THE BEST HK FILM EVER MADE
938752
A must see for anyone who likes these films.  But I warn you it will spoil other films in that there are no better for dure amazing stunts with no wires, stand-ins or cut-aways
865927
This film was recommended to me, and it took me a while to get to a store where I could rent it for the first time. Then shortly following the rental I felt I needed to buy it and watch it a hundred more times. I sat at my computer paying close attention to even the tiniest details. This film is all about precision (See the special features- 300 day documentary about the making).

First, this film is about two orphan boys living in a crumbling town called "Treasure Town." The focus is all about perspective and how one views the world. While Kuro (Black) has a very dark possessive view of his home town, one that he thinks should never be changed, while Shiro (White) has an imagination and an eye for how the world really should be.

The two are endlessly dogged by the Yakuza who want want to change the town into an amusement park (among other things) and make a profit. Kuro fights to preserve "My Town" and keep it a place that he can always be the top of and see everything from. Like many other people he wants to keep a sense of security. The world turns upside down with its inner workings and everything in the real town seems so superficial that world and dreams of Shiro seem the most logical option for surviving.

The precise colors, time taken for each shot is clearly expressed, nothing in this film is ever missed, all the work is clear cut and every single scene has its meaning.

Kuro and Shiro share a lonely life living in broken down car and living off stolen money and goods. Although Kuro lives to care for his friend, he has his reservations about how care free Shiro is and that Shiro doesn't entirely like the way the town is developing. The conflicting feelings and various lenses that they see this world from is amazing.

I sat back after seeing this and thought it was an intense but completely necessary violent movie about two kids who just don't want their childhood world to be shattered by the adults. So many themes, ideas, and undertones play into this film that it's open to all viewers.

The time, effort, and thought put into this 111 minute film is clear. The sync of the musical score by Plaid and incredible ending sound by Asian Kung Fu Generation and the bizzare world by Mr. Arias makes me want to go be a director, he did an amazing adaptation of "Black and White" and transformed it into something else entirely with more graphic images and characters that you don't want to ever forget.

If you liked Akira, Steamboy, or like strange, abstract, but intricately woven films, this is the top of the list, and is good for a group of friends or personal viewing. This deserves a 10 out of 5!
1507490
I first saw this film in the 1970s when Asian martial arts films were still quite a novelty for me. I really only knew Kurosawra's two films with Toshiro Mifune as the masterless samurai, which unlike SEVEN SAMURAI do not probe the social and moral context of the warrior hero. This Chinese film does just that - as well as having exciting, acrobatic sword fights. The film takes its time and lingers over intimate scenes and scenes with a Buddhist master, who is the most powerful warrior of all but simply beyond the realm of conflict most of us live in. His presence in the film is remarkably moving and spiritual and the climax of the storyline belongs to him. There is also a villain who appears only toward the end who embodies such compressed evil that I found him terrifying. But in terms of action sequences this film is a hoot! They are numerous, varied and unfailingly exciting. All these years later I can recall them in my memory - that is the degree of their vividness. They release a simply giddy kinetic joy while viewing. They are NOT graphically bloody, this is a hymn to force but it does not wallow in gore. It is violence in the service of the good cause, and you will understand that statement fully as you watch with fascinated attention.
1913886
'Ashes of Time' is the rarest of Wong Kar Wei's films and best remembered as the one that so confounded him that he went off and made 'Chungking Express' to clear his mind before finishing it. Actually, it's worth remembering in its own right, as he brings his uniquely romantic take on the world to the fantasy swordplay genre with the expected unexpected results. There are swordfights, most of them pretty good, but the fantasy is kept to the bare minimum with the focus on the emotional cost of being a professional killer. Love is lost and so are memories, vengeance is sought and denied, characters meet but fail to connect, secrets are kept and regrets shared, all filtered through Leslie Cheung's inn on the edge of the desert where he acts as agent for killers for hire. The interest here isn't in action but reasons, and in the emotional cost of pursuing a life of violence, all captured via his usual dreamlike imagery and poetic confessional narration. Part Hong Kong, part European, part Leone (acknowledged/plagiarised at times in the score), not everything works, but the parts that do are quite magnificent, whether it's a woman tracing her hand over the sleeping body of a man who is not her lover or the curiously memorable shots of the horse thieves waiting their turn in a battle.

It can get confusing - not only do the characters sometimes blur into each other but he even hires both Tony Leungs for key roles in the same film while Brigitte Lin plays dual roles and, just to add to the clarity, the film's chronology is very misleading - but it's worth bearing with. A film I'll definitely be returning to, and I suspect more than just the once.

However, this DVD edition is one to avoid for reasons already outlined in other reviews here. Instead, track down the Hong Kong Mei Ha release: the picture quality is grainy, but the English subtitling is much better handled.
1372598
This video both in DVD and VHS format (I have both, having just purchased a DVD copy), is an English dubbed, panned and scanned, old school Hong Kong cheapie done on a very small budget with mostly unknowns.  But it is well worth getting if you like old school kung fu flicks, Tai Chi, and good fighting without wires.  It begins with documentary film clips of Chen Xiaowang, one of the greatest Chen style Tai Chi Ch'uan practioners in the world who is from the Chen Family, the creators and preservers of Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan, the "mother" style of all Tai Chi styles.  This is interspersed with documentary film clips of another great Tai Chi practioner whose name slips my mind, but trust me, she too is great.  The film itself uses the classic cliched kung fu film revenge plot of "you killed my Dad, prepare to die!", but it carries it out with some fresh touches of humor and style and some great fighting sequences.  The Tai Chi philosophy and principles are addressed with respect and authenticity.  As an amateur practioner of Tai Chi, I can "feel" the "echoes" of genuine Tai Chi in this movie.  The locations are sort of haunting and the acting is not bad. There is some classic Hong Kong filmmaking visual "chutzpah", most especially a fight scene featuring dozens of bad guy drones in brightly colored costumes running around in color coordinated circles, conducted by the had bad guy, the evil general.  It is like some sort of Busby Berkley nightmare: strangely beautiful, beautifully strange.  The dubbing is the typical over-the-top English voice over dubbing, but is not as bad as some and is better than many.  It would be nice to have a wide screen version of this movie, but this flawed panned and scanned dubbed, mono  print is most likely as good as it will ever get.  And again, if you are a fan of this genre, this is a must have--at the very least it is a must see.
4030628
This film deserves all the praise it has received, and more. The story is terrific, filled with comedy, drama, honor, and a heavy dose of action. The fight scenes are beautifully portrayed as deadly ballets of sorts. Releasing it in theaters subtitled instead of dubbed was definitely the best choice, and the fact that it grossed over $140 million proves it. What other subtitled film can boast that? And if subtitles aren't your thing(ya illiterate bums...:P), the DVD has an English dub. Other than that, the extras are on the slim side, but who cares? This is a must own for any serious movie fan.
1033450
Super Ninjas, Five Element Ninjas, Chinese Super Ninjas, call it what you will, but if you know this title, than you know it is pretty much the greatest, classic kung-fu film ever! Not only is it the best kung-fu film, it is arguably the greatest ninja flick as well. This movie is action packed from the start, and chock full of glorious weapons in action, flowing glue-on facial hair and side burns, and copious amounts of fake gore. And the story is actually pretty damn good as well, not difficult to follow or lost in the translation like so many other films from the Far East. But enough about the movie, this is a review of the Blu-Ray DVD.  As a fan of this film, I have collected nearly every release on VHS and DVD to come out, including all the European import versions, bootlegs, and most recently a Mandarin standard DVD release that included a restored wide-screen version with the original Chinese dialog. This was a treat, because for the past 30 years I have only been able to watch this film in 4:3 TV mode with the English dubbing.  So to see the film in its original scope with the original audio was a real treat for a long time fan.  I figured this version would be the best I would ever see, and that was until this Blu-Ray version came out, which is not only in its original wide-screen format, but it includes both the original dialog audio as well as the hilarious, nostalgic English language track. The picture is excellent, and appears fully restored.  And perhaps the most important part of any good release, is that the film is devoid of cuts and edits.  In many previous releases, this film had much of the excessive violence removed and the film cut for length.  But this Blu-Ray release is pretty much perfection on plastic! This is the ultimate version to own, and I suppose the only additional comments I can make about this release, is regarding the special features, which are not all that exciting, but worth a watch once.
2639280
An unbelievably good film by Andy Lau. The plot is utterly chinese, and the special effects are completely spectacular. When I showed this movie to my friends, they cursed me for not having shown it to them sooner, and then  demanded to know what other gems I had hidden away in my library. You will  never be so popular as the week after you show someone this movie.
2131569
Best Kung fu movie ever, beside kung pow at least
4943195
An almost perfect movie.
I couldn't believe it was made in '81! The choreography is superb and the speed of execution is unbelievble!  The cast is woderfull , from Samo Hung to Yuen Biao to the excellent Frankie Chan to  the godly Lam Ching Ying ( his wing chun is really breath-taking ).
Order  this movie if it's the last thing you do.
247395
This is definately a great film. The  acting,although dubbed,is pretty good and the movie manages to stay on track. It is mostly serious except a couple silly scenes. The movie highlights chinese legend Huo Yuen Chia. This  was the master of Bruce Lee in Chinese Connection,and Jet Li in Fist Of  Legend. Although in this movie he's called Fok Yuen Gap(translation  error?).Huo's father(Phillip Kao) views him(young Yuen Chia is played by  Yuen Yat Chor)as a weakling and will not train him in martial arts,much to  his changrin. Instead his father hires an academic teacher(Shoji Kurata) for  him. Feeling sorry for the young boy,the teacher decides to teach the boy  how to fight. He learns a lot from the teacher and also spies on his father  teaching his brothers the family style. The teacher leaves(he was actually a  japanese spy,there to learn the Huo family style) and young Huo continues  to train. Years later Huo(now played by Leung Kar Yan) is still spying on  his father,and actually saves the family name by beating an eagle claw  stylist. After that the father names Yuen Chia head of the family. After  defeating a karate fighter,the Japanese warrior kills himself. The warrior's  father wants revenge and sends Japan's best fighter to china for a duel. The  fighter happens to be Yuen Chia's old teacher. During the end fight we see  that the Japanese teacher still cares for his student though he pretends  not to. There is a very serious tone to the end fight which makes it even  better. The fights are great. It is the usual great early 80's choreography  and hard hitting fun from the Yuen clan. On a kind of funny side,sometimes  when people are yelling Fok Yuen Gap,it doesnt always sound like that.
2661020
You do not get much better than Druken Master 2.  I can not count the times I watched this on a Bronx Bootleg special with impossible to read subtitles.  It was so awesome to finally see this film in a remastered edition.
This is simply one of Jackie Chan's best, if you like his stuff you must see this.  The fight scenes get better and better as the film goes on.
This is a must buy!
426473
This is a very well crafted film.  The far east locations are stunning and the sets certainly convey well the experiences of those times.  As always, the film does differ from the novel and that is the reality of that noticeable difference between the two mediums.  In film, action must translate a great deal of thought.  The strongest point this film makes is in the casting.  If one reads the book, the characters in the film more than meet expectations.  The acting is very credible and gives power to the story being told.  I can see watching this film every year and never growing tired of it.
4134462
"Curse of The Golden Flower" is an brilliantly done movie and instantly one of my favorites!  If I had to choose between 3 great movies where they don't speak English such as Pan's Labyrinth, Passion of the Christ and this, I pick this. This movie could not have been done better in terms of acting, casting, action, gore, and especially visuals. Lots and lots of gold in the palace. Gong Li and Chow-Yun Fat are perfect as the Emperor and Empress. It never bores, and it's even like something Shakespeare would write set in 928 A.D. in China in the Tang Dynasty. You can optionally watch it in English dubs, but I much rather prefer it in Chinese with English subtitles: The way it's supposed to be heard. When I listened to it in English, it was good, but didn't seem quite suitable to the mouthing of the words, like you'd see in Godzilla. {Which is Japan}. It may seem a bit slow in the middle of the story, but quickly goes on, as the story does not feel rushed at all with an awesome moral at the end. It's never confusing and comes together when it's almost over. The result is absolutely amazing...

Here's an interesting fact: Jay Chou who plays Prince Jai also has a singing career and sings the end credits song. This is only his second movie, and an astounding career turn at that to be starring in such an excellent movie. 10/10 by a long shot.
1342672
Saw this one last night and...I LOVED IT!!! Available on Netflix streaming. The social commentary storyline may appear hokey at times but stick with it, the directing and cinematography is beautifully done which only makes the brutal and intense moments that much more spectacular. A dose of dark humor and awesome gore scenes makes this one of Hong Kongs best.
926322
If you're even a small fan of Jackie, you need to watch this.  If you're  fan of HK action movies, you need to see this.  You will gain so much respect for how Jackie Chan makes his stunts look so spectacular and effortless.  You will also come to see how unspectacular Hollywood stunt filming is after watching this.  Jackie Chan is a master of his craft!!!!
523864
Awesome. If you haven't seen this film, you are missing out. Anita Mui is great as Jackie's step mother. Funny, action packed and you root for the good guys in this film.

  Sure, the dub isn't the best (nor is it the worst), but this film is a must see for anyone into Hong Kong films.