Legend of the Mountain (King Hu)

[Ky-Fi]

I didn't see another thread on this---just got my shipping notification that the new Blu-ray release is on its way to me, and I'm quite excited.

Of Kung Hu's films, I own:

Sons of the Good Earth
Come Drink With Me
Dragon Inn
A Touch of Zen
The Fate of Lee Khan

...and actually, I don't think I've seen any of his others, including Legend of the Mountain. Sounds great, though:

Although most commonly associated with the Wuxia genre, in 1979 King Hu directed the epic fantasy-horror, Legend of the Mountain. Heavily influenced by traditional Chinese aesthetics and Zen Buddhist philosophy, it has come to be regarded as one of his greatest filmmaking achievements.

A young scholar, Ho Yunqing (Shih Jun, A Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn), is tasked by an eminent monk to transcribe a Buddhist sutra said to have immense power over the spirits of the afterlife. To execute his work in peace, he travels to an isolated monastery deep in the mountains, where he encounters a number of strange people, including the mysterious and beautiful Melody (Hsu Feng, A Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn). As malicious spirits attempt to steal the sutra, Ho becomes entangled in a conflict between duelling forces of good and evil. Will he leave the mountain alive?

Adapted from a Song Dynasty folk tale, Legend of the Mountain exemplifies King Hu’s masterful command of spectacular visuals and philosophical insights into life and existence. Heavily edited upon release, the film has now been fully restored to its original length in stunning 4K, and The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film for the first time ever on home video in the UK, in a special Dual Format edition.

[reason108]

I thought there was already a thread regarding this. But, for some reason, this does not seem to be generating the same enthusiasm that Dragon Inn or A Touch of Zen did. Perhaps they are just more popular films. But, I have really wanted an uncut release of Legend of the Mountain. I also hope we get Raining in the Mountain and (at least) The Fate of Lee Khan on blu-ray.

I received my shipping notice too.

I own:

Valiant Ones - VHS
Come Drink with Me - dvd & blu-ray
Dragon Inn - blu-ray
A Touch of Zen - dvd & blu-ray
The Fate of Lee Khan - dvd
Legend of the Mountain - dvd & blu-ray (on the way)
The Swordsman - blu-ray & (possibly dvd)
Painted Skin - dvd

[Ludwig]

The Fate of Lee Khan belongs to fortune star. I think it just a hd transfer. terrible video and audio usually.

[reason108]

Originally Posted by Ludwig

The Fate of Lee Khan belongs to fortune star. I think it just a hd transfer. terrible video and audio usually.

Yeah, that`s right. Upscale to blu-ray knowing them.

[jmat91]

Shipped! Lets see the transfer hmmm

[qw0aszx]

Originally Posted by jmat91

Shipped! Lets see the transfer hmmm

The screenshots from dvdbeaver looks similar to the 4KDCP I saw last year at Shanghai International Film Festival. Due to the limitations of the original production, many scenes in this film were out of focus or had a blurred feeling, I think the result was inferior to the clarity of 4K restorations for Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. Also, color on this restoration was heavily Ritrovata'ed even though this seems restored by Taiwan Film Institute themselves. The color and contrast was so uncomfortable that I couldn't quite enjoy the film itself.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by qw0aszx

The screenshots from dvdbeaver looks similar to the 4KDCP I saw last year at Shanghai International Film Festival. Due to the limitations of the original production, many scenes in this film were out of focus or had a blurred feeling, I think the result was inferior to the clarity of 4K restorations for Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. Also, color on this restoration was heavily Ritrovata'ed even though this seems restored by Taiwan Film Institute themselves. The color and contrast was so uncomfortable that I couldn't quite enjoy the film itself.

Blame for colour and contrast issues are to a) Ritrovata screwing up the image and b) neither Eureka or Kino fixing it

No sale.

[reason108]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/dvd_r...in_blu-ray.htm


Yeah, I can see that patented Ritrovata yellow tint. But, compared to what I have on dvd, it looks nothing less than amazing! I have a WDV (Winson Entertainment Distribution, LTD) dvd with a running time of roughly 1hr 51min. It does feature both a Mandarin and Cantonese audio track.

Behold these non anamorphic screenshots from my dvd and compare them to the screenshots from the dvd beaver web site.


WDV Dvd:









It`s going to be a real treat to see the complete uncut version which seems to be around 3 hrs 12min long.

[DangerousG]

Gonna peep a screening of this next week

[reason108]

As much as I would love to see some King Hu on the big screen, I don’t think that I could sit there for over 3 hrs without a break.

[reason108]

Originally Posted by qw0aszx

The screenshots from dvdbeaver looks similar to the 4KDCP I saw last year at Shanghai International Film Festival. Due to the limitations of the original production, many scenes in this film were out of focus or had a blurred feeling, I think the result was inferior to the clarity of 4K restorations for Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. Also, color on this restoration was heavily Ritrovata'ed even though this seems restored by Taiwan Film Institute themselves. The color and contrast was so uncomfortable that I couldn't quite enjoy the film itself.

Received my copy today! An absolute beauty! I am floored at how great this movie looks! It looks like a 1970`s movie to me. I don't think that the colors are too exaggerated or hyped. It is very pleasing on the eyes. Any flaws that I am noticing seem to come from the limitations of the filming equipment used, etc. There are a few shots here and there that are slightly out of focus, etc. Thankfully, there are no yellow skies or yellow tinted scenes like those found on the Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen blu-ray releases. Blue skies look blue. According to the included booklet, color grading was done based on some videos provided by the Taiwan Film Institute since there was no print reference. I wish that they had done the same for Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.

According to the booklet, this release was restored in 4k from a first generation vintage interpositive and they used the sound negative preserved at the TFI. They could not use the original negative itself because it was re-edited into the shorter theatrical version and that it was completely damaged by mold and the coiled film strips of some reels were sticky and glued together due to the decay of the support film base.

The mono audio track sounds tiny, thin and piercing to the ears at times. Obviously, the audio track was not meant to be heard through the tiny speakers of a flat-screen television. I had to turn down the volume. Though, the audio is a little overbearing at times, I am still glad that it was used instead of being remixed or replaced like some companies would have done.

The booklet is a real treat with lots of behind-the-scenes pictures. There are a couple of snippets from King Hu. As well, his wife, Ling Chung (whom also co-wrote the story and screenplay) and an essay from Glenn Kenny.

Screen Legend The Magic of King Hu is a decent overview of Hu`s filmography and review of LOTM and Hu`s directing style.

Tony Rayns on Legend of the Mountain is very informative but covers some of the same ground as Screen Legend The Magic of King Hu but with a lot more detail and insight since he was friends with Hu. He tells a nice tale of him and Hu trying to re-edit the movie around the botched Americanized subs and that they had to give up.

I really liked the stills gallery which was comprised mostly of behind-the-scenes photos. A few of them are used in the booklet. But, its much easier on my old eyes to see them on my television than in the included booklet.

To top it off, a trailer promoting the new 4k mastered release on blu-ray is included. I always prefer an original theatrical trailer over a newly created one, so, that is just an extremely minor complaint on an otherwise fantastic release.


I have no plans to double-dip this title again but that Kino cover is a little sexier. The only thing to make me double-dip would be some great extras on the Kino release or if there is a Nova Media lenticular. It just amazes me when I think that I had to live with an old crappy dvd copy for all these years (at least 10 years or so) and now I can own more than one copy on blu-ray with different features. I`m just glad that such great films are getting released with the respect they deserve.





Overall, I am extremely pleased with this release and it gets an almost perfect score from me. But, hey, I am no experienced film critic so your mileage may vary. I am looking at the whole package of O-card, extras, sound and PQ. So, I would easily rate it a 4-1/2 out of 5. I would have rated it a little higher but the audio was rather distracting at times.

[PGW]

I agree - I thought the film looked fantastic! The few shots where the sky is tinted yellow were obviously intended to look like that. The sound didn't bother me.

The film reminded me of "Barry Lyndon" - not much of a plot, but gorgeous visuals that transport the viewer to another world. It's a very different kind of film from "Dragon Inn" or "A Touch of Zen."

[Huseyin]

I have the Eureka edition and my god is it jam packed with features! The restoration is stunning.
I recently added into a bluray update on my channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2wNJ8YXkPY&t

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by reason108

Thankfully, there are no yellow skies or yellow tinted scenes like those found on the Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen blu-ray releases. Blue skies look blue.

Originally Posted by PGW

The few shots where the sky is tinted yellow were obviously intended to look like that.

Did you guys watch the same disc?

And no Taiwanese movie made in 1979 was ever intended to have yellow skies. Just. No.

[reason108]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Did you guys watch the same disc?

And no Taiwanese movie made in 1979 was ever intended to have yellow skies. Just. No.

Well, there are many shots with morning sunlight and a few shots with cloudy skies; perhaps with a little yellow-ish tint - as in sunlight shining through or behind the clouds. But, what I am saying is that I have not seen any scenes in the movie that look like some of those from A Touch of Zen or Dragon Inn where everything was bathed in that yellow tint. Clear blue skies are blue. The movie looks to me like it was released in the 70’s. Dvdbeaver have those screenshots up, so that should give you a decent idea what to expect. Compare the color timing with those from my old dvd I posted. I’m very pleased with the Eureka release. There’s no reason for me to ever revisit my old dvd again.

What I would assume PGW is referring to are some "special effects" shots like in this scene:

Theatrical cut dvd:


Eureka blu-ray:



Theatrical cut dvd:


Eureka blu-ray:

[PGW]

Yes, that's exactly the effect I was referring to.

[Markgway]

My bad, I thought you were referring to standardised grading.

[jmat91]

Sounds like another winner. Can’t wait for mine to show.

[Bradsdadg]

Just watched this last night, fantastic film!! Wondering if anyone has other similar recommendations where they deal with more of a magical/ghost world like this...

[reason108]

Originally Posted by Bradsdadg

Just watched this last night, fantastic film!! Wondering if anyone has other similar recommendations where they deal with more of a magical/ghost world like this...

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain comes to mind but is a very kinetic film. Much different than this but is still a lot of fun. Don’t get it confused with its sequel, Legend of Zu. The original film is an absolute gem.

Also, King Hu directed a film towards the end of his career called Painted Skin. Not in the same league as his older films. And, it’s possible that he may not have completed directing that himself. But, perhaps i’m Just confusing the details about that film with The Swordsman.