVB's 1991 Anniversary Project, great casting and had good chemistry