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Thread: THE SHELL GAME (千王之王) (1980) Thread

  1. #101
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    I know The Bund will be an amazing show. I just don't know if I can handle another heroic death right now. I am still getting over Ah-Lung's death. Good people aren't supposed to die, ya know?
    I like that sort of dark cynicism about the human condition that we see in those early 1980s TVB series though: no good deed goes unpunished and nobody is *truly* innocent.

    I still don't get it. Wouldn't Ah-Lung know Dai Chin could read his card? From the scene, it sounds like Ah-Lung expected Dai Chin to use some magic which he said he didn't. What was Ah-Lung expecting Dai Chin to do? Switch his card to something else?
    I think Ah Lung lost that match for the same reason that Sau Dai Chin later lost to Fok See Ling: he called the opponent's bluff and miscalculated. I have very little knowledge about the rules of the game they played, but I gather that Ah Lung called Sau Dai Chin's bluff and lost (just as Sau Dai Chin later did with Fok See Ling).

    On your earlier observation about whether or not Tam Sing could defeat Sau Dai Chin in tabletop games: I think there's a chance that Tam Sing could win. Sau Dai Chin had never lost, but he had also never faced an opponent who was trained by the respective masters of both Northern and Southern chin seurt. Lo 4 Hoi once observed that in combining his skills with Cheuk 1 Fu's, Tam Sing had attained a level that transcended them both. In all those years, I wonder if Sau Dai Chin had ever met an opponent like that.

    Tam Sing was very modest about his skills in THE SHELL GAME II, even telling Ah Lung that Tao 1 Siu's skills were at least equal to his own and possibly better. But was Tam Sing telling the truth about this? Remember that in the beginning of THE SHELL GAME I, the second lesson that Lo 4 Hoi taught Tam Sing was "keep it in the heart; don't show it" ("sum chong but lo"). In other words, pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger. In THE SHELL GAME II, I think Tam Sing only demonstrated a fraction of his real ability (because that makes it much harder for his opponents to figure him out). Remember: Tam Sing was easily able to do with *both* hands what Tao 1 Siu could only do with his right hand. I think Tam Sing's skill level was much higher than he let on: as the student of both Lo 4 Hoi *and* Cheuk 1 Fu, he had to have been better than Tao 1 Siu...and possibly even better than Sau Dai Chin. As the King of Gambling Kings, however, Tam Sing had mastered the art of "sum chong but lo" and wasn't revealing his true strength.

  2. #102
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    Ken - Sau Dai Chin did lose, didn't he? First to that chubby guy (who he hypnotized) and then to the guy who was banned from US and Europe? That's what I don't get. How can he really claim to be #1 at gambling if he didn't win against these two? Similarly, he didn't hold up his end of the bargain when he lost against the second guy. He was supposed to kill himself. How can he claim to be part of the Chin Moon? Remeber how he condemned Ah-Lung's sifu when he lost and wouldn't cut off his arm as promised?

  3. #103
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    Ken - Sau Dai Chin did lose, didn't he? First to that chubby guy (who he hypnotized) and then to the guy who was banned from US and Europe? That's what I don't get. How can he really claim to be #1 at gambling if he didn't win against these two?
    Sau Dai Chin's brand of chin seurt was different from those practiced by Tao 1 Siu, Tam Sing, Cheuk 1 Fu, and Lo 4 Hoi. Their traditional chin seurt skills involved sleight of hand and hyper-developed senses, but Sau Dai Chin's skill was the equivalent of a Jedi Mind Trick from STAR WARS ("These are not the droids you're looking for..."). That's not to say that Sau Dai Chin was a total fraud who couldn't do the more traditional chin seurt with the best of them, but I don't think his chin seurt alone would have been good enough to have allowed him to be unbeaten for thirty years. Without the mind trick, Sau Dai Chin might not be able to beat the likes of Tao 1 Siu or Lo 4 Hoi, let alone Tam Sing.

    Similarly, he didn't hold up his end of the bargain when he lost against the second guy. He was supposed to kill himself. How can he claim to be part of the Chin Moon? Remeber how he condemned Ah-Lung's sifu when he lost and wouldn't cut off his arm as promised?
    Well, he's a villain; hypocrisy is often part of the package.

  4. #104
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    Alrighty. Let's see how long i can hold off from watching The Bund!

  5. #105
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    Alrighty. Let's see how long i can hold off from watching The Bund!
    Don't resist! SUCCUMB! You *know* you want to!

    If you thought THE SHELL GAMES were great, THE BUND will *really* blow your mind. THE BUND is not just a classic; it was TVB's finest moment.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Don't resist! SUCCUMB! You *know* you want to!

    If you thought THE SHELL GAMES were great, THE BUND will *really* blow your mind. THE BUND is not just a classic; it was TVB's finest moment.
    you're such a bad influence! i am very tempted...

  7. #107
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    you're such a bad influence! i am very tempted...
    Come to the dark side...

    I think THE BUND might also be one of the most violent series TVB has ever done. The violence level is up a notch from THE SHELL GAMES. The series *opens* with a street massacre, which sets the tone for the entire series.

  8. #108
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Come to the dark side...

    I think THE BUND might also be one of the most violent series TVB has ever done. The violence level is up a notch from THE SHELL GAMES. The series *opens* with a street massacre, which sets the tone for the entire series.
    I don't think I can stay away for long. I saw scenes on utube awhile back and it looked sooo good.

  9. #109
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    I don't think I can stay away for long. I saw scenes on utube awhile back and it looked sooo good.
    THE BUND makes THE SHELL GAME look like an "average" TVB series by comparison. It's that great. Go watch it. NOW.

  10. #110
    Senior Member Ghaleon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by addicted2tvb View Post
    I don't think I can stay away for long. I saw scenes on utube awhile back and it looked sooo good.
    I can atest to the greatness of the Bund (thanks to Ken). It was the first 80's non-wuxia TVB series i watched and i was blown away by it. The tone of the series is dark, gritty and realistic, unlike most of the TVB series created today. You definitely won't find another series like it, it's really one of a kind.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ghaleon View Post
    I can atest to the greatness of the Bund (thanks to Ken). It was the first 80's non-wuxia TVB series i watched and i was blown away by it. The tone of the series is dark, gritty and realistic, unlike most of the TVB series created today. You definitely won't find another series like it, it's really one of a kind.
    Yeah, I'd be shocked if it didn't blow me away. I'm just really busy these days and fear that if I start the series, I won't get anything done. For instance, once I started watching SG, I skipped out on sleep to finish it!

  12. #112
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    I've just seen that this series got rebroadcasted last year on the singapore TVB Classic Channel I think, I saw the download links for it and I just seen the last episode and it does HAVE that scene where Tam Sing plays tricks on the kid from Hong Kong.

    It's a short scene but as people have said, with all the heartache and tragedy in the last episode it just lighten's the tone up a bit

  13. #113
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    Just finished watching THE SHELL GAME I again and about to start THE SHELL GAME II again next week. Thirty years on, this is still an excellent series...with a thematic depth and unity that reveal themselves upon close watching and observation.

    The ending seemed slightly rushed, but this seems to be a common weakness of most TVB series.

  14. #114
    Senior Member almo89's Avatar
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    They don't make em like this anymore:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Uwk...ure=plpp_video
    "If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put it in a bottle it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water my friends.

  15. #115
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    Quote Originally Posted by almo89 View Post
    They don't make em like this anymore:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Uwk...ure=plpp_video
    That was one of the greatest moments in TVB history. When Lo 4 Hoi and Cheuk 1 Fu came face to face for the first time, you could almost feel electricity crackling in the air between them.

  16. #116
    Senior Member almo89's Avatar
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    There hasn't been that much charisma on the the TV screen all at once like that in a long time. Patrick Tse seriously looks way cooler at this point of his career than in his black and white film days. The guy that played Cheuk Yut Fu was awesome too. Forgot his real name. His "low soong" accent added character even though it was natural for him haha
    "If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put it in a bottle it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water my friends.

  17. #117
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    Quote Originally Posted by almo89 View Post
    There hasn't been that much charisma on the the TV screen all at once like that in a long time. Patrick Tse seriously looks way cooler at this point of his career than in his black and white film days. The guy that played Cheuk Yut Fu was awesome too. Forgot his real name. His "low soong" accent added character even though it was natural for him haha
    The actor who portrayed Cheuk 1 Fu was Peter Yeung Kwun. It's kind of odd to think that Lo 4 Hoi and Cheuk 1 Fu were portrayed by a pair of dudes named Patrick and Peter.

    The early 1980s were really the peak of Patrick Tse's acting career. He might have had his first burst of superstardom during the 1950s and 1960s, but he was still sort of callow in those days. By the 1980s, he had come into his own as an actor.

    It'd be cool if someday, Nicholas Tse could reprise his father's role as Lo 4 Hoi. I think Nicholas is still ten years away from being able to play the role, however.

  18. #118
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Another TVB classic from the 1980s has become available on YouTube!

    The bad news: like THE BUND, CHOR LAU HEUNG (1979), and THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER (1984), soundtrack songs (vocal versions) have been muted out. How the HELL did TVB get itself into a situation where it loses the licensing to its own soundtrack music? Oh, well...if even international media giants such as NBC/Universal have difficulties with this, I guess it's difficult to blame poor old TVB. The 1980s never could have anticipated 21st Century media technology and copyright laws.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Another TVB classic from the 1980s has become available on YouTube!

    The bad news: like THE BUND, CHOR LAU HEUNG (1979), and THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER (1984), soundtrack songs (vocal versions) have been muted out. How the HELL did TVB get itself into a situation where it loses the licensing to its own soundtrack music? Oh, well...if even international media giants such as NBC/Universal have difficulties with this, I guess it's difficult to blame poor old TVB. The 1980s never could have anticipated 21st Century media technology and copyright laws.
    It's indeed very sad learning about this.

  20. #120
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Another TVB classic from the 1980s has become available on YouTube!

    The bad news: like THE BUND, CHOR LAU HEUNG (1979), and THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER (1984), soundtrack songs (vocal versions) have been muted out. How the HELL did TVB get itself into a situation where it loses the licensing to its own soundtrack music? Oh, well...if even international media giants such as NBC/Universal have difficulties with this, I guess it's difficult to blame poor old TVB. The 1980s never could have anticipated 21st Century media technology and copyright laws.
    Hey Ken. I wonder why they don't redub the background with another type pf music? It won't be great like the original but at least it is better than periods of mute throughout the series. I think I might have an edited version on VCD from < 10 years ago.
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
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