[Review] Bichunmoo
07-02-02, 10:47 AM
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[Review] Bichunmoo
well, got it yesterday and watched it.
imho, it isn't very good... nothing superbly profound about it. the characters are not very well developed (except fot the main guy and his girlfriend). for example, there was another woman who fell in love w/ Jinra, but i didn't even realize that it was a different woman at first... Sullie's brother seemed like an interesting character... Jinra's 10 henchpersons - where did they come from? etc... maybe it should have been a longer movie or a mini-series.
the action is wire-fu type - lots of spinning in the air. and i kept thinking some lateral movement (step to the side when you see the cut coming towards you...) would obviate the secrets of the bichun art... i think Yuen Biao is in it (not sure - but he looks very much like him)
as a popcorn flick, it is decent. i kept wanting to not think too much into it, but the melodrama made it difficult for me. unlike OUATIC, it had no sense of humor and took itself very very seriously.
i know many people liked this movie, but i thought it was passable.
so on my scale: 5.5/10 (maybe a 6/10 if i'm in a good mood
)
imho, it isn't very good... nothing superbly profound about it. the characters are not very well developed (except fot the main guy and his girlfriend). for example, there was another woman who fell in love w/ Jinra, but i didn't even realize that it was a different woman at first... Sullie's brother seemed like an interesting character... Jinra's 10 henchpersons - where did they come from? etc... maybe it should have been a longer movie or a mini-series.
the action is wire-fu type - lots of spinning in the air. and i kept thinking some lateral movement (step to the side when you see the cut coming towards you...) would obviate the secrets of the bichun art... i think Yuen Biao is in it (not sure - but he looks very much like him)
as a popcorn flick, it is decent. i kept wanting to not think too much into it, but the melodrama made it difficult for me. unlike OUATIC, it had no sense of humor and took itself very very seriously.
i know many people liked this movie, but i thought it was passable.
so on my scale: 5.5/10 (maybe a 6/10 if i'm in a good mood
)
07-02-02, 01:08 PM
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Re: [Review] Bichunmoo
Originally posted by young
well, got it yesterday and watched it.
Jinra's 10 henchpersons - where did they come from? etc... maybe it should have been a longer movie or a mini-series.
well, got it yesterday and watched it.
Jinra's 10 henchpersons - where did they come from? etc... maybe it should have been a longer movie or a mini-series.
From Koreanfilm.org
Korean filmmakers are under intense pressure to keep films short, so that theaters can fit in six screenings per day and maximize returns. Bichunmoo is comparatively long at just over two hours, and so four short scenes were removed. Three of these scenes help to characterize our heroes and explain the background of a recurrent painting, but the fourth deleted scene is crucial; it (1) introduces two major characters, (2) informs us that Jinha has adopted a new name, (3) informs us that Jinha has sided with the anti-Mongol forces, (4) outlines the group's strategy of attack, and (5) explains the origin of the Ten Swordsmen who accompany Jinha. Without this background information, Korean viewers were noticeably confused and annoyed with the unfolding of the plot.
Korean filmmakers are under intense pressure to keep films short, so that theaters can fit in six screenings per day and maximize returns. Bichunmoo is comparatively long at just over two hours, and so four short scenes were removed. Three of these scenes help to characterize our heroes and explain the background of a recurrent painting, but the fourth deleted scene is crucial; it (1) introduces two major characters, (2) informs us that Jinha has adopted a new name, (3) informs us that Jinha has sided with the anti-Mongol forces, (4) outlines the group's strategy of attack, and (5) explains the origin of the Ten Swordsmen who accompany Jinha. Without this background information, Korean viewers were noticeably confused and annoyed with the unfolding of the plot.
Go here and skip down about 5 posts to where the deleted scenes are described.
There was mention of an international version containing the deleted scenes being released at some point, but I don't think it ever materialized.
Thanks for the review. Part of me agrees with your comments of the film. The other part of me enjoys the film as 'nice-visual-entertainment'.
Cheers,
Gabe
07-02-02, 02:43 PM
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thanks for the link. well, that explains why i thought it was so disjointed - which i had first attributed to its basis on a comic book.
btw, i should add that i am not the biggest fan of wire-fu. even CTHD. i really like CTHD for the story though and themes (redemption, love lost, etc). that's where i thought bichunmoo was failing.
btw, i should add that i am not the biggest fan of wire-fu. even CTHD. i really like CTHD for the story though and themes (redemption, love lost, etc). that's where i thought bichunmoo was failing.
Last edited by young; 07-02-02 at 02:48 PM.
