The Romance of the Condor Heroes 《神雕侠侣》 - Chen Xiao, Michelle Chen

[zhxzhx]

i honestly did not see that coming. what a random irl couple tho

[aiYRong]

Who's the first one?

Christopher Lee and Fann Wong from ROTCH 1998.

[mideel]

I'm looking complete music of this clip.

.

[limeic]

I'm currently watching ep21 of the uncut version for this drama. All in all, I think that this is much better than YZ's adaptation of Swordsman (in the sense that the OTP is left the way it is). Among all the ROCH adaptations I've watched (1983, 1995, 2006), my favorite will always be the one in 1995 (I'm biased against Carmen Lee and Louis Koo as XLN and YG).

For this new adaptation, I appreciate Yu Zheng's attempt to flesh out the "romantic" back story of the Five Greats (I thought it was quite well done; at least the changes do not deviate from the main idea behind this story, which showcases the love story between YG and XLN) but I must agree that the flashbacks can be quite annoying, especially during the Huashan scene when both Hong Qi and Ouyang Feng was telling YG about their romantic history. This scene would usually last around 1-2 episodes, but it got dragged out to 3-4 episodes.

For the changes to the characters (e.g. XLN gotten less aloof and more lovey-dovey with YG), I thought it made for a better transition for YG-XLN's relationship from teacher-disciple to lovers. I've read that Jin Yong made similar changes to the novel but I can't be sure.

Martial arts fight scenes are bearable but it's a little too fast and too short; I thought it would fare better if more physical actions are added for certain skills (e.g. Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms). CG for skills are not over the top so it's a plus. The effect for LMC's Ice Needles is quite unbelievable but at least it helps to get rid of corpses, no?

As for the casting, I actually thought Michelle Chen is quite pretty as XLN, despite having other pretty actresses in the show. I wouldn't say she is the most beautiful of them all (since beauty is in the eye of the beholder), but she definitely looks the part in close-up shots (with the weird hairdo mostly out of screen) and I like her in white dresses. I do find it a bit odd for men and women to declare her as the most beautiful girl they have ever seen, but I can live with that. =D I believe her to be a capable actor so I'm looking forward to her angsty scenes later.

I like Chen Xiao's potrayal of YG and he looks the part (with that mischievous glint in his eyes), but I'm not exactly fond of the person who dubbed him, who uses a slightly high-pitched voice for YG when the adult YG first appeared. I noticed that his voice is pitched much lower during voiceovers of YG's thoughts, so hopefully the dubber will tone down on the speaking parts. I was impressed with the younger actor for YG, and I find him likable despite acting such a bratty YG. I'm looking forward to scenes of a more mature YG.

As for Viann Zhang as LMC, it's a brilliant choice and this is the only character I've liked her in (maybe it's because her acting skills are displayed better due to the range of emotions for this character? I don't know). As LMC, she has a lot of scenes involving wire stunts and I thought the way she carried herself looks really good in those scenes.

Now, on to the "older" characters for this shows...
- Zheng Guolin as Guo Jing: Woah, I can see sincerity shining from his eyes! His portrayal is spot on as a very sincere "Uncle Guo" who will always have a softspot for YG.
- Yang Mingna as Huang Rong: I'm glad that this adaptation allows HR to be potrayed at different levels of maturity - a not-so-young lady who still seems to be a playful and cunning girl at heart (the scene where HR dressed up as a male and "flirts" with LMC) and a more mature woman who accepted that she has misunderstood YG and chose to believe in him (the scenes where HR taught YG Dog Beating Staff Technique and the way she protested every time Wu brothers suggested to abandon YG). I thought the actress handled both scenes well.
- Ji Chen as Yideng... My first thought was "He looks ridiculously young!" and I was laughing when he first appeared. Haha... Waiting for more scenes in the later story arc.
- Yan Yikuan is great as Wang Chongyang, despite having only less than 2 episodes in the show. He emotes really well. T_T
- Zong Fengyan as Ouyang Feng: My first reaction was "OMG, what happened to the charismatic Murong Fu?!" But I must say that I really enjoyed his performance as the crazy and wacky OYF, with all the dramatic gestures and childish tantrums. I don't think he has acted this type of characters before but I can't be sure since I don't watch a lot of his shows.
- Yin Xiaotian as Hong Qigong: Same first impressions as Yideng but the actor convinced me otherwise. I quite like his potrayal here as both the old HQG and young HQG. It suddenly occurred to me that the actors chosen for the Four Greats need to look relatively youthful since they need to potray their younger selves.
- Christopher Lee as Huang Yaoshi: He looks the part, so I'm waiting for more scenes from him.

And I love the songs for this show, especially the opening theme (Vastness by Zhang Jie) and ending theme (You and Me by Michelle Chen and Chen Xiao)!

P.S. I thought the english name for this show is really quite apt, "Romance" of the Condor Heroes indeed!

[xiaodan4869]

Honest trailer:

[krabs]

According to latest news , their son was born yesterday.

[Don Yu]

CONGRATS!!!

[Don Yu]

Yang Rong scenes

[Don Yu]

LOL, and this is the Guo Jing/Yang Kang/Huang Rong/Mu NianCi scene from ROCH

[Don Yu]

<Wrong thread.>

[Dragonlord]

ZJZ is Pappa Bear. YZ is Mamma Bear. One stuck too closely to the source, the other one couldn't care less how far the adaptation deviated from it. But, don't worry, Little Bear will come along and make it right again. Little Bear will take the not-too-hot not-too-cold approach... But still, we appreciate Pappa Bear for hooking us to the very end with very good cinematography, but very cheesy CGI in HSDS '09, and Mamma Bear for giving us a cool DFBB/Joe Chen reinterpretation in Swordsman '13.

Meanwhile, let us continue to enjoy the Mamma Bear version of HSDS in the near future...

I like your prediction! Little Bear has arrived with LOCH 2017! Great all around series.

[ihavequestion]

I must be the insane one to think this 2014 version is actually closer to the novel than the 2006 version except those unnecessary added stuffs which can be easily to skip because it usually takes the whole ep.

Also, this scene and the conversation (not happen in the novel) is exactly the same as the 95 version. Learning from the predecessor is a great thing.

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[puff_ng]

I'm on a JY binge during lockdown and got around to watching Romance of the Condor Heroes 2014.

This is the worst version of ROCH I've ever watched. Multiple episodes devoted to backstories, some of which the screenwriter made up and aren't even in the novel. It's basically fanfiction. They completely ruin the pace of the show. I have to wonder what JY thought of these pointless additions to his story.