Random Thoughts of Wuxia

[devilz91]

I have never read any GL novels and have limited knowledge of it. Which novel or adaptation should I watch first?

[tape]

Are you a fan of the 80's, 90's, or 00's series? Each decade has their own distinct feel and it'd probably impact your enjoyability a great deal.

[devilz91]

I think the 90's are the best but I watch series from any time period.

[Ren Ying Ying]

the 90's have two predominant styles: TVB vs. Taiwan...and they are completely different

[devilz91]

I like TVB stuff more.

[tape]

You should definitely watch one where you are unfamiliar with the story. When I first watched Legend of Dagger Li (I think Taiwain 1999 with Vincent Jiao) the first part was pretty awesome and I loved it. After I knew the story though, watching it was somewhat of a drag. GL relies a lot on mystery and "coolness", so it's definitely important to not really know the story.

Not familiar with a lot of 90's GL stuff actually, except Against the Blade of Honour which I thought was pretty bad.

[devilz91]

It doesn't look like TVB has a lot of GL adaptations in the 90's. I will check out the 1995 ver. of Dagger Li first.

[Ken Cheng]

It doesn't look like TVB has a lot of GL adaptations in the 90's. I will check out the 1995 ver. of Dagger Li first.

It's not good. If you want to do an adaptation of SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, RUTHLESS SWORD, try 1978's THE ROMANTIC SWORDSMAN instead. Yes, it's old as dirt, but has a more genuine Gu Long feel to it.

[Ian Liew]

It's not good. If you want to do an adaptation of SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, RUTHLESS SWORD, try 1978's THE ROMANTIC SWORDSMAN instead. Yes, it's old as dirt, but has a more genuine Gu Long feel to it.

It's aged pretty well, really - the only weak point being the complete change in support cast (and themesong) between the Plum Bandit and Golden Currency Union arcs, for reasons I never understood. The 95 version had a nice themesong too, but that's about all it has in its favour. Eddie Kwan, Emily Kwan and Chin Kar Lok were all horribly horribly miscast.

[Ken Cheng]

It's aged pretty well, really - the only weak point being the complete change in support cast (and themesong) between the Plum Bandit and Golden Currency Union arcs, for reasons I never understood. The 95 version had a nice themesong too, but that's about all it has in its favour. Eddie Kwan, Emily Kwan and Chin Kar Lok were all horribly horribly miscast.

The change in supporting cast was odd (I think some actors had left TVB or had become busy with other assignments in the months between production of the two arcs), but I'm sure glad that Kwan Chung got cast as Ging Mo Meng in the second arc over the guy who briefly played the character in the first arc.

[Ian Liew]

The change in supporting cast was odd (I think some actors had left TVB or had become busy with other assignments in the months between production of the two arcs), but I'm sure glad that Kwan Chung got cast as Ging Mo Meng in the second arc over the guy who briefly played the character in the first arc.

Definitely. Kwan Chung was wasted as You Longsheng in the first arc, and Chan Lingwai just didn't have the needed charisma. I didn't like how the same actor played two roles, though - it made things very very confusing.. and although I do like Auyeung Puisan, I did feel very sorry we didn't get to see Koo Miew Tse play Sun Xiaohong for the lady lead part. I really liked that lady, and it's sad she never got any really good roles (the largest role I've seen her in was as the blind older sister of Lui Fong in Chek Keok San See, and she did a wonderful job).

I don't understand why change the song too.. while "Mor Kim Hup Ching" is a great song, after a while I really wanted to hear the original theme just once... for variety.

[Ken Cheng]

Definitely. Kwan Chung was wasted as You Longsheng in the first arc, and Chan Lingwai just didn't have the needed charisma.

Chan didn't have the charisma, and TVB's wardrobe department didn't dress him right either. When you see Ging Mo Meng, he's supposed to evoke an impression of strong similarity to Ah Fei (the same way that seeing Yip Goo Sing evokes an impression of similarity to Sai Mun Chui Sheut), but Chan's version of Ging was dressed like a nooB.

Lau Dan's version of Seung Gwoon Gum Hung offered some intriguing possibilities, but in the end, I'm also glad TVB went with Cheung Chung.

[PJ]

Somehow, I keep thinking Huang Yaoshi whenever "cat" is mentioned...

This cat was dark, beardy, and evil-looking. It was Ouyang Feng's twin-in-cat.

[devilz91]

For some reason, everyone in the Chinese forums ranks Zhang Sanfeng up there with Sweeper Monk.

[Ren Ying Ying]

This cat was dark, beardy, and evil-looking. It was Ouyang Feng's twin-in-cat.

That sounds more like RWX. I always imagined OYF to look more "white"...since he's more "persian".

[Ken Cheng]

For some reason, everyone in the Chinese forums ranks Zhang Sanfeng up there with Sweeper Monk.

Jin Yong himself once said that Cheung 3 Fung was the best martial artist among all the characters who appeared in his novels. Of course, that doesn't quite match what Jin Yong actually depicts in the novels, but some take it as gospel.

[PJ]

For some reason, everyone in the Chinese forums ranks Zhang Sanfeng up there with Sweeper Monk.

They're crazy.

[Ian Liew]

Lau Dan's version of Seung Gwoon Gum Hung offered some intriguing possibilities, but in the end, I'm also glad TVB went with Cheung Chung.

Yeah, Lau Dan was arguably too expressive, while Cheung Chong's SGJH was cold, cool, and totally unemotional - probably the only time he showed any emotion on his face was when Li Xunhuan threw his dagger at the end. Lau Dan is an amazing actor, but I can't imagine him doing the "don't give a rat's posterior" expression as well as Cheung Chong did. He'll probably end up looking annoyed, sleepy or just generally stoned.

[PJ]

if you want a laugh, refresh your mind with the last 2 posts of this thread:

http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthre...l=1#post902909

[tape]

I'd like to write THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID to part of your post there.