Legendary Amazons

[GeneChing]

Seriously, the pop definition of the root of the word 'Amazon' means 'without boob' because Amazons of legend removed one because it got in the way of fighting. That's about as hardcore as you can get for a woman. I can't even imagine a male equivalent of that.

Maybe Jackie can imagine that.

Jackie Chan: I want to be a Woman
2011-11-02 09:36:05

"Legendary Amazons" premiered in Beijing. [Photo: mitme.com]

At the premiere ceremony of his new movie "Legendary Amazons," famed action star Jackie Chan said that he really wanted to be one of the heroines of Yang Family.

Based on the legendary story of the widows and daughters of the Yang family who lived during the Song Dynasty, the tale revolves around how they fought off invaders after their male kin laid down their lives on the battlefields.

The movie was produced by the Chinese Kung Fu megastar and directed by Frankie Chan.

The two of them took the actors who played the legendary amazons, Cecilia Cheung, Cheng Peipei, Liu Xiaoqing, Kathy Chow and Chen Zihan to the premiere ceremony yesterday in Beijing.

Jackie Chan told the media he made the movie because he had adored the story of Yang Family for a long time. "It's a pity I'm a man," he said, "I really wanted to portray a heroine of the family."

Famous Chinese soft song singer Tang Can showed up on the night and performed the theme song for "Legendary Amazons."

The movie is slated for release on November 18.

[GeneChing]

Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart,
You’re shaking my confidence daily.
Oh Cecilia, I’m down on my knees,
I’m begging you please to come home.

Cecilia Cheung's fierce comeback
By Joy Fang
my paper
Tuesday, Nov 15, 2011


SHE'S made the news for being embroiled in a sex scandal, and for a high- profile divorce.

But Hong Kong's Cecilia Cheung is now telling the world, through her new role as a woman who leads others into battle, that she's fierce and powerful.

Subtext: Do not mess with her.

Cheung, 31, who had photos of her in the nude leaked on the Internet in 2008 (yes, in the Edison Chen scandal), split from husband Nicholas Tse earlier this year.

Her new film, Legendary Amazons - a period movie produced by Jackie Chan under his production company, Jackie & JJ Productions, and directed by Frankie Chan - is being heralded as her comeback movie.

The movie, which opens in Singapore on Thursday, sees Cheung in her biggest role since the epic fantasy film, The Promise (2005).

While the actress starred in Chinese New Year film All's Well Ends Well, which was released in February this year, she had to jostle for space with the ensemble cast, which included Carina Lau and Lynn Hung.

Her recent comedy, Treasure Hunt - in which her elder son with Tse, Lucas, four, had a small role - was critically panned when it was released in August.

However, Legendary has the makings of a blockbuster.

Based on a famous Chinese tale set in the Song dynasty, it is a remake of the Shaw Brothers' 1972 classic, The 14 Amazons. It also cost a staggering US$16 million (S$20.5 million) to make.

The 108-minute action thriller focuses on the heroic efforts of the widows and daughters of the Yang family, who fight off invaders after all their male kin are massacred. Talk about girl power.

It stars Richie Ren as General Yang Zongbao, who is (spoiler alert!) killed, leaving his widow, Mu Guiying (Cheung), to lead other women in the family to rise up against their enemies.

At a press conference in Shanghai, Cheung said that she hopes she was able to portray the spirit of female strength accurately, "so that when my son sees it, he knows even women have a brave side", she said.

She was reportedly paid NT$30 million (S$1.28 million), and had signed on on one condition - that she not suffer any pelvic injuries during filming, as she wished to have a third child, according to the production company.

So, how did she fare as a gung-ho female warrior?

Reviews for the movie have been mixed, with some saying the women are too pretty to be convincing warriors.

Others praised Cheung for holding her own during the fierce, and violent, battle scenes. One thing's for sure, this movie's one to watch.

'Legendary Amazons' Needs Film Rating
2011-11-14 14:30:15 Chinese Films


"Legendary Amazons" was said to be the bloodiest movie of recent years. [Photo: douban]

Chinese parents and film critics are appealing for a system of film classification alongside the development of home-grown cinema, which contains more adult content than ever before. "Legendary Amazons," a costume heroine-themed movie produced by Jackie Chan, was said to be the bloodiest film in recent years by a cinema manager after it was screened in Kunming Lijiang, Yunnan province, last weekend.

The special screening event attracted over a hundred cinema managers to view the new release prior to nationwide screening. The reviews of those in attendance were strikingly similar – the movie certainly has the makings of a blockbuster, but the content is too violent and features far too much blood. Other members of the audience member were also shocked on the night, saying, "No male actors have ever fought like that in a Chinese film before. So, seeing a group of women killing others in such a way was beyond our imagination."

As was alluded to in a promotional trailer released earlier this year, scenes of exploding heads, people being stabbed by spears, and bodies hacked into pieces all featured in the movie. Some netizens commented on the trailer, stating that "Women nowadays are too cruel to control", while another surprised viewer said, "How can these scenes pass the strict censorship system of the Film Bureau."

A system which would classify the content and suitability of movies has been one of the most talked about topics among Chinese film makers and movie-goers in recent years. Many parents have taken their children to cinemas in the past and have had to endure awkward moments as they are asked by innocent children, "Why is that man showing parts of his body?", or, "What are the man and woman doing with their shirts off?" The call for a classification system has been audible for years. However, there is still uncertainty surrounding the implementation of such a system in the Chinese film industry.

Regardless of whether there is a rating or not, Chinese parents should think twice about taking their children with them when they go to watch the action-packed "Legendary Amazons," which will be released nationwide on November 18.

[GeneChing]

Love the title of this review (even if traveling is misspelled).

Fri, Nov 18 2011 | 0 Comments
Legendary Amazons: The sisterhood of the Travelling Widows
By: Gwendoline Sim

After a couple of ensemble and lightweight pieces like All’s Well Ends Well and Treasure Hunt released earlier this year, Cheung’s finally cast as the protagonist in Legendary Amazons, based on the folk story of some widows and women whose menfolk were slaughtered in war. When, the last surviving male heir of the famous Yang clan, Yang Wengguang (played by Xiao Mingyu), is also conscripted by the emperor, the Yang women don armor and ride like a dozen frenzied Mulans, into battle to protect and fight alongside him, leading the army to victory.

This beloved story, set in the Song dynasty in China, has been retold many times in film, TV series and even cartoons. In fact, this version is a remake of a 1972 Shaw film, the 14 Amazons, which also stars Cheng Pei-pei, the Madame of the Wuxia movie world circa the 1960s.

With a jaw-dropping budget of US$20 million budget, and sufficient martial credos lent to it from having director Frankie Chan (of The Prodigal Son and Outlaw Brothers) and producer super gongfu star Jackie Chan at its helm. The movie was all brawn and bravado with impeccable martial arts choreography, orchestrated by Wu Bin, a veteran coach with Beijing’s wushu team. Committing a slip that some martial arts movies tend to make, the movie spent a tad too much time focusing on the intricate minutiae of the fighting scenes, which were polished nonetheless, and less time on the story’s narrative.

With verve and vigour, the ladies in the movie swash buckled with convincing chivalry, all the while dressed in full battle regalia, befitting their femininity, and splashing a riot of colour against the harsh backdrop of the battlefield. Exquisitely and beautifully designed, the costumes were perhaps one of the best ever seen in a movie steeped in history like this one was.

However, for a film that cost that much to make, it was bereft of the acting chops that could bring the story to life. Instead the acting felt contrived, with Cecilia Cheung’s many interpretations of shock often come across as comedic rather than dramatic. It also seemed as if the film was wagering on Cheng Pei-pei, who played the Yang clan’s matriarch, to carry the story forward, albeit limply. Her compellingly persuasive portrayal of a matriarch trying to hold the family together was poignantly moving and resonated with honesty and depth of feeling.

If you were to look at the movie in terms of the calibre of its costumes, the music, and the flawless martial arts choreography, it is a worthy watch. Period and martial arts buffs would also find this film partial to their appetite.


Movie: Legendary Amazons
Rating: 2/5
Opens: Nov 17
Duration: 108 min
Language: Mandarin Chinese (With English and Mandarin subtitles)
Age Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Action,
Director: Frankie Chan
Cast: Cheng Pei-Pei, Cecilia Cheung, Richie Ren

[GeneChing]

The title sucks. It's sort of a redux of an old Shaw Brothers flick 14 Amazons, so that's probably where the title came from. The ladies are all bad ass warriors and introduced quickly. It's kind of hard to follow if you don't know who's who. They introduce each character with a Chinese side-title, so Chinese readers can keep track. But if you don't know, it doesn't really matter. Originally, there was a huge A list of stars attached, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Z, but it whittled down to just Cheng Pei Pei and Cecilia Cheung. There's still a lot of hot actresses, but it's not at all sexy as they are wearing armor all the time (but if you're into that, like some are into space suits, well, you might like it).

This film is basically lots of medieval battle scenes. LOTS. Sieges scenes, duels (it's common for generals to duke it out while all the troops watch), and lots and lots of sword fights. There's a slow part at the beginning where the amazons learn their fate. There's a few other slow scenes. The rest is just fight scenes.

And it's outrageously goofy. The the arch villain sports a pompadour mullet mohawk. The costumes look like tokusatsu - outlandish helmets, colorful capes, crazy plastic armor painted metallic, and yarn chain mail. There's a lot of wire-work flying about, and absurd battle formations. People throw their weapons like boomerangs which kill intended targets and then bounce back into their hands. Heroes make one swing of their blade and a dozen extras go flying.

This film introduced a new term to me: arrow shower. It's very Hero.

Luc & Li Jing have prominent roles in the beginning of the film - they have lines, a few close-ups, fight scenes and everything.

If you can hang with the following, maybe you can hang with this film. NOTE: it's somewhat of a SPOILER. According to this film, chain mail can be quickly unraveled and then woven into long escape ropes. Now, China doesn't have that much history with chain mail, at least not of the medieval Euro sort. And all the chain mail in this film is actually knitted yarn, spray-painted silver. It's an old Hollywood costume device. So maybe the filmmakers just have no idea what chain mail really is? I don't know. But it was a funny deux ex machina and is used twice.END SPOILER

[Hebrew Hammer]

**** you Netflix! Against my better judgement I watched this chick flick and was pleasantly amused. Like any good chick flick there was plenty of melodrama, some infrequent crying, fighting over men, and gaudy costumes.

It completely reminded me of the Shaw Bros films I used to watch as kid in the Bay Area on Kung Fu Theater. That was its charm, lots and lots of fight scenes...some decent and others way over the top. My favorite clip is watching one of ladies riding on horseback flinging two HUGE Golden melon hammers from horseback then following it up with a flying knee to the chest. Bravo ladies. I always appreciate a nice set of melons and a woman who knows how to use them. She later uses them to pulp some dude's head...that made it all worth watching. There are other fun and silly death scenes...that I won't spoil for you. Good fun if you have an hour and a half to kill.

I give it 5 Bawangs out of 10.