A Touch of Zen

I had already watched "Dragon Inn" and thought it was silly, then sit down to watch this one. After an hour and a half or so of Part 1 finished I hit eject and threw it back on the shelf.Maybe it is because I am not Chinese but I thought the storyline was pretty confusing, and keeping up with the characters when there was a flashback sequence just made it harder to understand. Visually it is very well done considering the vintage of the production, and the English subtitles seem pretty good, none of the misspelled words or confusing phrasing I have seen in other Asian films, but just torture to try and understand. And don't get me wrong, I watch tons of Asian films so the subtitles are second nature for me, I've been a fan of this stuff since before "Enter the Dragon" came out and I probably own 200 of them both vintage and current.Doubtful I'll ever go back and watch Part 2.Edit - OK, I decided to man-up and watch Part 2 last night. I have to say the fight scenes in this film are MUCH better than in "Dragon Inn" but watching this is still just confounding. Many segments are so poorly lit and dark it is nearly impossible to tell what is happening, but the parts that you can see are visually stunning: the desert scenes are beautiful, and the forest scenes, but it is very hard to follow. The end is psychedelic, I mean it is weird and hallucinatory, totally unlike the rest of the film.Hey, if you are as much a hard-core Asian films nut as me, check it out and see what you think, but it is a very weird film. Guess I'll let my brain drain from last night before I watch #3, "Legend of the Mountain."

I was 14 or 15 when I first saw that movie in one of those program theaters. I had no idea what I was in for, it was just a sunday morning and that movie looked ok and that is what I/we did on a sunday morning (it was a budget event). The people running the theater had usually pretty good taste, so one could usually trust their selections. And I was not disappointed this time neither. It was awesome. And now, 25 years later, I still understand why I left that movie theater in love with that sword wielding woman. And I was as impressed with the movie as I was back all those years ago.It's lengthy... but it's worth it!

Sublime and sprawling, A TOUCH OF ZEN is perhaps the greatest in King Hu's series of ground-breaking, metaphysical period dramas.Vaguely, A TOUCH OF ZEN is a martial arts film, and it's greatest influence was on other HK martial arts films (and later international crossovers like CROUCHING TIGER, HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS). But it approaches being martial arts as Tarkovsky would have done it - the film is set up in three methodically paced, long sections (it's a 3 hour film), which all feature a bit of action but devote more attention to character, landscape and narrative. The focus of each section falls upon different characters, with the central character in each section embodying different virtues: the humility and creativity of the artist (the focus of the first act), courage and confidence in the second act, and an assured enlightenment in the third. The three acts are linked by tightly controlled and far more explosive bursts of action in an otherwise meditatively paced film.Hu explores other elements as well - the first act, mostly devoted to the artist, eases viewers into a framework of intrigues that will shape the plot; this section of the film is very slow, but in hypnotic (and definitely not dull) fashion, with an abundance of careful set detail and some rather astounding landscape photography. Here, palace intrigues and suggestions of the supernatural (A TOUCH OF ZEN is loosely adapted from a number of Pu Songling's gently surreal stories, collected in "Strange Tales From A Chinese Studio") drive the slowly coalescing plot. Intriguingly, the ghost story elements explored early in the film are satirized a bit later, adding a discrete layer of obtuse irony and genre commentary to the overall proceedings.Gradually shifting into a second act, which moves the focus to an imperial fugitive (Yang Huizhen) who is being tracked in the area. Here another of Hu's advances surfaces - Hu had a knack for creating strong and complex female characters, and the fugitive seen here is one of the most memorable; definitely a touchstone for Ang Lee, among many others.A TOUCH OF ZEN is divided with an intermission (on the DVD - more on this later) into two halves, and this 'second act' falls on either side of this division. A semi-famous, and much imitated, action sequence is to be found here.During the third act, the focus shifts again, to a group of monks that make a brief but memorable appearance earlier, and - as the level of action gradually rises, so does the level of mysticality, with Hu's complex and highly personal take on Buddhism recalling Andrei Tarkovsky's similarly mystical and oblique Christianity.Throughout, we have Hu's sense of humor, a sort of greatly modified slapstick providing extra charm - the very playful sense of humor would seem to be a strange addition, but it somehow works, giving an otherwise slow, meditiative film a breezy sense of rhythm. Again, I would point out the influence of Pu Songling (perhaps upon Hu's entire body of work); Songling's work - a classic of Chinese literature, blends spiritualism, surrealism, unexpected humor, political intrigues, horror and hints of the erotic - and Hu is unafraid of blending these seemingly disparate qualities into a vast, and sublime, cinematic endeavor.This is a beautifully shot film, on my personal short list of the most gorgeous ever, and the US/R1 DVD does present A TOUCH OF ZEN in all of its' widescreen glory. Unfortunately, the film seems to be otherwise unrestored, with an indistinct print and several spots of faded colors distracting from some exquisite compositions and landscape shots of a variety that would've made John Ford jealous (with at least one explicit visual reference to Kurosawa as well). I would hope to see a fully cleaned-up DVD available at some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future.But - grainy DVD or not - this is something every cinephile out there should see.-David Alston

Excellent movie finally presented as it should be seen, sharp and clear with great sound. Been looking forward to this movie for a while. Lots better than the old DVD with washed out colors and muffled sound. Very happy I brought it.

I was expecting a lot from "A Touch of Zen", and I was not disappointed. This is a stunning film! King Hu tells his story primarily with images; there's not really a memorable line of dialogue anywhere in "Zen", but don't let that put you off. You will be amazed by the outdoor cinematography, and the intense fight sequences will have you on the edge of your seat. Particularly memorable is the climactic confrontation between Shaolin monk Roy Chiao and villain Han Ying-chieh(yep, the "Big Boss" from Bruce Lee's first movie, and the fight choreographer for "Zen" as well). If your mouth isn't hanging open when this film ends, something's wrong with you!(Note: "A Touch of Zen" is a long film...it runs for exactly three hours, and demands a bit more from you than the average martial arts flick does.)

The Filmography on this was excellent. This was a really interesting movie to watch.There are two Discs in this offering.The White/Yang Disc Contains the movie itself and while there is no English audio there are subtitles.The Black/Yin Disc contains Biographies and again no English audio but there are subtitles~Hsu Feng~Shih Chun~King Hu; 1932-1997~Ang Lee~Tony Rayns

Good product.

It basically set the standard for films of this genre-films of Zhang Yimou, Tsui Hark, Kege, John Woo et al.

The film: a rather poor painter is asked to do a portrait of a strange visitor to the small town where the story takes place. While his mother berates him to take the official exam, he is more interested in what is happening in the supposedly haunted fort next door. A blind soothsayer, meanwhile, is more than he seems; and so is the young lady who moves into the haunted fort. Soon the poor painter gets embroiled in death sentences, treason, pitched battles... and friendship, or possibly even love. The consequences... I can't tell, not wishing to spoil the plot.My opinion: the DVD gives a strange format on your screen - two-thirds only (on my iMac widescreen) with a large black surround - including the sides. No way to adjust, except making it a bit larger (and grainier). Picture quality is very poor, like watching early sixties television, really; so just sit back and immerse yourself. Suspend criticism of poor video quality; get used to slow shots and lots of atmosphere, and get lost in the story. That way you will get your reward: oodles of atmosphere, beautiful images, ghost stories, cowboy-like/operatic Eastern rather than western. Very much a forerunner/inspiration (1971) for the 2000 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Think Chinese `Good, Bad and Ugly' segeueing into mystic Zen Buddhism - go on, blow your mind!One detail criticism: the setting is supposed to be the Ming period - so how come early in the film we are shown maize as a staple food drying on the house?

a brilliant film absolutely ruined by the picture quality. not only is the picture very poor, grainy and blurry, but the picture itself is presented in a small box in the middle of the screen....there is a large black border all the way around it which I have never seen before.avoid this and go for the blu ray presentation by masters of cinema, more expensive but at least you can see the film!

Fantastic.

Prompt delivery. Item as described

Good dvd