Book and Sword 02

[Zhang San Feng]

this film was horrible, the casting was average, the acting was mostly bad and the fight scenes....were good, but apart from the fight scenes its just too slow and too much talking...but at least they found ppl who look similar for qian long and chen jialuo

[Lingz13]

Originally posted by alecforever815
exactly, btw, how many episodes is this series?

40.

[chynagongju]

hmmm...i actually thought the acting was one of the best i've seen for a jin yong adaptation...each individual played their part well, and portrayed their character as it was supposed to be portrayed. except for the few changes made, the series was an excellent adaptation.

[alecforever815]

so would u guys suggest me buying this to watch?

[alecforever815]

i'm starting to watch this now, on episode 11 rite now, so far it's pretty okay. a bit draggy and slow tho, they should hurry up with some parts, but hte acting is fine, at least for the main actors, i really like zwz now, lol, and esther kwan may not be dashingly gorgeous or something, but she's still really pretty and has that good calm quality about her. ray lu is pretty good too, and sun li and yu yu tong are really good too.

[chynagongju]

i'm glad you're enjoying it! yea it takes a little while to get the plot down, but once it's up and running, it's a great series.

does anyone know the name of the actor that plays yu yu tong and ....the 7th brother? [i forgot his name] and his wife?

[alecforever815]

xu tian hong - liang rong zhong
zhou qi - zhong qin

[AnalyticChick]

So yeah, it's about 2 AM in my time zone and I have just finished the first six episodes.
Good God I love this thing. The fighting is good, really good and no one is annoying - yet. (Keep in mind that I have just seen six episodes) The cinematography is astounding and to borrow a Chinese saying, the "chiang mien" is very grand.

And if anyone has read my ramblings over on the Ji Xiang Ru Yi thread, they will find that I am an unabashed, shameless fangirl for Guo Liang. The beginning of episode two was pure bliss with the cloak...and the wu gong... and the raw power. And then the rest of the episodes with the fighting and the scowling and the being smart and the not doing the villian laugh (you know what I'm talking about. Throw back your head and bray like a donkey laugh)and the black brocade/red trousers combo and that shot in the credits.

See AnalyticChick swoon.

I am so pleased with this serial. So very, very pleased. In addion to letting me stare at Zhang DaYen (I can stop anytime I want to, really...) it is a very high-quality production all around.

Some points that amused/perplexed me:
1) As a concession to the book, and since facial hair automatically equates age, the directors have opted to fit Guo Liang with a goatee. I mean, come on now. As the review pointed out, he looks to be the same age as Yu Yu Tong if not younger in some shots.

2) The fact that Chen Jia Luo stayed in the decrepit templesque place until day had turned to night and that General Zhang was waiting outside when he came out, in pretty much the same pose that he had assumed after tossing Chen through the roof. These guys really have way too much time on their hands. Also, the light that glances off General Zhang's sword throughout the fight. Seeing that it was a dark night, where the heck was that light coming from?

3) The fact that no one realizes Yuan Zhi is a girl. That really makes me laugh especially since she is feminine looking, has noticable breasts, and has no Adam's apple. Qing Dynasty men have to get out more, no really.

4) The sheer height of Sun Li. I don't know if it's the guys in this, but she appears to be taller than EVERYONE else in this series. It's funny, really. Even Yu Yu Tong, her intended, is shorter.

5) Playing the who can beat up whom game. Right now I have General Zhang at the top because he can beat up Jia Luo, and has, and because Brother Four tied with Jia Luo when they were sparring. Yuan Zhi tied with Yu Tong, so both of them are out of the running. Ester could maybe beat him up, but they aren't even in the same province, so there. Incidentally, I'm hoping that he doesn't see her and fall in love with her and try to hide it but then spend the rest of his time getting shot down by her and, oops, wrong series.

6) The hair of Seventh Brother. It apparently stays in a perfect cascade down his back at all times without any kind of clip. No seriously, what's up with that? And the guy with the highlights in his har needs to be reminded that he is living in ancient China.

7) Seriously, if you are emperor of China, you should be able to afford some security. In the episodes I watched, and in most series, the Imperial palace seems to be a hotel in which all manner of rabble can freely roam in and out.

8)When General Zhang barricaded the gates and searched for Red Flower sympathizers, what exactly did he tell his soldiers to look for? It's not as if people look different if they are Red Flower members or act more suspicious or carry their RFS photo IDs with them. Hence the debacle that was the fleeing from the city.

9) On a more philosophical note, why exactly are the Red Flower Society rebelling again? The Chinese dynasty system was highly driven by the personality and talent of the emperor. So Qiang Long is generally accepted to be a pretty good guy and ruler. The sociey is stable and the peasants seem to be happy and prosperous enough. Okay, some officers are totally out of line, but that happens in every dynasty. Have any Ming emperors been any better? Also, if the Ming Dynasty were to come back, who would be the emperor? Just wondering. It's just ironic that if Dai Chun Yin (protagonist of Ji Xiang Ru Yi) were to be in this series, he would be the villian due to his devotion to the (same) emperor and willingness to attack the enemies of the emperor. And it's generally hard to wage warfare based on racial lines (Han versus Manchu) when those two races have basically similar customs, traditions and furthermore LOOK THE SAME.

[alecforever815]

haha i see you like zhang a lot, well i dun wanna spoil it for u, but jia luo beats him later on!! (yayayyay, sry, i'm more of a cjl fan than a zhang fan)

i liked this sreies, but didn't love it, it gets really draggy, i think it moves kinda slowly, and if they had made it shorter, meaning cut out all the extra stuff, it would have been really good, but the fighting is just extraordinary

[AnalyticChick]

haha i see you like zhang a lot

You have no idea... It is actually quite disturbing, really.
Since I have exhausted the cache of episodes in my house, I have nothing more of substance to say about this series for the time being.

[alecforever815]

guo liang looks really familiar, but i can't recall where i might have seen him, can u tell me any other series he did�H

[AnalyticChick]

Guo Liang is a compere (means he hosts/is in random things for Mediaworks) in Singapore. He has just been in this and Ji Xiang Ru Yi, which, not surprisingly, were all produced by Mediaworks, his company. You would have seen him if you watch any Singaporean Chinese television (still working on that illegal cable idea). Also, in case anyone cares, I just found out that the guy that was also in Ji Xiang Ru Yi - that is, Darren Lim, also works for Mediaworks. Apparently, if you are producing the show, you get to pack it with your own actors.

Also, I am watching this series on (definately pirated) VCD from my video store, and have just found out how to take screen captures with WinDVD I really need to stop myself from constantly pressing "P" to capture the goodness that is in my viewing screen. Seriously, the number of pictures in my WinDVD capture folder is getting out of hand.

Deranged fangirl out.

[alecforever815]

haha dun wry, i have over 300 alec caps, lol

[AnalyticChick]

alecforever815,
Acknowledging the fact that this thread is rapidly becoming a two person conversation...

I have officially moved on from screen caps to video captures. Seriously, VCD Cutter is the greatest program ever. I now have various mpg files saved covering his appearances in the first six episodes. Yes, I do have a problem. And yes, I still haven't actually gotten any new episodes.

However, this rewatching the series has given me a great appreciation for the banter between the Fourth Brother's Wife and Yu Yu Tong, as well as the witty repartee between the cross-dressing girl and Yu Yu Tong. Heck, Yu Yu Tong is just a cool guy all around. However, one has to wonder why anyone would put to their lips something that they have just used to beat up an inordinate amount of guys.

And the morals espoused by this series in general? It's okay to take other people's things...rebel against the government...flaunt child labor laws...destroy random bits of private property. Is this what we want our children to be watching. Think of the children, oh won't somebody please think of the children?

[Yo Kang]

I'll be gettting this series next month. Anybody care to comment on the choreography and scenery. I just want to know what to expect.

[AnalyticChick]

I think that they do both the scenery and choreography very well in this production. They obviously had access to a large amount of professionals as well as a more than generous budget for shooting. The colors are lush, and the settings are always very apt. The fight scenes, as have been noted before, are shot well. The scenes in the desert are very expansive and generally awe-inspiring. The cities are suitably populated, which all add to the believability of the whole thing. You and I know that there weren't any Hong Kong/Chinese/Taiweneses television stars wandering around the Ching Dynasty, but this show does a very good job trying to convine you otherwise. In general, the caliber of the scenery and choreography is probably one thing about the show that people don't argue over... as opposed to the plot changes and characterization per say.

[Yo Kang]

Oh well. Since I haven't see any other Book and Sword adaptation. I'm looking forward to watching this series. Thanx for the insights though. Hmm..... Wonder if I should read the book instead.

[AnalyticChick]

No, watch the series. Then you can come here and discuss it with the (one to two of) us!
I could send you the beginning and/or ending clips (how, I'm not sure yet) if you want to watch a snippet of it and realize the goodness that is a megabudget, multi-country, wuxia extravaganza.

[alecforever815]

hehe analytical chick, ur definitely obsessed with guo liang, lol hehe no problem, i'm soooooooo obsessed with alec, lol

yo kang, the series overall, i would give a 6/10. the fighting is superb and the cast is pretty good except for a few characters. but the script i thought was too slow, it should have been 40 episodes. like most jy stories should be action packeed,a nd in this one, u can often find one person crying for a long time, or one person talking on and on ...i just thought it was kinda draggy but the fighting was really really good, altho i didn't like the war parts, only liked it when cjl was fighting cuz that was shot relaly well

the scenery is okay, it looked as if they used a lotta places too many times tho for shooting

[Fallen Angel]

Originally posted by alecforever815
guo liang looks really familiar, but i can't recall where i might have seen him, can u tell me any other series he did�H

He remind me of the guy from HZGG 1 & 2 (XYZ's friend) !