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

[shrang]

Yeah, Michelle Chen has definitely gotten better as the show progressed, IMO. I do agree she's a lot plainer than the previous XLNs (especially when half the cast like LMC and GF are more physically attractive), but MC is charming enough in her own way. I know XLN isn't supposed to be cutesy, but MC does it in a way which is really endearing that makes it not matter. I actually really hated how she was portrayed at the start, with her massive hair buns, many colours and the fact that she just wouldn't stop smiling in the tomb, but when those ridiculous extra clothing decorations came off and we got to the really emotionally heavy scenes, MC's acting skills really showed. I can't really point to it, but I think the way she uses her eyes to convey things is really well done, IMO.

[yue_yue]

So I joined this site today after watching Romance of the Condor heroes for the last 3 days. I'm at episode 33 on youtube. I'm very sad they no longer have anymore English subtitle. I cannot wait. I always love this movie back in 1995 with Louis Koo and Carmen lee. I would never think any new remake can outshine them. 2006 was last one I watched but never fully, always fast forwarding certain parts. I just dont like that girl who play Xiao Long Nou. Yea, she's pretty but she can't act and she look too stiff.

This girl in 2014, WOW. Yea, I know I was doubting her too but she grew on me. She plays well. Her facial expressions, ok ok, just her overall look fits it perfectly. She got that eyes. *sigh* I think I fall in love again like with Carmen Lee.

I want more, can someone tell me where i can watch it in English subtitle? Please, I love this girl, ok I love her character. She plays so well. I love her so much, my wife is jealous. lol

Hey, try Viki Not sure if the subtitles are up to date.

[krabs]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/aOPzTIR.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/pJ3jY0x.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/2skrLoA.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/RzsAfGq.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/dv8ECrD.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/qN899qZ.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/mGad7Vu.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/jwQV2KI.jpg')

[ToastedRossi]

The producers continue to have problems understanding the story and the characters, thereby undermining what good ideas the show has. One good example of this is the theme song "问世间". The original poem served as the inspiration of the novel, so it makes a lot of sense. Getting Li Mochou's actress to sing it is an even better idea. But to turn it into a romantic theme? And for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu? What the hell were they thinking?

Another example is deciding to portray a more emotional Xiaolongnu. It's a potentially great idea - but only if you have a good grasp of her character and understand what that kind of change will do her interactions. Here, the change is made without affecting anything significant. And so the effect is to truncate half her character for no result. Again, why would anyone do that?

So I joined this site today after watching Romance of the Condor heroes for the last 3 days. I'm at episode 33 on youtube. I'm very sad they no longer have anymore English subtitle. I cannot wait. I always love this movie back in 1995 with Louis Koo and Carmen lee. I would never think any new remake can outshine them. 2006 was last one I watched but never fully, always fast forwarding certain parts. I just dont like that girl who play Xiao Long Nou. Yea, she's pretty but she can't act and she look too stiff.

This girl in 2014, WOW. Yea, I know I was doubting her too but she grew on me. She plays well. Her facial expressions, ok ok, just her overall look fits it perfectly. She got that eyes. *sigh* I think I fall in love again like with Carmen Lee.

Of all the actress to play Xiaolongnu, my pick is still Idy Chan. She doesn't look the closest to the character, but she's the one who managed to capture all of her aspects. Xiaolongnu is a very difficult character to do a good job with, but it's relatively easy to just predominantly portray her emotionless side.

Yeah, Michelle Chen has definitely gotten better as the show progressed, IMO. I do agree she's a lot plainer than the previous XLNs (especially when half the cast like LMC and GF are more physically attractive), but MC is charming enough in her own way. I know XLN isn't supposed to be cutesy, but MC does it in a way which is really endearing that makes it not matter. I actually really hated how she was portrayed at the start, with her massive hair buns, many colours and the fact that she just wouldn't stop smiling in the tomb, but when those ridiculous extra clothing decorations came off and we got to the really emotionally heavy scenes, MC's acting skills really showed. I can't really point to it, but I think the way she uses her eyes to convey things is really well done, IMO.

We're at the point where Xiaolongnu herself is more emotional, so Michelle Chen's acting feels closer to the proper character. I'd still pin most of the faults in her performance to the direction and overall production team. It's the same with Chen Xiao's performance of Yang Guo - the quickness of his dialogue kills a lot of the tension of his scenes.

[krabs]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/eOfhiZp.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/Nj8okKu.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/OzBaepb.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/O3lddxc.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/5wUGZiX.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/iAPBv0l.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/BJgaD9I.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/CTS4dsO.jpg')

[chilling]

So I went back to the 2006 version and compare the transition scenes when young Yang Guo grows up to be the adult Yang Guo. What a huge difference. In the 2014 version, Yang Gui and Xia Long Nu were playful and you can tell they automatically have chemistry with each other. How he tries to hide from her only for her to landed on his head. So cute.

The 2006 one, OMG, that girl looks like she got some stick up her a$$. Then when Yang Guo tries to be funny, she gives him that stare down. It comes down to the point where it becomes awkward to watch. Then when he explains to her how he want to be stronger and fight those Taoist monks, she put him down by saying, it's that all you care about. IN 2014, the girl is down to earth, she even encourage that at this level, he wont be able to defeat them. What a huge contrast.

I will go back further and compare the scenes from the 1995 version with Louis Koo and Carmen Lee. It doesn't matter though, I love Carmen Lee and Louis Koo, so by default they win. Her character is just right, even though she's not as fun and playful like 2014 Michelle Chen version. It kinda cater to the new generation, I like it.

The producers continue to have problems understanding the story and the characters, thereby undermining what good ideas the show has. One good example of this is the theme song "问世间". The original poem served as the inspiration of the novel, so it makes a lot of sense. Getting Li Mochou's actress to sing it is an even better idea. But to turn it into a romantic theme? And for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu? What the hell were they thinking?

Another example is deciding to portray a more emotional Xiaolongnu. It's a potentially great idea - but only if you have a good grasp of her character and understand what that kind of change will do her interactions. Here, the change is made without affecting anything significant. And so the effect is to truncate half her character for no result. Again, why would anyone do that?


Of all the actress to play Xiaolongnu, my pick is still Idy Chan. She doesn't look the closest to the character, but she's the one who managed to capture all of her aspects. Xiaolongnu is a very difficult character to do a good job with, but it's relatively easy to just predominantly portray her emotionless side.


We're at the point where Xiaolongnu herself is more emotional, so Michelle Chen's acting feels closer to the proper character. I'd still pin most of the faults in her performance to the direction and overall production team. It's the same with Chen Xiao's performance of Yang Guo - the quickness of his dialogue kills a lot of the tension of his scenes.

[chilling]

Hey, try Viki Not sure if the subtitles are up to date.

Thank you. Still not fully updated thought but better than nothing.

[ToastedRossi]

So I went back to the 2006 version and compare the transition scenes when young Yang Guo grows up to be the adult Yang Guo. What a huge difference. In the 2014 version, Yang Gui and Xia Long Nu were playful and you can tell they automatically have chemistry with each other. How he tries to hide from her only for her to landed on his head. So cute.

The 2006 one, OMG, that girl looks like she got some stick up her a$$. Then when Yang Guo tries to be funny, she gives him that stare down. It comes down to the point where it becomes awkward to watch. Then when he explains to her how he want to be stronger and fight those Taoist monks, she put him down by saying, it's that all you care about. IN 2014, the girl is down to earth, she even encourage that at this level, he wont be able to defeat them. What a huge contrast.

It is a huge contrast. Liu Yifei's performance is much closer to the Xiaolongnu in that part of the novel. I wouldn't mind Michelle Chen's Xiaolongnu so much, but she seems far too normal, and normal is never a word you'd want to associate with the character. She's supposed to be one of Jin Yong's best female characters because of her extraordinary bearing and attitude. One of the biggest failings of Yu Zheng's adaptation of ROCH is that many of these qualities were removed from Xiaolongnu and replaced with much more prosaic qualities. There are any number of ways that a more emotional version of her character could be interesting, but in order to do that, the production has to be willing to make actual changes to the story. Otherwise, it's just a waste of effort.

I will go back further and compare the scenes from the 1995 version with Louis Koo and Carmen Lee. It doesn't matter though, I love Carmen Lee and Louis Koo, so by default they win. Her character is just right, even though she's not as fun and playful like 2014 Michelle Chen version. It kinda cater to the new generation, I like it.

If you can, you should check out the 1983 version. I like Carmen Lee's interpretation of Xiaolongnu, but it still suffers from being too one dimensional. I've only watched half the show, and it's pretty good, but it suffers from weak editing. I'd still place it second to the 1983 adaptation because it doesn't have any major flaws.

[Tung Ning]

hi all - for me it is the best ROCH (don't really like the additional unnecessary love stories though), the best YG, and absolutely the best XLN!!! the 'original' ROCH with Andy Lau and Idy Chan as YG and XLN is so special for me, as I watched it as I was still very young. it's a classic. but somehow in this 2014 version Michelle Chen stole my heart (I previously thought it was a big mistake they chose MC as XLN), but apparently I was very wrong, love her so much!

have watched this 2014 version for more than 5 times, yes I am nut . couldn't wait for the next episodes next week...

[sonny4T]

...have watched this 2014 version for more than 5 times, yes I am nut .

Sincerely, you are.

[zhxzhx]

Damn...LMC's last scene got me teary, unexpectedly. Zhang Xinyu seriously did a fantastic job with her role.

[Yongxiu]

I’d like to say something, don’t know it’s too late or not. I'd watched ROCH for many versions and I think each version have their own charm, something to be remember in audience heart. And the version I like the most is the version Louis Koo portrayed Yang Guo in 1995. Until this version, 2014, I also have a lot of picture in my head for every scene and have a lot of things I want and waiting to see in this version, and after I’ve watched it, some are not like what I hope, some are better than and some are more than I’ve expect, I‘ve never seen Yang Guo this much naughty and Xiao long nu this much cute, but somehow I really fell in love with them. No one perfect ,even they choose another Yang Guo and Xiao long nu there are still have a complain because Yang Guo and Xiao long nu are in a book they are not real and everyone have their own Yang Guo and Xiao long nu in their heart. So, when you criticize it, I hope you should just at least give some respect to all of the crews and the actors in this work, I can see how much they’d dedicated in this production and I think they have done a good job, I really enjoy watching this ROCH version. I’ve already fell in love with this Yang Guo and Xiao long nu, how cute Chen xiao and Michelle are when they are together. Just enjoy watching the show, watching your favorite novel onscreen, stop comparing because there are no any version can replace the another version just keep your favorite version in your heart and enjoy watching the rest version if you still want to or don’t watch it if you don’t want to, it’s not bad believe me, just enjoy it.

Sorry for long writing, it because I a little bit love this version so want to say something and hope you guy don’t upset if you don’t like it, it’s just an opinion anyway.

BTW, last night episode was really touching, I really like this version for this episode.

[krabs]

Agreed.
It's disappointing when there are new reply to the thread, only to see it's the same old dead horse comparison with previous version.

[Tung Ning]

Totally agree with u Yongxiu. Very well said. I tried to express a positive comment in my 1st ever post in spcnet just to counter so many negativity in this thread. So let's talk about the good we find in this 2014 version. I do think it is a very good version of ROCH..

[shrang]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMkyecFIhMc

Wow. Yinggu looks WAY too pretty to be someone who's ~70-80 years old.

Also, while I do appreciate them putting in effort to try and flesh out last minute tying of romantic loose ends from JY himself (the GF/YLQ and Wu Brothers and their girlfriends bit), they really need to get a move on with the main plot. They have about 6 episodes to finish off the last bit of the story, and they still look like they're going to have to do 2 flashbacks (ZBT/Ying Gu/Yi Deng and Yang Kang/Mu Nianci). It seems like a lot of material to cram into such a short period of time.

[krabs]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/nU7J1WK.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/zBA043K.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/W4GN7lM.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/vkVbzeV.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/73IZtk8l.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/cslA6xZl.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/NGVLia6l.jpg')

golden wheel's body double behind
$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/qMmYMAJ.jpg')

[krabs]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/XKiDD7W.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/RGNBrau.jpg')

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i.imgur.com/AosXn60.jpg')

[Malevolent]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i57.tinypic.com/eskx7k.jpg')

Well I guess I am done with Romance of The Condor Heroes. All in all, I find LMC in this version more interesting. It explores her character a little more. For me it's love and hate for this character. Love for the fact that she can be caring and sentimental and hate that she is cold blooded to those she does not care, sounds similar to YZ's DFBB in Swordsman except that LMC is more unreasonable than DFBB. If LMC had met a kindhearted man who was much stronger than her in terms of martial arts and character...she could have changed for the better?

[hirobo2]

Hey guys, I finally managed to watch Episode 01 on YT. I will no longer defend YZ. Give me a break, needles that turn people into whole ice statues... How belivable is that?

Seems like this production was made for little kids. I'm not happy with this adaptation at all.

Of all the Jin Yong adaptations so far, I liked HSDS '09 best. It had realy cheesy CG and annoying bits, but the more than awesome fight scenes and acting, esp by the girls more than made up for it. Especially, Zhang Jiyong made it seem as realistic as possible.

I really hate the fantasy stuff in ROCH, which IMHO is way much worse than in Swordsman. One instance, Au YangFeng has the floor tiles uprooted d/t his kung fu, the next scene, the tiles are just fine cemnted tightly to the ground. Just unbelievable! I suspect the battles will be just as crap.

Other fantasy stuff I really hate: Lin HuChong and DFBB fall together 100m from a cliff, lands on their back without a scratch (Swordsman). But stuff I like: Yang Buhei bumps into Cheng Kun, falls 3 meters from the rail guard and gets knocked out (HSDS '09).

Also, since this is wuxia, fights should be the better part of the show. IMHO no fight scenes adapted from Jin Yong so far has ever compared to the one between Zhang Wuji and the three masters of Shaolin, or between the Yellow Robed Maiden and Zhou Jirou of HSDS '09. I wager the fights in ROCH '14 will look like like joke in comparison...

Mainland Chinese Jin Yong productions so far have swung from hyper realism (ROCH '06, HSDS '09) to the other way ultra fakery cgi-fests (Swordsmans '13, ROCH '14). I suspect the next studio after YZ's will find the middle ground and produce some the best Ji Yong wuxias that will ever be shown. But that won't be for another decade or two until YZ finishes butchering Jin Yong with his next HSDS, which I suspect will be better than ROCH '14 but worse than Swordsman '13...

[itnw123]

Disappointing. This adaptation is WORSE than I initially expected to be. It's so bad to the point that it makes Swordsman 2013 seem so good lmao.