Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2013 《天龙八部》 - Wallace Chung, Jia Qing

[Linda]

I just marathon this whole drama in the last 3 days. It's not as bad as I feared it too be, but then I don't think anything can outdo what was done with ROCH2016 and SOD2013.

I can't say it's my favorite, since I really did like the TVB 96 version, but there are some good.

I thought the choreography isn't bad, neither the cinematography, the acting wasn't that bad either.

Wallace Chung didn't annoy me as much as I thought he would, and I even got use to Kim Kibum.

The girls were hit and miss for me, why Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi needed to be done by the same actress is something I will never understand. The actress playing her was much better as the more gentle Ah Zhu then the mischievous Ah Zhi. Chen Hao was a fabulous Ah Zhi though so the bar was pretty high.

The actress playing Wang Yu Yen was a miscast, she was neither beautiful enough or innocent enough, a lot of times she came across as too worldly.

My biggest thumbs up would be with Madame Ma for the females, they choose the right actress for her, she almost surpass Christy Chung for me.

Males side, all three leads were a miscast but I eventually got used to them, outside of that, Murong Fong was another miscast, what happened to our white faced Pan An?

What I really enjoyed was the reunion of the three leads from HSDS2003. That was an unexpected gift.

[luna_lucid]

I just marathon this whole drama in the last 3 days. It's not as bad as I feared it too be, but then I don't think anything can outdo what was done with ROCH2016 and SOD2013.

Did you mean in term of butchering an adaptation? *lol*.

I enjoyed this version too. My favourite was the 2p03 version. Perhaps becoz it's my first dgsd adaptation, and I couldnt find the 96 version with subs.

[Linda]

I've seen 4 adaptions of DGSD, the 80's and 90's TVB one, the 90's Taiwanese one, the 00's China one and now this one. I even saw the random movie version they made with Gong Li.

Since I got burned with ROCH2016 and SOD2013 I was fearing the same thing for this version, also because Wallace Chung was our lead guy, I loved a lot of his earlier works but his later works have all been Romance and I'm not keen on story's that revolve around nothing but romance. But this was actually a decent version, bar some bad casting, bad acting, the rest was actually pretty good. Nothing spectacular but not a bad version as an intro.

[Don Yu]

Ummm, I think Murong Fu and Duan Yu was miscast, but I LOVED Wallace Chang? as Xiao Feng! My favorite actress is Jia Qing (A Zhu/Zhi)!

[luna_lucid]

I've seen 4 adaptions of DGSD, the 80's and 90's TVB one, the 90's Taiwanese one, the 00's China one and now this one. I even saw the random movie version they made with Gong Li.

Since I got burned with ROCH2016 and SOD2013 I was fearing the same thing for this version, also because Wallace Chung was our lead guy, I loved a lot of his earlier works but his later works have all been Romance and I'm not keen on story's that revolve around nothing but romance. But this was actually a decent version, bar some bad casting, bad acting, the rest was actually pretty good. Nothing spectacular but not a bad version as an intro.

I also saw that random movie with Gong Lie *lol*. But, I havent watched the full DGSF at that time, so I didnt quite understand. I think my family watched the 80 version when I was a kid..didnt remember much about it. But, I read the summary somewhere and ..like other 80 adaptation, there's a lot of addition. I only remember Idh Chan was pretty and Mu Rong Fu was quite handsome as well.

Is there a taiwanese version of DGSD?? I just knew this.

I also think that the 2013 was decent. It has memorable parts, although I was quite disappointed since the supposed to be cool fights in the Shaolin was too short. One of the things that made the 2003's version as my favourite was because it portrayed that part really well. XF was really cool and patriotic. He had a memorable charismatic entrance to the scene that really made him looked like a hero. And you can rely on ZJZ for a good fighting scenes.

Anyway, I still like the 2013 version. Watching it was quite enjoyable, despite the flaws.

[luna_lucid]

Ummm, I think Murong Fu and Duan Yu was miscast, but I LOVED Wallace Chang? as Xiao Feng! My favorite actress is Jia Qing (A Zhu/Zhi)!

I can accept Duan Yu..although he looked off in several scenes. I thought that he was totally not okay when watching his pics, but I didnt think that he was that bad while watching the series. Well..his acting was not as good as others, though. I heard that the 80's version also showed him fighting more, but it's hard to find it online.

And, perhaps I like him here because the series showed him fighting more using that Finger Skill in the end, unlike other versions who only saw him fighting once after his skill was good (while we've been watching him practising along the show).

Regarding Murong Fu..hmm..yeah, compared to the previous versions, I wish that he was played by a better actor. But the acting was good, though.

[wkeej]

Overall, I quite like this series in terms of storyline. At least DY marry MWQ and ZL as in the latest novel.
(a) WYY: should exchange with her mum. :-) though I admire her for staying with her cousin
(b) Xixia Princess: could have been prettier. The current one is fine, though a prettier one will be better for afterall she is a princess.
(c) Should cover the part whereby DY marry Xixia Princess's "maid" too
(d) Should have an aftermath about their later lives, e.g. DY as the king and XZ as the "king"?

[Don Yu]

I don't know why China wouldn't make more original shows JUST LIKE THIS. Why China's fighting choreography is now mostly Air-Fu (Magic) that's been complained in other thread (http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthre...Wuxia-TV-shows)

Sad really, Jin Yong is getting very old but there doesn't seem to be any followers or apprentices of him that writes great plot and great action just as well.

[Mido-Ban]

I still think 1997 version is best in terms of everything. Felix, terry, and benny played their roles well.. the ost that comes out every time qiao feng appears is awesome...muroung fu technique was Pretry cool looking...Duan yu 6 meridian swordskill and running skill was nicely done.

Graphics weren't over done, all cast fitted their roles besides madam ma, could've used more attractive actress.

If u guys haven't watched it I recommend dmei god 1997 and state of divinity 96, heaven sword dragon sabre 2000 is good too compared to recent remakes...I still don't get why people complained especially now when all jin yong novels are being completely butchered.

[luna_lucid]

I still think 1997 version is best in terms of everything. Felix, terry, and benny played their roles well.. the ost that comes out every time qiao feng appears is awesome...muroung fu technique was Pretry cool looking...Duan yu 6 meridian swordskill and running skill was nicely done.

Graphics weren't over done, all cast fitted their roles besides madam ma, could've used more attractive actress.

If u guys haven't watched it I recommend dmei god 1997 and state of divinity 96, heaven sword dragon sabre 2000 is good too compared to recent remakes...I still don't get why people complained especially now when all jin yong novels are being completely butchered.

I'm interested to watch the 1997 version, but I couldn't find one with sub. I skimmed it once (but couldn't find it again), but I don't really like the duan yu. Dunno, perhaps that I'll like it better if I watch them seriously? And yeah, the Madam Ma of 2003 and 2013 versions are really attractive and suitable for the part.

Regarding the 2013, I found the scene when the monk taught the meridian sword skill to be quite interesting. Although the special effect made the scroll flying here and there, I just thought that the scene was nicely done, with the right music and artistic poses of the different style of that skill.

[Verdiani]

OMG I WOULD SCREAM if somebody would please sub the 1997 version. It was the best version ever. I understand some parts but not everything though. I just love the soundtracks sooo much!!!
I do not like Benny Chan at all, except for this drama and him in Dragon Love. Benny match the role here as a young man that is very nice and gentle to ladies, he is still better than Jimmy and all the later Duan Yu (to me). I still cannot get over Felix, the old attractive man harhar, he is old looking here...but so attractive, still won over me although I like Wallace Chung by face more, the one that paired up with Liu Tao was too skinny. I like Liu Tao so much but I still like the 1996 Ah Zhu more, I wonder if I'm just bias since I saw the 1996 girl first. Their acting were a quite different, Liu Tao was so much more smiley but lacks a bit of the classical softness of ancient women. Same with Carman Lee who was good at showing gentleness. Each year of these remakes, things turned more and more modernized.
I would say DGSD 2003 totally got all the A list actors and most beautiful people to play, even lady Kang Min was played by the beautiful Christy Chung! I think the director was super careful and surely knows how to compete with 1996. 2013 was not too good with the castings.

[wuxiarocks]

I still think 1997 version is best in terms of everything. Felix, terry, and benny played their roles well.. the ost that comes out every time qiao feng appears is awesome...muroung fu technique was Pretry cool looking...Duan yu 6 meridian swordskill and running skill was nicely done.

Graphics weren't over done, all cast fitted their roles besides madam ma, could've used more attractive actress.

If u guys haven't watched it I recommend dmei god 1997 and state of divinity 96, heaven sword dragon sabre 2000 is good too compared to recent remakes...I still don't get why people complained especially now when all jin yong novels are being completely butchered.

I'm pretty sure 90 percent of Wuxia/Jin Yong fans would agree with you, (myself included) DGSD 97 and SOD 96 is among the best of adaptations. Even if it wasn't an adaptation, the two would still be great example of a Wuxia series. From storytelling, characterization, acting, costumes, music, etc. They're known classics for good reasons.

I'm interested to watch the 1997 version,

I'm sorry you missed out luna. DGSD 97 is quite legendary. It ranks alongside SOD 96.

I'm not sure if you would enjoy it now since it's dated. It might have worked better if you had seen it when it first came out, the experience would probably be less hindered.

I noticed this with SOD 96, while still an awesome series/adaptations, it is dated. I've seen it many times, but when I watched it again recently, it didn't hold up as much. Still a great series though.

[yanfeng]

Seconded on SOD 96- so much works about it, one of the gems of the wuxia genre! (On HSDS I'm most fervent about the 86 version, but agree that 2000 and 2003 were pretty good.)

If you're looking for true classics Luna, another one to try, and short because it's a movie rather than TV series, is Tsui Hark's 1992 "New Dragon Gate Inn"- whether the tight funny/touching/suspenseful script, the incredibly memorable characters, the fine acting, the show-stopping ending, or the direction/action- all pretty flawless!

I still consider it Tsui Hark's best work today, and one of the gems not just of wuxia but HK movie-making overall. Seriously until Wong Ka-wai, and the Infernal Affairs trilogy, it was the one movie I recommended all my non-Chinese-speaking friends that they had to see to get a sense of how good HK movies could be.

[luna_lucid]

Wow..so many ppl recommend DOSD 1997, so it should be THAT good? And to consider it on the same level as SOD 1996..I'm impressed. I actually found those 2 series without subs, but at that time, I've known XAJH's story while I didnt really know DOSD. So I watched SOD without subs and stil understand everything, while only skimming DOSD 1997. It was DOSD 2003 that introduced me to the whole story, with cool fighting choreography and pretty casts. I just got hooked instantly.

And, I love the 2003 XF. He was not as handsome as Wallace Chung, but he really got the vibe of a hero and he acted as one. I noticed Felix's XF from pics and clips on youtube, and I think he also got the charisma. I believe that he should be a cool XF too .

@wuxiarocks, I havent tried watching old wuxia dramas again, but you have a point there. I do still enjoy the 80's condor trilogy, but dunno about other dramas. Perhaps I'll still enjoy SOD 96? Coz XAJH is one of my fave novel and that version is the only one that shows the correct carefree LHC.

@yanfeng, thx for the recommendation! I think I've heard about the Dragon Inn somewhere. Was that the one with Maggie Cheung as the inn's owner? There should be a Taiwanese series adapted from that movie (but the pace was really slow and draggy). I think I've watched both a long time ago, but already forgot most of them. Yeah, I've also watched several movies of Tsui Hark. But, again, that was a long time ago and couldnt remember much (wasnt the green snake one of his productions too?).

[Don Yu]

The actresses in 2013 are mostly also pretty, I think.

[luna_lucid]

The actresses in 2013 are mostly also pretty, I think.

Yeah..they are also very pretty. I think people complained about 2013 is mainly because of Duan Yu. I heard some complaints about Wallace wasnt suitable as XF(I found him quite decent, though), some others because of the colorful wardrobes *lol*.

[wkeej]

The actresses in 2013 are mostly also pretty, I think.

For WYY too?

I wonder anyone here similar to me, like this series the most?

[Don Yu]

Happy birthday Jia Qing!!!

[Linda]

Seconded on SOD 96- so much works about it, one of the gems of the wuxia genre! (On HSDS I'm most fervent about the 86 version, but agree that 2000 and 2003 were pretty good.)

If you're looking for true classics Luna, another one to try, and short because it's a movie rather than TV series, is Tsui Hark's 1992 "New Dragon Gate Inn"- whether the tight funny/touching/suspenseful script, the incredibly memorable characters, the fine acting, the show-stopping ending, or the direction/action- all pretty flawless!

I still consider it Tsui Hark's best work today, and one of the gems not just of wuxia but HK movie-making overall. Seriously until Wong Ka-wai, and the Infernal Affairs trilogy, it was the one movie I recommended all my non-Chinese-speaking friends that they had to see to get a sense of how good HK movies could be.

New Dragon Inn was one of my favorite movie's of the 90, the plot was tight, the acting was superb and omg...the ending...I sobbed so much. I was a bit hesitant at the start with Jacky Cheung being our lead guy, since I just saw as the silly Big Daggar and Rose Rose I Love You, his comic timing is spot on. But in New Dragon Inn he carried himself so well I was blown away and could understand why both women fell in love with him.

The new Dragon Inn movie with Zhou Xun wasn't that bad either, it was nicely made and I really liked Zhou Xun and the underlining lesbian relationship but outside of that I remember nothing of that adaption.

The drama Dragon Inn Gate they made a couple of years back had the same underlining lesbian theme, I liked. But again the main guy was forgetful. It was the women that carried that drama.

Back to DGSD...my favorite would still be the 1997 version, it was done extremely well, as oppose to the main cast, it was the support cast that I really liked, I loved the Four Evils especially, Terry and Benny were right for the role but Felix was a miscast, he lacked the carefree attitude that the character had, though he was very good as the commanding sect leader, and his emotional scenes are spot on. I wished they could have cast someone more age appropriate for Ah Zhu but then it was the same in the novel so no complaint.

I actually so a English subbed version of the 97 version online years ago. I'll try to find it again.

[Don Yu]

Legend Of Condor Heroes 2017 will get popular one day and will have people making all kinds of MVs for it.


Found this 李秋水 MV.