...leaving Siu-sin’s fate in the hands of a less compassionate colleague.
In contrast to the 1987 ver- sion, screenwriter Charcoal Cheung Tan (who authored sev- eral key early ’90s Hong Kong fantasies and also wrote another big-budget 2011 remake, THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE, a new take on the fable Tsui Hark previously brought to the screen as GREEN SNAKE) depicts Siu-sin as a fox demon, rather than simply a predatory spirit, taking advantage of a key tenet in Chinese fantasy that works perfectly in this context and makes it more unique for Western viewers. Veteran cin- ematographer Arthur Wong Ngok-tai applies his craft quite noticeably in spots, but the im- agery is often digitally manipu- lated to such a degree, it is difficult to say just how much in- put he had in the film’s final ap- pearance. While the ’80s version followed some traditional Chi- nese fantasy tenets, the ap- proach, pacing and general look were fairly unique (and later cop- ied to death by rival producers), diverting somewhat from the glossy artificiality that Shaw Brothers routinely brought to their period fantasies. The 2011 version is very much in the digi- tal green screen realm which, in
spite of such up-to-date technol- ogy, seems less original because so many films are now adopting such a style. While occasionally striking (a few daytime shots of the forest look strikingly like an oil painting given life), much of the CGI is elementary and inef- fectual, even given the fanciful approach, and the palette lacks the distinctiveness of the original, which was accomplished almost entirely via practical effects and skilful lighting. As with virtually all of these remakes/reboots/se- quels, the new version is A CHI- NESE GHOST STORY bigger not better, faster not more exciting, and most tellingly in this case, blander not more heartfelt. Old hands Elvis Tsui Kam-kong, Fung Hark-on and Alan Tsui Chung-san (also one of the three action choreographers) put in brief, but welcome appearances. Those interested in proceed- ing should probably wait for a better option than Panorama Entertainment’s Region 3-coded Hong Kong release of the movie. The 2.35:1 anamorphic presen- tation is colorful and clean, be- fitting a production so locked in the digital realm, but also in- terlaced and displaying some PAL conversion anomalies. The
optional English subtitles are un- gainly (eg. The Tree Demon is referred to as “Lou Lou,” though “Lo Lo” is more accurate and various Taoist magical phrases are lazily relayed with terms like “Hocus Pocus” and “Bingo”), but generally coherent. Both the Cantonese (DTS and Dolby Digi- tal 5.1) and Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1) are post-dubbed, so viewers should choose whichever language they prefer; the DTS does give the Cantonese version a slight sonic edge. A second disc is included, devoted entirely to- wards some rather insubstantial supplementary material; subtitles are not provided in either English or Chinese. The “Making of...” runs a mere 6m and offers only brief behind-the-scenes glimpses (watch for Wu Ma) interesting mostly for allowing one to see just how much was digitally removed from each shot. At 40m, “Be- hind the Scenes” is far more substantial, but lacks any kind of narration and will likely only hold the interest of viewers greatly enamoured of the movie. “Shoot- ing Diary” runs 10m and is more of the same. There is also a 17m section looking at various props, as well as a teaser, trailer and music video.
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