Curse of the Black Scorpion

[Kam]

I picked this up from a recommendation from a friend who knows I'm a big shakespeare fan. They hadn't told me it was an adaptation and as I was watching it, it quickly dawned on me that this was a rather beautiful adaptation of Hamlet. It should have hit me given the opening scrawl of information of the goings-on with the king, his brother, wife, and son. But... sometimes I can be dense.

There is a few little twists in it that serve to make it it's own story and a well done 'adaptation' rather than just another retelling of Hamlet. It's beautiful in it's own tragedy that differs ever so slightly from the ending of Hamlet, but makes it all the more beautiful for it. The last 2 minutes, if anyone has seen it or after seeing it, i would LOVE to hear your thoughts on, as I'm not sure if I understood it, but dalmations if it still wasn't moving!

The cinematography is beautiful with the backdrop of historical china serving as another gorgeous canvas. Zhang Ziyi (of crouching tiger fame) is the beautiful young Empress and Xun Zhou plays the loosely based Ophelia role (that Ophelia role is halfway split between the Empress and Xun is done perfectly!) so wonderfully that i've just added a bunch of her movies onto my "To See" list and will hopefully report back soon.

The fight choreography is by Yuen Wo Ping (yep, THAT guy from the matrix and everything else with wires) and the fluid fights are pure dances of death and sensuality in certain sequences.

So if you can't tell by now, this get's a Highly Highly Highly Recommended from me!! Go out and rent it asap!

peace

k2

EDIT:
TItles aka: (2006)
The Legend of the Black Scorpion
Ye Yan

[Smokey]

Thanks for review. Pick it up if I run cross it.

BTW since you like exotic international films, have you ever seen movie Heroic Trio from '92? Very raw with shocking scenes, but excellent fight choreography and story.

[Kam]

i did! a while ago but i'll have to watch it again to refresh my memory. i went through a phase of older kungfu classics and they all kinda blended in together. i remember one where the last fight involved a dude getting his arm nearly dissintigrated and fought with a skeleton hand and still kicked the good guys' butts for another 10 minutes.

will have to go back to my netflix queue to find the title, i think i reviewed it on here too last year but that was one ridiculously fun movie too.

[Worf101]

I rented TLoTBS on netflix and watched it finally last night. I truly enjoyed the film and found it to be quite fun. The only problem was, knowing it to be based on Shakespere's Hamlet I kept comparing it to the Bard's original work and intent. Not sure about the ending though... Thanks for the recomendation.

Da Worfster

[Kam]

I rented TLoTBS on netflix and watched it finally last night. I truly enjoyed the film and found it to be quite fun. The only problem was, knowing it to be based on Shakespere's Hamlet I kept comparing it to the Bard's original work and intent. Not sure about the ending though... Thanks for the recomendation.

Da Worfster

there was a definite departure, imo, from the character role of hamlet and the prince in TLOTBS. i didn't think he was nearly as crazy or conflicted as hamlet is with the mother-queen-card taken out of the situation and replaced with the gf-mother-in-law/aunt-in-law-empress card. but i liked how that variation played out in its own way in this adaptation.

i just don't get what the heck happenned at the end!?? lol

[bobsticks]

I thought that was a B-movie with Joan Severance...

[Worf101]

there was a definite departure, imo, from the character role of hamlet and the prince in TLOTBS. i didn't think he was nearly as crazy or conflicted as hamlet is with the mother-queen-card taken out of the situation and replaced with the gf-mother-in-law/aunt-in-law-empress card. but i liked how that variation played out in its own way in this adaptation.

i just don't get what the heck happenned at the end!?? lol

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..

.
.
.

I was confused too but then I thought about it. Everyone's dead save the Empress and General Ying. General Ying lost his daughter and son to this woman, as well as his pride. Even though he was exiled who else would have more reason to kill her? But we also could have been deliberate left wondering you know... "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" and all that. Welp that's my theory.

Da Worfster