Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

[pjshimmer]

for more stories based on an event or series of events, your best bet is Chinese TV series. I don't recommend anything HK or TVB has to offer, but Taiwanese productions are always magnificent. No matter what you're really after - story, action, music, or acting, you can't go wrong. Most stories, though, have been 99% modified from the original event to add more flavors to the audience. Since I am simply a fanatic of period setting, anything period looks good to me.<br><br>

[pjshimmer]

I really think you will like Jet Li's Once Upon A Time in China. It's very authentic (though not as authentic as CTHD) to the period it portraits, and the film's main power/attraction leans more towards the story than it does on martial arts. excellent reflection of that period.<br><br>

[pjshimmer]

when you mentioned "I can't believe you think so little of a cinematic and groundbreaking masterpiece like 'Swordsman 2', I hope you weren't directed at me, because I agree with most of what you had to say. However, I disagree the Swordsman series are superior to Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2, which are two of my favorites. In my opinion, the Swordsman movie adaptions are not quite as good as the TV series with Chow Yun Fat. While Swordsman 2 is superbly choreographed and unbelievablly stylish, its storyline is /severely/ flawed and most unconvincing. That is more than enough to rank it below FSY. Still, I would say Swordsman 2 is one of my 30 favorite films.<br><br>I don't know what it is about CTHD that I despite so much. I like it a little less every time I rewatch it. Perhaps it's Zhang Ziyi's character (Yu Jiao Long)'s attitude that I can't stand. Yu Jiao Long is portrayed as a much more brilliant and mature /mom/ in another novel that I read years ago, so I like to see her more in that respect.<br><br>BTW, OUATIC 1 is probably my favorite movie.<br><br>

[pjshimmer]

I like your theory very much - "it's great to see the film in Mandarin ratehr than Cantonese (or dubbed) as it is set in Mainland China." I wish every director in HK would also think that way. Unfortunately, this is perhaps the first movie [with a period setting & featuring top HK actors] that was originally spoken Mandarin (since the Shaw Bros days anyway). Nevertheless for me, Mandarin always works better than Cantonese, since I don't understand Cantonese.<br><br>