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Thread: Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2019 《天龍八部》

  1. #121
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    Updated with newer post. Highly detailed storyline/script and more realistic practical set, lighting, and scenery. One would think this series got 60 episodes of contents. Around the middle of the series especially the end seems to be a lot of deleted scenes or scenes that were cut because of budget concerns. Slow mo and pretty young actresses playing older women is a trend that cant be avoided. Ray lui in both DGSD tv and movie like his flying fox tv/movie appearances.
    Last edited by aniking_8; 07-17-23 at 08:09 PM.

  2. #122
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    Updated thoughts on the series after a few years.
    Last edited by aniking_8; 06-10-23 at 03:51 AM.

  3. #123
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    Tvb is dubbing this series again with new singers singing 1982 music. The actor for DY looks so common and generic that he look like the actor for DY in Donnies movie version of dgsd. The movie is quite unpopular and not worth the time to skim through it.
    Last edited by aniking_8; 06-10-23 at 03:56 AM.

  4. #124
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    Quote Originally Posted by aniking_8 View Post
    Dont know if post links, but tvb anywhere YouTube posted all the episodes in original language for free with ads..
    WHAT?

  5. #125
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    Ok
    conversation between DY and MWQ in ep 47 was by far the most ridiculous conversation I'm ever seen
    Last edited by reydge; 09-07-21 at 02:20 AM.

  6. #126
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    I am currently watching this series for the first time, on Episode 23 now. Here are my thoughts so far:

    The main leads

    - Qiao Feng's actor actually looks like someone who belongs in a Wuxia at least. So far, he seems really moody and "bored" in this version when compared to Felix Wong's portrayal in DGSD1997.

    - Duan Yu's actor looks like some BTS idiot. However he acts the role well enough but is clearly casted for the K-Pop/Idol fangirls. There's also this scene where he needs to get rid of the poison from one of the soldiers, and they put some unpleasant Yaoi-undertones into this scene. Just WHY? Leave that crap in Manga/Anime/Xianxia/etc., there's no need for that here.

    - Xuzhu's actor looks a bit too "menacing" for the role, but granted haven't seen his story yet.

    - Murong Fu's actor looks the part for sure, perhaps slightly too young for the role? But you really do feel that he is cast as a Xianxia male character rather than a Wuxia character for the female audience rather than the story.

    The ladies

    - Wang Yuyan, played by Janice Man. In my opinion very beautiful indeed, cute, elegant and fitting for the role. Liked the straight-winged eyeliner look on her. I read comments elsewhere from some people who reckon she is the least beautiful out of the known young ladies in the series. lol, I don't think so.

    - Azhu, cute but in my view the least beautiful of the known younger ladies so far. Even Xiao Yuanshan in an earlier episode thought she wasn't an extravagant beauty!

    - Kang Min, the actress who plays her does the scheming role well enough. We got the bathing scene of her early on in the series which is always a positive in these times. Some people have said that her mouth area looks weird but to me she's still very hot.

    - The masked lady (forgot her name), another top tier beauty. When that mask came off I was amazed.

    - Ye Erniang (of the Four Evils), she is one of the lesser characters and she is quite hot.

    - Azi is played by an actress I recognize from other series. She has just debuted in Episode 23 but seems to play the role well enough I guess.

    Others

    - Jiumozhi, the actor looks a bit too un-Tibetan for role, he looks more like an Indian or Persian. Was this character ever this handsome in the novel? Can't help but think that they got inspired by Bollywood and casted this actor for the female audiences again.

    The fighting scenes

    So far from what I can see, the fighting scenes in DGSD2019/2021 are designed to impress and amaze "normie" and modern audiences. For me, I don't like the fighting scenes so far. I expected this even before I started watching the series.

    And that's because there's just too much slow-motion, close-ups, floating, Matrix-style camera panning and "internal energy" pause battles (you know when they just stand there with their palms out with the forcefield CGIs). There's a stupid amount of times where they do the slow-motion close-ups of swords/blades narrowly moving past the martial arts expert's faces. There's also a lot of "easy wins" as well where Qiao Feng just uses internal energy from palm to knock enemies away. The best fight scenes were one or two scenes where Qiao Feng and Qiao Yuanshan punches a load of enemies.

    So far there's been very little hand-to-hand and weapon-to-weapon martial arts combat in the style like we saw in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s Wuxias. And when there is, the hand/arm/kick blocks and sword clashes only last for around 3 strikes at best in a sequence before it goes on to the tedious slow-motion stuff.

    The slow-motion Matrix-camera panning stuff in fighting scenes has already become an epidemic in modern Mainland "Wuxias" that it surely needs to be banned for a while.

    I will provide updates with my opinions as I progress with the series.

    For anyone who is interested you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...DS4nPcnJaqJvAw
    Last edited by FalconPunch190; 04-14-23 at 04:18 PM.
    "If you have ever ogled at a handsome man in entertainment medium, you have forfeited your right to complain about women being sexualized and objectified in entertainment medium."

  7. #127
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    Quote Originally Posted by FalconPunch190 View Post

    - The masked lady (forgot her name), another top tier beauty. When that mask came off I was amazed.
    i'm curious, which masked lady?
    Best Wuxia author of all time : master Jin Yong

  8. #128
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    Quote Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
    i'm curious, which masked lady?
    Mu Wanqing.
    Last edited by FalconPunch190; 04-15-23 at 05:44 AM.
    "If you have ever ogled at a handsome man in entertainment medium, you have forfeited your right to complain about women being sexualized and objectified in entertainment medium."

  9. #129
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    Quote Originally Posted by FalconPunch190 View Post
    Mu Wanqing.
    oh a veil wearing girl.

    https://www.cerita-silat.net/p/galer...ial-drama.html

  10. #130
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    Just completed this series (50 Episodes). Here are my views:

    The actors

    Qiao Feng: The actor who plays Qiao Feng (Tony Yang) really does look the part for sure. Masculine and definitely looks like someone who belongs in a Wuxia. His costumes (both the Beggars Clan and the Liao Prince ones) suited him extremely well. Whenever he was on screen, he definitely gave the aura of a powerful martial artist. The scenes with him with Azhu or Azi definitely brought out his emotional and caring sides, which was really needed because when he was away from the sisters he seemed stoic at times. The coolest looking character in the series.

    The main fault with this portrayal is that very often he looked bored, however that's due to his look I think. He also seems to be "less friendly/brotherhood" with Duan Yu and Xuzhu when compared to Felix Wong's portrayal in DGSD1997. Overall this is a very good portrayal of Qiao Feng, it is a "stoic" and "less enthusiastic" version of him when compared to DGSD1997 Qiao Feng.

    Duan Yu: The actor who plays Duan Yu was obviously casted for the fangirls/female audience, especially the Korean Pop Boy Band fangirl types. Whilst I find this to be a negative thing for Wuxia, the BTS Idiot does however, do a very good job of playing Duan Yu. He did the playful, cheerful and kind personality thing well, not to mention the fascination and relationship thing with Wang Yuyan. It appears that the female audience deemed this actor in not being handsome enough because of his nose, further proving again that it's not only actresses/women that suffer from the "unrealistic beauty" standards.

    Unfortunately there is this scene where he needs to get rid of the poison from one of the soldiers, and they put some unpleasant Yaoi-tones into this scene. Just WHY? Leave that crap in Manga/Anime/Xianxia/etc., there's no need for that here.

    Xuzhu: The actor who plays Xuzhu looked too menacing and not naive enough at first, however later on when his character developed, he did the job well enough. This is especially when he had hair, which made me realise that him having a bald head was really the thing that made him look "menacing". The scenes of him with Tianshan Tonglao was very good.

    Murong Fu: The actor who plays Murong Fu was clearly casted to be a Xianxia version of Murong Fu, meaning that he was casted to pander to the female audience rather than for Wuxia. He is yet another male actor that is tediously fawned upon by the ladies whenever he is mentioned on Social Media, Forums, etc. Despite that negative aspect, he does look the part and does do the smug, arrogant and pompous personality very well. His costume is very fitting as well. The actor may look slightly too young for the role of Murong Fu though.

    Jiumozhi: The actor who plays Jiumozhi is Chinese, however he looks more like a Bollywood Indian or Persian rather than a Tibertan when in the role of Jiumozhi. Even though Jiumozhi is around 40 years of age in the novel, I still think the actor looks slightly too young here. I think this actor was clearly cast to be a "handsome" version of Jiumozhi, no doubt for the female audience again. However to his credit, aside from him looking non-Tibertan, he does have the overall look and definitely gives the aura of a powerful martial artist when he is on screen. From what I remember in this series, he only fought Qiao Feng once at the Murong residence, it was a short and crap fight that was of the "inner energy" type fight.

    Also I noticed that in this adaptation, Jiumozhi sneaks into You Tan Zhi's room and steals the Yijing Jing manual. Whereas in the 1997 version, Jiumozhi fools You Tan Zhi into giving the manual to him in the cave. How is it in the actual novel?

    Quan Guan Qing: The actor who plays Quan Guan Qing (the Beggar Clan traitor) was probably one of the coolest-looking supporting villain character in the series. From what I remember, he just left the scene after You Tan Zhi was defeated and was never seen again. This character was killed in the DGSD1997 version. Did they forget in this version or did I miss it?

    You Tan Zhi: The actor who plays You Tan Zhi / Jong Juei Yin was casted to be a handsome version of the character for the female audience again (I swear this has become a plague on Wuxia). After the mask/helmet is removed, the half-mask makes him look cool, especially when he wears the Beggar Clan chief's outfit - this look also makes him give an aura of a powerful and scary martial artist. After his mask/helmet is removed and becomes the Beggar Clan chief, he is probably the coolest-looking character in the series along with Qiao Feng.

    Duan Jing Suen: I realize that this character (Duan Jing Ming's brother) is older, but I'm surprised they didn't cast a slightly younger and handsome actor for this character given their target audience. Perhaps the people who were doing the casting realized that there had to be some balance for once? Anyway - he did the role well enough, although some of his royal/palace costumes were a bit too extreme.

    Duan Yanqing: Did the role very well. The costume made him one of the more cooler looking characters.

    The actresses

    Wang Yuyang: The actress (Janice Man) is definitely fitting for the role and despite what some others think, she does have the ethereal beauty to play Wang Yuyang. Very beautiful and hot in my view, and I love the side straight-winged eyeliner look she has in this series. Do remember that she was always being compared to the goddess of ethereal Wuxia beauty, Liu Yifei.

    Azhu: The actress did the job well enough here. I thought she was the "least" attractive of the beautiful ladies in this series but this is of course subjective. At least Xiao Yuanshan thinks so too! She isn't as pretty and hot as the Azhu in DGSD2003.

    Azi: I've seen this actress elsewhere in other series. Her look is very cute here (especially when she wears the Liao white fur outfits). Did the job very well of the "female spoiled brat" role.

    Kang Min: The actress who plays this character does the scheming role well enough. We got the bathing scene of her early on in the series which is always a positive in these times. Some people have said that her mouth area looks weird but to me she's still very hot. Question for anyone reading - is there an actual scene of Azi actually inflicting the injures on her in this adaptation? Because it seemed as if it was "cut out" when I watched it, i.e. it just went straight to Kang Min being already injured.

    Ye Erniang: (of the Four Evils) She is one of the lesser characters and I found her to be pretty damn hot. She didn't appear that much in this adaptation prior to when she meets the Shaolin chief and dies.

    Ruan Xingzhu: (mother of Azhu and Azi) They casted Hong Kong actress Rain Lau for this character. If you don't know, Rain Lau played Azi in DGSD1997. It is a cool "nostalgia" thing, but you can clearly tell that Rain's level of beauty (because she is older) doesn't "match" the beauty of the other ladies of Duan Jing Suen. Another example of this is Kathy Chow who was casted to play Priestess Miejue in HSDS2019 (where she was Zhou Zhiruo in Taiwanese HSDS1994).

    The lady chief disciple of the Carefree Sect: She is obviously a much lesser character, but I found her to be quite beautiful, something I noticed. She is the lady that stays at and looks after the Carefree Sect while the other four lady disciples secretly follow Xuzhu to Shaolin to protect him.

    The fighting scenes

    The fighting scenes in DGSD2019/2021 are a major disappointment. In fact, I think the majority of the fighting scenes were crap. And that's because it is the modern, slow-motion, close-ups, floating, Matrix-style camera panning and too many of the "internal energy" pause battles (you know when they just stand there with their palms out with the forcefield CGIs).

    There's also a ridiculous amount of times where they do the slow-motion close-ups of swords/blades narrowly moving past the martial arts expert's faces. There's also a lot of "lazy wins" as well where Qiao Feng just uses internal energy from palm to knock enemies away. The best fight scenes were a few scenes that had hand-to-hand combat, such as the scenes where Qiao Feng and Xiao Yuanshan punches a load of enemies.

    There is very little hand-to-hand, weapon-to-weapon and hand-to-weapon martial arts combat in the style like we saw in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s Wuxias. And when there is, the hand/arm/kick blocks and sword clashes only last for around 3 strikes at best in a sequence before it goes on to the tedious slow-motion Maritix camera-panning crap.

    These kinds of fighting scenes are designed to impress and amaze "normie" and modern audiences. For me, I don't like the fighting scenes here. I expected this even before I started watching the series.

    The slow-motion Matrix-camera panning stuff in fighting scenes has already become an epidemic in modern Mainland "Wuxias" that it surely needs to be banned for a while.
    "If you have ever ogled at a handsome man in entertainment medium, you have forfeited your right to complain about women being sexualized and objectified in entertainment medium."

  11. #131
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    Quote Originally Posted by FalconPunch190 View Post

    The lady chief disciple of the Carefree Sect: She is obviously a much lesser character, but I found her to be quite beautiful, something I noticed. She is the lady that stays at and looks after the Carefree Sect while the other four lady disciples secretly follow Xuzhu to Shaolin to protect him.
    which one?


    Attachment 10393
    or
    Attachment 10394

    top is surname Shi , age 30+
    bottom is Fu Mingyi, age 20+

  12. #132
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    Quote Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
    which one?


    Attachment 10393
    or
    Attachment 10394

    top is surname Shi , age 30+
    bottom is Fu Mingyi, age 20+
    The links do not work.
    "If you have ever ogled at a handsome man in entertainment medium, you have forfeited your right to complain about women being sexualized and objectified in entertainment medium."

  13. #133
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    Quote Originally Posted by FalconPunch190 View Post
    The links do not work.
    sorry, the attachment feature and image in this forum are broken, cannot do anything.
    but i have uploaded their images on my blog.

    https://www.cerita-silat.net/p/galer...ial-drama.html
    the bottom two
    Best Wuxia author of all time : master Jin Yong

  14. #134
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    Quote Originally Posted by a_tumiwa View Post
    sorry, the attachment feature and image in this forum are broken, cannot do anything.
    but i have uploaded their images on my blog.

    https://www.cerita-silat.net/p/galer...ial-drama.html
    the bottom two
    Indeed, that is the lady I was talking about. In my view, she's quite beautiful.
    "If you have ever ogled at a handsome man in entertainment medium, you have forfeited your right to complain about women being sexualized and objectified in entertainment medium."

  15. #135
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    Quote Originally Posted by FalconPunch190 View Post
    Just completed this series (50 Episodes). Here are my views:

    The actors

    Ruan Xingzhu: (mother of Azhu and Azi) They casted Hong Kong actress Rain Lau for this character. If you don't know, Rain Lau played Azi in DGSD1997. It is a cool "nostalgia" thing, but you can clearly tell that Rain's level of beauty (because she is older) doesn't "match" the beauty of the other ladies of Duan Jing Suen. Another example of this is Kathy Chow who was casted to play Priestess Miejue in HSDS2019 (where she was Zhou Zhiruo in Taiwanese HSDS1994).

    The fighting scenes

    The fighting scenes in DGSD2019/2021 are a major disappointment. In fact, I think the majority of the fighting scenes were crap. And that's because it is the modern, slow-motion, close-ups, floating, Matrix-style camera panning and too many of the "internal energy" pause battles (you know when they just stand there with their palms out with the forcefield CGIs).

    There's also a ridiculous amount of times where they do the slow-motion close-ups of swords/blades narrowly moving past the martial arts expert's faces. There's also a lot of "lazy wins" as well where Qiao Feng just uses internal energy from palm to knock enemies away. The best fight scenes were a few scenes that had hand-to-hand combat, such as the scenes where Qiao Feng and Xiao Yuanshan punches a load of enemies.

    There is very little hand-to-hand, weapon-to-weapon and hand-to-weapon martial arts combat in the style like we saw in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s Wuxias. And when there is, the hand/arm/kick blocks and sword clashes only last for around 3 strikes at best in a sequence before it goes on to the tedious slow-motion Maritix camera-panning crap.

    These kinds of fighting scenes are designed to impress and amaze "normie" and modern audiences. For me, I don't like the fighting scenes here. I expected this even before I started watching the series.

    The slow-motion Matrix-camera panning stuff in fighting scenes has already become an epidemic in modern Mainland "Wuxias" that it surely needs to be banned for a while.

    Tvb is dubbing this drama again for prime time with the 1982 original music. Its episodes count is reduced from 50 to 33 and seem to just focus on XF screen time. It seems like they want to use this drama to promote singers from their music competition. The original uncut version already cut out a lot of scenes from the book by making it happen offscreen including the final battle. It would be unwatchable if its just focusing on action alone.

    They cant help it with the slow mo since its popular. The newest version of tv loch, hsds, and flying fox uses more realistic detail slow mo camera effects for the fights. Regarding rain lau, she should of been TSTL since fellow actors used to joke about her being petite and old yet youn looking. Of course, they have to cast a younger actress to portray TSTL and they didnt give her white hair at the end.

    Tbh, not a lot of fans that watched their favorite version multiple times or have seen the countless remake over he years would give time to binge watch this series. A lot of people are just skimming and comparing this series to other versions. People complain about multiple Batman and Spider-Man in the west, but in the east Jin Yong novels are being remake to endless ridiculous levels. Aside from the tv series, theres Hong Kong wong jing attempt to revive 90s idea of making connected universe movies like his hsds movies and Donnie yen dgsd. In addition, mainland is remaking them in to low budget cgi streaming movies like monkey king with Benny Chan and Chinese odyssey sequels without Stephen chow input. It seems the intellectual property still draw views and money, so they wont stop and wait a decade like they used to. The funny thing is that ray lui is in most of these projects despite being quite wealthy as a successful businessman himself, he doesnt choose to pick or make better scripts. Its more understandable if it was a few no name actors or fallen old famous actors that needs works.

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