Scholar Ho (Shih Jun) is charged with the task of transcribing some ancient Buddhist sutras, and travels to an old fort to perform the task in peace and quiet, since the army stationed there were either killed or evacuated. He finds the fort somewhat less then deserted, however, when the mysterious Mr Tsui shows up with his bizarre friend Chang (surprisingly played by veteran actor Tin Fung). More strange figures appear, including an old washerwoman and Melody (Hsu Feng), a striking would-be scholar who is adept at playing the Chinese drum. To further complicate matters, after a supposed romantic encounter with Melody while under the influence, Ho finds himself morally blackmailed into matrimony. There’s also a mysterious and beautiful flautist who periodically appears to Ho, only to disappear when he gets close. What’s more, the sutras he’s transcribing are said to wield terrible power amongst the demons of the underworld.

Pre-dating A CHINESE GHOST STORY by a good seven years or so, and clearly influential on that film (I kept expecting a cry of “Po Ye Po Lo Mi” to issue from the speakers at any second), LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN is a bit of a tricky film to review. It doesn’t have the flash or thunder of A CHINESE GHOST STORY, but that’s not the point. As the reviews below state, this film is all about atmosphere, and it does do an admirable job in creating a suitable setting for the spooky goings on. There are some great landscape shots and again an excellent central location (where did King Hu find all these locations?!)

As in A TOUCH OF ZEN, the central character is played by Shih Jun. I find this guy to be an excellent choice, personally, for precisely the same reason some find him unlikeable – he doesn’t LOOK like a traditional lead actor should look, with his rather protruding teeth and unconventional looks. He plays the kind of unexceptional “everyman” I can relate to, both in this and in A TOUCH OF ZEN. In fact, as the main male protagonist in that film, he didn’t so much as throw a punch in anger in the whole film, and he plays a similar role in LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN. His character serves as a way for the viewer to see through his eyes, sort of like an outside observer witnessing events way out of his control. It’s a device that works very well in my opinion.

The small cast and remote location also serves to add atmosphere. Sylvia Chang as the ghostly flautist is particularly striking, and some of the reverse photography on the smoke effects work quite well. The “sex” scene between Ho and Melody is quite interesting too, cutting away from the actors and showing insects and suchlike perform the act. This culminates in an act of sexual violence between two spiders, which serves as an indication of the true nature of Melody’s character.

However, LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN does contain a bit too much information to truly take in on first viewing, and the viewer is left at the end with more questions than answers. What’s more, it appeared to me to be lacking in a certain special “something” at times, although I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s not the lack of fight scenes, and it’s not the lack of a good story, but something seemed to be missing.

The Winson DVD does its best, and until a proper remastering job can be done on these King Hu films, it’ll have to do. The soundtrack includes a lot of noise and can be quite distorted at times, and I found the subtitles to be a bit annoying – they appear a fraction of a second after the performer speaks, which sometimes makes it difficult to identify exactly who is saying what in scenes where dialogue comes more quickly or when more than two people are talking together. I agree with the reviews below that this should be watched in Mandarin rather than the default Cantonese track, which just seems WRONG somehow.