Which era of wuxia production do you prefer?

[shangster]

I was born in the mid 80's so I never got to watch any of the 70's production. Even though I grew up in the 90's and love its culture, I really love and appreciate the 80's wuxia adaptations. So which one is your favorite era of wuxia series?

Here are my list:

1. 80's a.k.a TVB's Golden era -- I just love it. Definitely my favorite era. The music, supporting casts, main casts, atmosphere, acting, and scripts were so memorable, romantic and authentic. Even though the customs,props and studio setting were dated, they actually played to the strength of a "period" setting and atmosphere because the audience wouldn't expect an ancient setting to be beautiful and majestic. Most would say we love it because they are nostalgic. In my opinion, 80's wuxia series are nostalgic because they were done the right way.

2. 90's wired-fu or modernized wuxia (TVB, ATV, Singapore and Taiwanese series) -- To me, they are a mix of good and bad. In some series, the background music were good and fitting, but they were not unique to any particular series as TVB recycled them for other series. Some ATV's series were good as well. Singapore and Taiwanese series were decent, but I prefer their Hong Kong counterparts. Of course, there were some really awful series made in the 90's.

3. '00 Zhang Jizhong remakes -- I really can't decide on this one. One the one hand, the big budget series open the viewers' eyes to the beautiful scenery in various places of China and left little to the imagination. The quality of the fighting choreography was definitely better -- probably the best of any era -- the customs were elegant, but the music were disappointing at best. The music did not fit the ancient China atmosphere at all; it was more like a Hollywood movie. Another negative was the over the top, melodramatic, over acting scenes that was just weird....If you watch HSDS '09 and RoCH '06, then you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

4. Late 2000's - present "idolized" wuxia -- Ugh...I'm just going to leave it at that.


What are yours?

[krabs]

I missed the era 10yr ago when Dicky Cheung starred in many of these wuxia drama.

[shangster]

Meh..the only series that I remember Dicky Cheung involved in was Journey To The West 1996. Maybe I should check out more series of his back in his TVB days? I just can't stomach to watch any of his wuxia series post 2000's. He's way too old to be playing as a young, mischievous hero, and I honestly can't find his acting funny at all.

[wuxiarocks]

The 80s and 90s for me.

I prefer the 90s a bit more, as I find them to be slightly better in term of character/story execution.

I am not very fond of the 2000s, even more so the "idolized" era of today...

[shangster]

Mainland produced some really good ones during the '00 era. Smiling, Proud, Wanderer '01, LoCH '03, and DGSD '03 were really good. (However, I do not like his adaptations of RoCH '06, HSDS '09, or Paladin in Troubled Times). Legend of The Big Flag Hero and Secret of A Linked City were really well done as well. That's all I can remember from the '00 era. If anyone else has a recommendation, let me know.

[Ken Cheng]

Let me say this about 1970s wuxia productions: BECAUSE resources and technology were limited, the production companies placed much greater emphasis on martial arts choreography, script, and acting. If you look at 1970s productions such as TVB's LUK SIU FUNG and THE ROMANTIC SWORDSMAN (aka SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, RUTHLESS SWORD) series, you'll see that for all their primitive production, something very authentic and organic that is largely missing today shines through.

[LuNaR]

Let me say this about 1970s wuxia productions: BECAUSE resources and technology were limited, the production companies placed much greater emphasis on martial arts choreography, script, and acting. If you look at 1970s productions such as TVB's LUK SIU FUNG and THE ROMANTIC SWORDSMAN (aka SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN, RUTHLESS SWORD) series, you'll see that for all their primitive production, something very authentic and organic that is largely missing today shines through.

lol the 1970s are unwatchable to me, the stuff are so fake that its hilarious and the acting all seems overacted... 80s is barely watchable... i'll take 90s 00s 10s anyday