Saturday 16 July 2016

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 1986 Eps 23-40 (End)

Wina supplied all photos for this post for me, hence, thank you, Wina!

Zhao Min (Kitty Lai) was the highlight for this series for me

Sorry for the minimum post this week, have been having three deadlines until next weekend. This post picks up from the HSDS part 1 (eps 1-22) where Zhang Wuji (WJ, Tony Leung) finally met Zhao Min (ZM, Kitty Lai). At first, WJ didn't realise ZM was a Mongolian royalty. He was just attracted to her the way she was to him. WJ had collected three "girlfriends" at this stage: Zhou Zhiruo (the Emei student), the Spider-Girl Yin Li (his cousin from mother's side, actually) and Xiao Zhao (a servant girl who would be the Persian Ming Cult leader later). Dressed as a handsome young man (Kitty was as handsome as Barbara Yung when dressed as a guy), ZM was intrigued at WJ. It didn't take long for her to reveal to WJ that she was a girl, and soon after, she bestowed him a hairpin inside a golden box. 

Innocent/ignorant WJ gave the hairpin to Xiao Zhao, which flared ZM when she realised that he'd wasted her intentions. She still managed to make him promise three things in return of a healing paste for Third and Sixth Uncles (the healing paste inside the good box, the ingredients inside the hairpin). WJ promised that he'd do the three things, as long as they were righteous deeds and within his means. The first was that he'd take her to the Fire and Ice Island to see the Dragon Sabre. ZM kept the second and the third promise till later.



Zhao Min dressed as a boy made a handsome one...


Things weren't smooth at first between ZM and WJ. ZM pretended to be WJ and wrecked havoc at Wudang and the Ming headquarters. ZM also captured the Jianghu masters, including the Heroes of Wudang and the Emei ladies. She almost injured ZZR due to jealousy if WJ didn't interfere. Realising that the “Demon Sect” Leader Wuji was concerned with her student, Abbess Ruthless made ZZR swear that she'd never marry WJ, or else their sons would be slaves and their daughters would be prostitutes. How rude!! And you call yourself a nun!

Anyway, with the help of Master Ku (Michael Tao), who was actually the Right Emissary Fan of the Ming Sect, WJ released all hostages, but he lost the Abbess who'd rather jump into her death than being rescued by someone from the "Demon Sect". ZM was keeping her cool despite having her hostages escaping. She reminded WJ that she'd like to see the Dragon Sabre. Thus, WJ, ZM and Xiao Zhao went by boat to search for Xie Xun.

The story progressed until WJ and ZM were comfortable with each other despite their nations being at war. Well, the Mongols invading the Song, I mean. When they eventually found Xie Xun (kept on an island by Granny Golden Flower), ZM risked her life protecting WJ, which caused Xie Xun to applaud her for that.

Zhang Wuji's four girls (clockwise from top left): Zhou Zhiruo, Zhao Min,
Xiao Zhao and Yin Li

Later, we learn that Granny Golden Flower was the Purple Dragon of the Ming Cult from Persia. She severed her ties with the Ming after getting married to another taihap (portrayed by Chang Wing-chun; Wu Tit Fa in CLH 84). They had a daughter, Xiao Zhao, which she asked to spy the  Mainland Ming so that Purple Dragon could steal the sacred manuscript of the Mainland Ming (this manuscript later fell into Wuji's hand, and he later mastered it in a very short time due to his earlier mastered Jiuyang Manual). After XZ tearfully went back with Mum to Persia, WJ et al (including Xie Xun) decided to have another stop at another island to tend to Spider-Girl's injuries (she was hit by Golden Flower/Purple Dragon, that ungrateful woman!). On the island, WJ and Zhao Min getting more comfy with each other, which triggered jealousy from Zhou Zhiruo.

One morning, WJ woke up feeling weak. The boat they used to travel had gone, ZM gone, and the Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre gone too. The conclusion was that ZM used the weakening powder to weaken WJ, ZZR, Spider Girl and Xie Xun. She then stole the weapons and then left them on the island. WJ would have forgiven that act of betrayal had he not found Spider-Girl lethally wounded that morning. She died, WJ buried her, ZZR and Xie Xun forced him to kill ZM when he saw her again to avenge Yin Li. However, a boat arrived later, sent by ZM, to pick them up. WJ, ZZR, and XX returned to the Mainland, ZZR and XX killed the boatmen despite WJ’s objection.

Later, when prowling the night for some clues, WJ did see ZM again. This time, the Princess pretended to be the Ming Leader to save his face from another accusation (forgot which case). WJ protected ZM from the pugilists who wanted to attack her. They then hid inside a large tambourine to listen to the lot, and found out that Shaolin had Xie Xun. This baffled WJ because he left XX with ZZR in an inn before looking around for clue. He returned to the inn with ZM to find XX and ZZR gone missing. The next day, ZM protected him from another attack and got her leg slashed because of that. However, WJ kept walking to find Xie Xun, despite blood dripping from ZM’s leg. Really, WJ! It took a tea shop keeper to remind WJ that the girl cannot walk far with such an injury. WJ tended to her wound, but later left her to search for XX and ZM. Later, he found ZZR held by Kaypang, who fell from grace post Huang Rong's death. No trace of Xie Xun though. He released her and they proceeded to get married. ZM heard about this news and fainted.

On the wedding day though, unexpectedly ZM barged in and demanded that WJ cancelled his wedding as a second promise for her. WJ refused, but then ZM produced a tuff of golden hair. WJ realised it was his godfather's hair, thus he left ZZR at the altar to go with ZM. He actually just wanted to delay the wedding, for he was concerned with Xie Xun, but ZZR was enraged. She attacked ZM with the Jiuyin Baigu Claw style (remember Yang Kang’s evil style he learned from Mei Chaofeng in LOCH?), injured the girl and almost killed her had WJ not intervened. WJ left with ZM and nursed her injuries. 

Zhao Min severing her ties with her Mongolian family

Wuji and Zhao Min eventually met her father, where she tearfully cut ties with her family and followed WJ instead. They then took shelter with a poor family couple (who turned out to be a couple of taihap), the lady of the house thought WJ and ZM were a runaway couple. Later, the old lady took WJ to Shaolin, where he worked as an errand boy in the daylight and sneaked around to find Xie Xun at night time. He did find Godfather trapped under three dried trees, guarded by three Shaolin masters. WJ tried to rescue Xie Xun to no avail. Having his disguise stripped, he returned to the shack, but en route ZM was the one who found him. Both returned to the house to find the old couple murdered, and a black-clad woman attacking ZM. WJ protected ZM from the attack and told her to always stick with him this time, for the attacker was trying to kill her.

The masked woman was actually ZZR; she had her skills vastly improved because of the Jiuyin Manual she had been learning. The true story, for those who had never watched this series before, is that ZZR was the one who drugged Xie Xun, WJ, ZM and Spider-Girl. She woke ZM up and told her to leave with the boat. She then stole the Heaven Sword (or reclaimed, perhaps, cos the sword did belong to Ermei) and Dragon Sabre, clashed the two weapons and retrieved the Jiuyin Manual and the Book of Wu Mu. Yet, Spider Girl woke up and saw what she had done. Panic, ZZR slashed Yin Li’s face, thus the latter fainted due to blood loss. ZZR then took the poison as well and thus she was also weakened when WJ woke up.

All these, ZZR told WJ herself after Xie Xun left some clues inside the underground cave where he had been kept for a month and WJ suspected that ZZR was the true culprit behind Yin Li’s murder. Around the time of his capture, Xie Xun realised that ZZR was the true evil here, hence ZZR entered the Lion Killing Contest held by Shaolin to murder WJ’s godfather, lest he told Wuji about her wrongdoings.

Wuji rescuing Zhao Min from Zhou Zhiruo

Xie Xun was finally rescued through a combination of Ming Sect attack and a help from the Maiden in Yellow Dress, who was the descendant of Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu (my least favourite Jin Yong couple from ROCH). Xie Xun managed to take revenge on Cheng Kun, the ultimate villain in this series (CK raped Xie Xun’s wife and killed his newborn to avenge his anger to the Ming Sect). The Golden-haired Lion then destroyed his own kungfu and retired from Jianghu. He was later tonsured by Abbot Kongwen (Mr Cheung Ying-choi, Master Ma Yu in LOCH 83 and the Emperor in CLH 84).

ZZR redeemed herself by taking an arrow meant for ZM after ZM was used as a bait by the wulin to defeat the Mongols who attacked Shaolin (despite WJ’s obvious objection, ZM’s hostage situation I mean). ZZR gave WJ the Book of Wu Mu, thus WJ was able to expel the Mongols from Shaolin. She then returned to Emei Sect and resumed leadership there, saying that (she and Wuji) would never met again.

This series ended with WJ leaving the Ming Sect because his men requested that he left the Mongolian Zhao Min. ZM herself had left him earlier because she didn’t want him to choose between her and his organisation. WJ consulted Zhang Sanfeng before making the decision, then he made Left Emissary Yang Xiao the new leader of Ming Sect. In a scene I remembered so well, WJ finally found ZM sitting in an inn they had used as their regular meeting place. He told her not to leave her again; she told him she still had the third request he had not done; which was to paint her very pale eyebrows. He chuckled, embraced her, and then painted her eyebrows.


Impressions

Kitty Lai and Tony Leung dated for two years after HSDS 86 (thanks Wina!)


Having Kitty Lai appearing as Zhao Min definitely enhanced the viewing of this series for me. It's not that I wasn't interested in other characters; the Ming Clan definitely were an interesting lot. When first appearing, ZM was a cunning Mongolian princess eager to have the wulin (the Jianghu community) supporting the Yuan Dynasty by any means necessary. Her feeling to Zhang Wuji was definitely like-but-annoyed at first sight, but she grew to like him and admire his leadership. When her love for Wuji proved to be too much, with an apparent heartbreak she cut the ties with her family. But make no mistake: ZM was still a Mongolian in the romantic term, though no longer in the political term. This is what I've been whining about with Yelut Chai (Simon Yam) in ROCH 1983. It's great that he ditched the oppressive Yuan government in favour of the Songs, but I still think a response like ZM's is more believable. ZM cut the ties with the oppressing regime, but still kept her identity as a Mongol. She found it difficult to learn about rebelling actions against her nation, knowing that her government was in the wrong and thus she couldn't do anything to help them.

Min-min's chemistry with Wuji was believable and IMO one of the most interesting aspects of this series. WJ's interactions with his godfather and great grand teacher Zhang Sanfeng and Simon Yam-Dodo Cheng chemistry were the other ones. I don't think I would have loved the series so much when I was a kid had it not because of these facets.

Yang Xiao (right in red) was the obvious leader in Wuji's absence


Master Ku, the Right Emissary Fan Yao (Michael Tao) and Yang Xiao (Newton Lai), the Left Emissary were other characters that I liked watching in the second part of this series. Yang Xiao was a believable leader to lead the Ming Sect post Wuji. Funny enough, I prefer to see Michael Tao as the scarred-face Master Ku than when he was still the handsome Emissary Fan. Perhaps his colder demeanour as the Master is the attracting factor. IMO, Michael Tao was more interesting as Emissary Fan Yao than as Pon Sau in the Legend of Dik Ching, although he was still enjoyable there (Dik Ching synopsis later this weekend if I can manage).

When I was a kid, one of the highlights of this series was when ZM appeared on screen. I enjoyed SM teasing WJ inside the large tambourine. Despite his idiocy, I appreciated WJ taking care of the injured ZM, and also protecting her from Zhou Zhiruo's wrath at least twice (one during the cancelled wedding and two inside the shack when ZZR used the Jiuyin Claw to attack ZM). I still enjoy it now, and appreciate that WJ finally was able to make up his mind of who he truly loved. 

I’m also glad that the series did not adopt HSDS second edition (1979) with the vague ending. In the second ed, ZZR told Wuji that he also owed her, just as Wuji was about to paint ZM’s eyebrows. WTH...? Here’s the ending (Chapter 40) taken from Wuxia Society translation:

Zhang Wuji was so engrossed in writing the letter that he did not know when [Zhou Zhiruo] arrived outside the window. The shutters slowly opened and Zhou Zhiruo’s beautiful face appeared. Under the candlelight, she looked smiling, yet she was not exactly smiling.

Zhang Wuji was startled again. “You … what do you want me to do?” he asked.

Zhou Zhiruo smiled and said, “I haven’t thought about it now, but when you and Zhao Jia Meizi [little sister of Zhao family] are ready to bow to the Heaven and the Earth to get married, I am sure I will think of something by then.”

Zhang Wuji turned to look at Zhao Min, and then he turned again to look at Zhou Zhiruo. In that instant, a myriad of thoughts raced around in his mind. He was unsure if he should be happy or if he should be worried. His hand trembled and the brush fell on the table …

So, yeah, as I said: What the heck.


The pacing of the last few episodes was uneven, IMHO. We had two episodes or so of Wuji trying to rescue his adopted father the Golden-haired Lion Xie Xun (which could have been cut shorter, but not as dragging as the Dali flashback episode in LOCH 1983) but very little time of the post Shaolin scenes where they returned to Wudang and sorted the internal Ming mess that emerged due to Wuji's relationship with ZM. Fine to see Wuji defending Min-min, I think that was very chivalrous of him. But I also want to see the internal rift of Ming Sect due to the presence of Zhu Yuanzhang, allegedly a minor sect leader which rose to become Emperor Hongwu, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Even just a mention of Zhu's moves would do, for it was indeed mentioned in the HSDS book.

The OST of this series is not so memorable IMO compared to the other Condor Trilogy series. I fail to dig the opening theme despite it being delivered by Tony Leung himself and the late Anita Mui. Other themes were also not so memorable. The most memorable one was definitely the melancholic theme song, which often accompanied heartbreaking scenes.

I still see the trademark of Johnnie To here. Despite some pacing problems, this series is nowhere near the boredom that the Return of Condor Heroes 1983 gave me (no Johnnie To there). In fact, I really like this series. Since I’ve now seen the Legend of Condor Heroes 1983 as well, I can rate LOCH 1983 as my favourite, the HSDS 1986 as the runner up and the ROCH 1983 as a distance bronze medallist among the 1980s Condor Trilogy.  I really think I should make a post on Johnnie To filmography later. He was definitely a good wuxia director.


26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay... akhirnya keluar resume ke-2 HSDS86.
Afterword dari Jin Yong, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, being a novel with complex structure, had a complicated plot with many loopholes and flaws. Hence, the third edition was a major surgery. The biggest change is Zhang Wuji not deciding who he would marry in the end.
I have always believed that history is not predestined. The element of chance plays a big part, and it is the same in our lives. Zhang Wuji headed to Mongolia with Zhao Min in the end and did not return to the Central Plains. However, there could be a chance that Zhou Zhiruo went to search for him in Mongolia. Perhaps he went with Zhao Min to Persia to look for Xiaozhao. Maybe he had no choice to return to the Central Plains alone to handle the affairs of the Ming Cult. Or he could have met Yin Li in the Western Regions…

Worldly affairs are determined by people, and Zhang Wuji only remembered the good that others do to him. Hence, everyone is a good person. Everyone is very adorable…

Zhou Zhiruo told Zhang Wuji, “By all means, marry her, have children. Ten or eight years later, your heart will still only think of me and miss me.” Such feelings, little boys and girls would not understand. Hence I do not advocate thirteen, fourteen year old girls writing novels.
Third edition was published in 2005

Icha said...

Thanks Wina.

I agree that, after reading some parts of the novel, HSDS has many loopholes. Yet the revision isn't something I like. I prefer a conclusion, not alternatives A, B, C, D. I guess it means that Wuji is not a monogamous person in the end, he just can't decide, or he decides not to decide. He chooses polygamy in his heart, and that's his choice, it doesn't make him a favourite character of mine because of that; but that's the way he is written...

Anonymous said...

Third edition ending
Zhao Min lightly pushed Zhang Wuji, saying, "Go out, and hear what she wants you to do?" Zhang Wuji jumped out of the window, and seeing Zhou Zhiruo slowly moving away quickened his pace to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with her. Zhou Zhiruo asked, "Tomorrow you will escort Miss. Zhao to Mongolia, and she will never return to mainland China. What about you?" Zhang Wuji said, "I most likely will not come back. You want me to perform a task - what is it?" Zhou Zhirou slowly said, "An eye for an eye! That day at Haozhou, Zhao Min did not permit you to marry me, from now on when you arrive at Mongolia, even if you spend every day and night together with Zhao Min, you cannot marry her." Shocked, Zhang Wuji asked, "Why?" Zhou Zhirou said, "Surely this does not violate the rules of chivalry?"

Zhang Wuji said, "Not marrying naturally does not violate the rules of chivalry. I originally had an marriage arrangement with you, but even then we did not succeed in completing it. Alright! I promise you. After arriving in Mongolia, I will not marry Zhao Min, but we will still be husband and wife, still give birth to babies!" Zhou Zhirou said with a slight smile, "Then that's good."

Curious, Zhang Wuji said, "What is your purpose in making things difficult for us?" Zhou Zhirou with a captivating smile said, "You two can go ahead and be husband and wife, have babies, after about ten years or so, you will start to think only of me, will not be able to let go of me, and that will be enough." Having said that her form wavered and floatingly moved away, disappearing into the darkness.

Zhang Wuji felt disconcerted for a moment, thinking that from now on he only needs to stay by Zhao Min's side every day, still being husband and wife, giving birth to babies, not getting married did not particularly matter. "Why would I, after ten years or so, be unable to think of anything but Zhiruo, be unable to let go of Zhiruo?" Thinking again, "In reality she did not marry Song Qingshu, and she and I have a marriage arrangement. She has done quite a few things to disappoint me, but thinking back, she did not truly treat me badly. Some things were forced by her teacher, which she could not refuse to do. Even though she stole the Dragon Sabre and Heaven Sword, but now the Dragon Sabre has returned to my hands, even cousin Yin Li is not dead...

"Those who love me dearly, who wish to marry me, apart for Zhiruo, there is obviously sister Min, plus Zhu-er, plus Xiaozhao..."

Zhang Wuji by nature only remembered the good things that others did for him, and furthermore with each thought those things became increasingly good, so he naturally forgave the mistakes of others, the reason why others hurt him was often because they loved him, and towards the end of his line of thinking, he started to treat others' weaknesses and mistakes as benevolent acts, and even if their remained a slight shred of a doubt, he would think, "Who has not done anything wrong? Haven't even I done things to hurt others? Xiaozhao treated me really well, she has successfully retrieved the Great Heaven and Earth Shift, it is not important even if she does not became the holy virgin maiden cult leader. Zhu-er is no longer training the Thousand-Spider, Ten-Thousand-Poison hand, she might one day come looking for this grown up Zhang Wuji again, I promised to marry her..."

These four women, each one of them had loved him dearly, he only remembered the good points of others, the bad points and mistakes of others he had completely forgotten, therefore every person was very good, very good...

Icha said...

Ayayayay... I don't like the ending of the 3rd ed. Wuji can't make up his mind, and if he does love the four of them, that's fine perhaps. But I don't particularly appreciate that character for my taihap...

Anonymous said...

Sebenarnya aku juga kurang suka karakter Zhang Wuji di buku, apalagi yg third edition, pastinya suka Wuji yg HSDS86 he3x.....
Aku baca article disini http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/liangchaowei/153427954.html dari hasil translate google susah bgt untuk dibaca, disini dikatakan Kitty Lai mendapat tekanan yg cukup berat karena peran ZM sebelumnya diperankan oleh Liza Wang yg terkenal. Karena Kitty Lai cukup tinggi (5'6") maka saat foto dekat Tony Leung, maka sepatunya Tony dikasih ganjalan supaya Tony terlihat lebih tinggi hi3x... Disini (foto session awal) reporternya bilang kalo Kitty dan Tony tidak terlihat akrab, sedangkan Tony dan Sheren terlihat akrab (mereka ada foto berdua, sedangkan Tony and Kitty gak ada), kata reporternya mungkin kalo udah syuting baru akrab :) n di check pas syuting mrk udah akarab (reporternya niat bgt). Dari foto awal perkenalan HSDS produsernya tidak puas dg foto Kitty pake baju yg warna merah n hijau, jg foto Sheren yg pake baju Oranye dia terlihat tua, mungkin krn itu mereka berdua pas di film gak pake baju itu.

Icha said...

Liza Wang itu yg Di CLH Adam Cheng, kan? Dia juga nyanyi OSTnya CLH sama Roman Tam.

I can understand your disposition re WJ in HSDS 86 and HSDS novel. Aku kayaknya bisa juga gak suka karakter CLH yg Di buku. Belon pernah baca sih, susah dpt terjemahannya. I mean, CLH kan kayak WJ, koleksi cewek... Yg Di CLH 84 baru dia lebih ngeliat the three ladies as his adopted sisters.

Anonymous said...

Kitty Lai berumur 20th pas HSDS ditayankan di TV, aku liat profile pemeran Zhao Min yg lain rata2 diatas 28th, padahal di buku dikatakan ZM lebih muda dari Wuji n ZZR.
Aku terkesan dg akting Kitty as ZM pas dia n pengawalnya mo nyerang Wudang, gesture tubuhnya pas bgt sebagai seorang bangsawan, like a true noble. Kitty kan baru mo umur 20 th tapi dia bisa ngimbangi akting pemeran Zhang Sanfeng, Kelelawar Hijau dan anggota Ming Sec, Top deh.
Aku suka bgt interaksi Tony dan Kitty as WJ and ZM, pas Wuji pertama kali ketemu ZM yg nyamar, WJ kan tersenyum tapi gak dibales ZM, Wuji terlihat kecewa & sedih (segitunya deh Wuji).
Pas mrk berdua terperangkap di Dungeon, Wuji terlihat kesal bgt tapi bingung karena ZM seorang wanita, terlihat bgt diwajahnya Tony....Pas mereka bertemu lg di Wudang, pas Wuji akhirnya menerima 3syaratnya ZM, wajahnya Wuji terlihat cute (seperti menggambarkan iya deh aku terima syaratmu drpd lebih repot). Pas Wuji nemui ZM setelah Wuji salah ngasih salep ke paman2nya, maunya bunuh ZM tp malah pas ketemu terpana bbrp detik, Cute....Pas ZM, Wuji, XZ dengarin ZZR ditekan kakak seperguruannya utk menanggalkan posisi ketua Ermei, ZM bilang mo nolong ZZR asal Wuji manggil dia Jiejie (kakak) wajah Wuji terlihat sebal, kan Wuji lbh tua dr ZM (ZM lbh muda dr Wuji n ZZR) tp akhirnya Wuji manggil ZM kakak.....Pas Wuji ketemu ZM lagi setelah dia ngira ZM bunuh sepupunya, Wuji kan marah bgt ke ZM, tapi pas ZM ngotot mo ketemu Xie XUn, Wuji jadi bingung karena dia gak bakal bisa nolong kali XX mo bunuh ZM, tp ZM ngotot, bingung deh Wuji (Poor boy)...setelah dia tahu kalo Xie Xun keluar & merasa lega karenanya & secara gak sengaja ngaku kalo suka ke ZM, so cute both of them.....banyak deh adegan cute nya, Love it.
Adegan fighting Wuji keren2, walu bbrp adegan keliatan kalo ada stuntmannya, kan kalo semua dilakukan Tony n dia terluka bisa berhenti syutingnya, favorit aku, pas dia fight lawan ZM di Willow Manor (betulkan namanya?), pas Wuji melerai ZZR yg berusaha membunuh ZM setelah ZM ngajak lari Wuji di pernikahannya n Wuji lawan ZZR di Shaolin yg dimenangkan ZZR karena Wuji ngalah.
Aku juga suka adegan WUji dg Xie Xun, keliatan bgt Xie Xun sayang bgt dg Wuji, salah satunya perbincangan mereka sebelum Xie Xun nyuruh Wuji liat gambar dia di dungeon tempat dia ditahan sblnya, aku kalo gak salah dengar Xie Xun manggil Wai Jai, itu kan panggilan Tony sehari2, mungkin aja aku yg salah tangkap he3x...
Kalo di buku ZZR ga pernah nolong ZM malah berusaha membunuh ZM terus, ketika Xuanming Elder berusaha merampas Jiu Yin Manual dari ZZR, Wuji & ZM berusaha menolong ZZR, pas ada kesempatan ZZR malah mo bunuh ZM, benar2 sifat gurunya nurun ke dia.
Di buku yg pertama, endingnya WJ ditemani ZZR menemui Zhang Sanfeng, oleh Zhang Sanfeng dia mengatakan tidak membolehkan legasinya Kwok Siang dirusak oleh ZZR, apalagi dg mengunakan cara yg keji utk menang.

Icha said...

Oh, aku ga tau di Buku Satu, ZSF bilang gitu. Baguslah... (reseh sih ZZR).

Hahaha, kau suka banget Kitty-Tony ya! Kayak aku cinta mati sama Michael-Barbara, hahaha!!

Adegan fighting 80an emang keren-keren... semua aktor TVB kan emang harus undergoing rigorous physical trainings selain akting juga. Makanya mereka salto beneran dan ga cuman pake segala sliweran tangan dan kabel model sekarang. Makanya Michael Miu pas ada photo session sama LOCH 2017 gayanya walo cuman sederhana, tetap keren banget, karena emang basisnya ada. Tony Leung juga gitu; aku liat movie dia yang apa ya... lupa, udah pake baju 1920an sih, ga wuxia lagi... dia juga kuda-kudanya bagus. Semua produk TVB bagus lah, kuda-kudanya! Cewek2nya juga bagus stance-nya. Kitty n Barbara, terus Sheren dan Sharon Yang... semua punya dasar yang bagus.

Icha said...

Aku juga suka pas entrance-nya Kitty ke Wudang. Keren... emang keliatan bangsawan-nya dia.

Anonymous said...

Iya Liza Wang yg d CLHnya Adam Cheng.
Memang Michael Tao terlihat cool padka wajahnya rusak, aku suka pas adehan dia menolak mengajarkan jurus KunLun ke ZM krn inner powernya tdk memadai, jg pas adegan abbbes miejue menkonfrontasi Fan Yao mengapa Xuanmin Elder mengatakan kalo ZZR anak mrk berdua, Fan Yao malah mencandai Abbes MieJue.
Disalah satu interview Sheren Tang, kan da yang bilang kalo Sheren cantik, dia bilang kalo dia satu kelas akting d TVB dg Kitty Lai dan Maggie Siu, Sheren bilang mrk berdua sangat cantik, kalo dia termasuk "Average".
Kalo gak salah setelah Barbara meninggal Sheren ini dipeoyeksikan sbg penggantinya.
Aku baca disalah satu blog kalo awalnya, Kitty tdk seberapa suka dg Tony, krn Kitty mengangap aktor muda sukanya party, played dan tidak menganggap serius pekerjaan mrk, jadinya ketika minggu pertama mereka syuting, tiap kali Tony nawarin ngantar Kitty pulang, Kitty slalu nolak, alasan lain karena saat itu Tony sdh sangat terkenal, Kitty tdk ingin di anggap menggunakan Tony sbg promosi. Tapi setelah tahu sifat Tony yg sebenarnya, kind-hearted, compassion person, mudah bergaul, dan mau mengajarkan ttg akting, Kitty jg memperhatikan kalo camera berhenti, wajahnya Tonny sering tdk happy (Tonny kan perfeksionis) membuat Kitty jadi lbh lembut dan mau diantar pulang, karena tiap hari pergi bersama dan ngobrol, dia jadi jatuh cinta, seru jg crita mrk.
Kisah cinta Tony terkenal di media dg 3 actresses, 1. Margie Tsang (yg jadi Kwee Siang d HSDS86, 2. Kitty Lai, 4. Carina Lau)
Ini kata Carina
Ka Ling (Carina) revealed that when she and Wai Jai first got together, Wai Jai often had no time to be with his girlfriend. His personality was withdrawn and odd. Thus she had some poor opinions of Wai Jai. When she and Wai Jai were in love, was Margie Tsang Wa Sin still in the picture? She said, "A lot were in the picture, the explanation was all because of work. He and Wa Sin broke up and got back together 3 times, in between he had other girls. He was also with Kitty Lai Mei Han for a pretty long time before breaking up. At the time Wai Jai and I weren't dating yet. When fate came you couldn't stop it, I didn't want to either."

Anonymous said...

Iya, aku suka banget Tony Leung & Kitty Lai on-off screen.
Ini link sepertinya pada th 1985, Tony Leung, Margie Tsang, Carina Lau, Jaimie, Felix and Kitty... Saat itu mungkin Tony gak ngira kalo 1 gadis bakalan future girlfriend (Kitty) and future wife (Carina)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw_3FQunM94

Anonymous said...

Karakter Zhao Min menurutku complek, dia itu sebagai putri Mongol punya ambisi besar walau perempuan dia merasa mampu melakukan hal yg sama dengan laki2, cerdas, licik, kejam, melakukan apa saja untuk mencapai tujuannya, tapi juga bisa playfull, sweet, kind kepada Wuji, awalnya dia kejam tapi di akhir cerita menjadi baik karena pengaruh Wuji, ZM sedih bgt old couple yg nolong Wuji & ZM mati karena di bunuh ZZR, ZM di buku lebih kejam dan arogan drpd ZM nya Kitty mungkin karena itu yg diminta sutradaranya, menurutku Kitty superb as ZM.
Karakter favorite Jin Yong adl Xia Zhao karena dia adorable, menurut Jin Yong ZM & ZZR karakter yang punya ambisi kuat, orang dg karakter spt itu tdk adorable.
ZM nya Kitty menurutku adorable.
Yang meranin ayahnya ZM jg keliatan sayang banget ke ZM, dia sedih benget anaknya milih bersama laki2 yg jadi musuh negaranya drpd pulang kembali (yah itulah resiko kalo anak terlalu dimanjakan he3x...)
Berlawanan dg ZM, ZZR awalnya baik malah berubah jadi jahat karena pesan gurunya. Sheren juga bagus meranin ZZR, aku pernah baca Sheren minta ke sutradarnya supaya perannya jgn terlalu ngemis2 cinta ke Wuji, semua juga tahu Tony & Kitty pacaran, gak dikabulkan lah ama sutradaranya he3x...

Anonymous said...

Aku suka semua kostumnya Zhao Min tapi paling suka kostum sebagai bangsa Han drpd Mongol, yg kostum warna oranye pake topi itu kan kostumnya Gochin LOCH83, kostum warna putih pas ZM nyuri ilmu silat Kunlun spt punya Maggie Cheung di Fallen Family, Tata rambut ZM pas dia jadi orang Han kayaknya paling ruwet tapi bagus, menurut aku wig rambut dia sbg orang Mongol kurang rapi bagian belakang jadi terlihat agak aneh. Bajunya ZZR juga bagus, sesuai karakternya.
Scene entrance ZM ke pernikahan Wuji jg keren, bajunya bagus, kalo warna lipstiknya warna pink tapi lebih tua dr warna bajunya pasti lebih cantik.
Jin Yong bisa2nya punya ide wanita yang mengacaukan pernikahan orang, apalagi zaman itu, memang ZM orang Mongol yang straightforward, tdk seperti wanita Han yang konservatif. ZM sering ya bikin WJ serba salah, kasihan jg Wuji dibuat bingung dengan 4orng gadis yg menyukainya.
Scene ZZR pulang dari Shaolin ddg ditandu dan mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada WJ, setelah itu ZM bilang ke WJ kalo belum terlambat WJ utk ngejar dia, WJ nya pura2 gak dengar aja (bagus begitu drpd pusing).
Scene ZM ngajak Wuji jalan2 di Mount Wudang utk liat Sunset sbl dia pergi, Wuji keliatan gelisah sedangkan ZM terlihat lebih tenang bisa nerima keadaan, so romantic, Love it.

Icha said...

Aku suka Margie Tsang, dia cute di awal-awal HSDS sbg Guo Xiang (cakepan dia dibanding GX di ROCH 83...). Tony kayaknya sensitif banget ya orangnya? Pendiam, gitu. Lucu aja dia pasangan sama Kitty yang lebih extrovert. But perhaps opposite attracts. Aku juga salut sama Tony dengan Carina Lau, Carina sempat diculik mafia kan?

Aku ga tau aku bisa netral ga kalo liat ZM yang versi lain. Buat gue, ZM-nya Kitty Lai ya the definitive Zhao Min... Iya, aku juga suka ZM akhirnya jadi lebih lunak. Dia sedih dan terharu juga waktu ZZR nyelametin dia dari pisau kakaknya.

Terus terang, aku bukan fans Jin Yong. Kurasa dia penulis hebat, bener-bener hebat. Tapi for some reasons, aku ga tergila-gila sama karya-karyanya. Mungkin dari the Condor Trilogy, yg paling oke adalah LOCH menurutku. HSDS banyak bolongnya (dia sendiri juga bilang gitu, dan pas aku baca, emang ga serapi LOCH). ROCH... nonton aja males, apalagi bacanya...

Aku ga tau soal Gu Long (Ku Lung); Xiao Shi Yi Lang dia lumayan bagus, tapi kali karena Nicky Wu yang mainin, hehehe.

Tapi kalo ga ada para suhu itu, para penulis jaman sekarang belajar dari mana dong...

Oh iya... Khoo Ping Ho! Hahaha!

Icha said...

Hehehe... kok aku lebih suka liat ZM pake baju Mongol-nya ya? Apalagi banyak kepang kecil-kecil gitu, dan ada topi kecil bertengger di kepalanya... lucu...Iya kayak Maggie Cheung waktu di Fallen Family.

Oh, Fallen Family, sedih banget tuh film, tapi gue sukaaaa banget waktu dulu. Cinta mati sama Leslie Cheung dulu aku...Sekarang cari yang Cantonese with English sub ada ga ya... Yang jadi penjahatnya kan yg jadi bokapnya Michael Miu (Yeung Hong) di LOCH 83... Patrick Tse. Ih gue bete berat sama si pamannya Leslie itu di FF waktu dulu!

Kitty pake baju Mongol di Dik Ching juga cute abis, pake kepang-kepang kecil a la yang di Kuta gitu...

Anonymous said...

Aku belum nonton The Fallen Family, cuma tau foto2nya aja, iya aku tahu Carina pernah diculik Mafia, jadi actres kadang resiko tinggi, tahu Yammi Nam? nasibnya malah lbh parah.
Aku sudah tahu dari dulu di interviewnya Tony bilang kalo jaman dulu pas orang jarang bercerai, ortunya malah bercerai, dan aku baru2 ini tahu kalo ayahnya gambler addict, dia bilang pas ortunya bercerai (dia msh muda bgt) dia bingung mo bicara apa kalo ditanya orang, jalan terbaik menurut dia adalah diam saja and keterusan kebawa sampe sekarang, aku pernah baca waktu kecil dia ceria. Dari wawancara Michael Miu bbrp tahun lalu, Tony yg sekarang malah lebih pendiam dari dulu. Sahabat actor Tony adl Jacky Cheung & Kenny Bee.
Iya aku suka baju Kitty di Legend of Dik Ching, Kitty tinggi jadi cocok pake baju apa aja, dulu bgt aku punya keinginan di kepang banyak kayak Kitty, tapi gak jadi karena gak ada yg ngepangin hi3x...

Anonymous said...

Ini interview dg Tony in late 1986 tentang Novel Trilogy of Condor Heroes.

I enjoy reading novels, but due to my busy schedule, I rarely have the spare time to read. But if there is a need to read (such as Jin Yong’s novels), I would spend day and night reading the scripts.

For instance I finish reading “Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre” while shooting this series. The book is alright, but I would always favor “Legends of Condor Hero.” Kwok Jing and Wong Yung are the most intriguing characters.

As for “Duke of Mount Deer”, I enjoy reading it and playing the role of Wai Siu Bo. The book is funny and very entertaining. However I have to stick with LOCH(“Legends of Condor Hero”). It’s my absolute favorite.

As for the book after LOCH “The Return of the Condor Heroes”, it does not interest me as much. Because the entire book talks entirely about “Love”, perhaps it’s romantic and beautiful to some, but I’m more interested in reading the heroic actions from a Kong Fu novel.

I want to finish reading all of Jin Yong’s novels, and compare each.

Anonymous said...

Maksud aku wignya ZM kurang rapi di bagian belakang pas dia pake baju mongol, karena antara rambut yg dikepang dg tidak dikepang apa ya keliatan tegak, keliatan kalo itu wig, kalo kepang Kitty di Dik Ching lbh rapi jadi gak keliatan kalo itu wig.
OST HSDS86 aku suka semua, aku seperti orang India, seperti kata Dany Boyle mengenai filmnya Slumdog Millionaire yg diterima dg baik oleh penonton India, "orang India itu kalo suka, suka semuanya"

Icha said...

Hahaha, kayak orang India! Hahaha!

Ah, setidaknya aku n Tony sama-sama lebih suka LOCH, dan ga gitu suka ma ROCH, hehehe... Iya, itu ROCH, Dunia Dalam Berita, dunia milik berdua, yg lain ngontrak... ^_^

Iya, aku tau Tony bokapnya gambling. Tapi beda orang, beda reaksi kali ya. Nicky Wu juga masa remajanya kelabu (kudu nyaur utang bokapnya), tapi dia bawa cengangas-cengenges aja. Michael Miu juga bokapnya sempat kena kanker, tapi dibawa ke cengangas-cengenges juga. Kalo Tony, dibawa diem... Beda orang sih...

Sini rambutmu aku kepangnya! Aku juga suka kepang kecil-kecil. Kita ke salon yang buat cewek aja, hahaha!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha....aku pernah nonton filmnya Nicky yg bareng Charlie Yeung, yg lain bareng Takeshi Kaneshiro jg dg Charlie Yeung.
Setelah Nonton HSDS, LOCH aku baca2 lg (dikit) tentang Dinasti di Cina & baca petanya spy lebih mengerti ceritanya, Jin Yong itu juga mengerti (ahli) mengenai sejarah Cina, dulu pekerjaan dia wartawan terus keluar dari tempat lamanya & mendirikan Ming Pao, setelah beberapa tahun dijual, katanya menulis novel hanya sampingan.
Aku suka scene fighting Wuji dg ZM & ZZR, karena laki2 yg gentleman pasti berusaha tidak melukai lawannya yg wanita, selain keren jg scenenya. Ketika scene Wuji & ZM, pedang ZM terlempar setelah bbrp jurus, keliatan wajahnya ZM takut, iyalah kungfunya ZM cetek bgt dibanding Wuji, dibuku ditulis walau kungfu ZM biasa tpi kecepatan dan kelicikan otaknya melawan jurus Wuji lebih tinggi drpd Yang Xiao. Kalo scene Wuji, ZM, ZZR, Wuji berusaha menolong ZM tp berupaya tdk melukai ZZR, repot bgt yah jd cowok cakep.....Scene Wuji lawan ZZR di Loin Killing contest, keliatan dari wajah Tony dia bimbang & gak tega lawan ZZR.
Aku juga suka scene, Wuji nyarankan ZZR utk ngajak dia melawan 3 biksu Shaolin, tapi ZZR menolak karena takut anggapan orang, setelah Wuji pergi, ZZR yg tadinya membelakangi WJ, menoleh sambil menitikkan air mata, emosi yg dikeluarkan Sheren menyentuh, menggambarkan dia yg masih sangat menyintai Wuji.

Anonymous said...

Seperti yg udah aku critakan di atas ketika foto pertama kali para pemeran HSDS, Tony & Kitty belum akrab, setelah syuting 2 bulan mereka akrab, Toni seperti big brother kpd Kitty, Tony mengatakan selama syuting 2bln Tony lebih sering ketemu Kitty drpd mamanya. Tony tetap PD yah nawarin ngantarin Kitty pulang, walau ketika Tony photo bareng ama Kitty sepatunya ditambah sol spy lebih tinggi dr Kitty hi3x...(salut deh), & tetap nawarin walau bbrp kali ditolak, menurutku sih kalo tetap nawarin walau ditolak terus berarti ada udang dibalik peyek, Tony so cute.

Icha said...

Poor Tony having to wear "heels" hahaha!!

Eh, sbg fans Kitty n Tony, Wina gimana kalo baca ttg Tony n Carina skrg? I mean, bisakah memisahkan antara fandom dan emang Tony ga jodoh ma Kitty?

Semisal Barbara masih hidup, dan dia ga jadian ma Michael, mungkin blog ini ga akan ada. Dan mungkin aku susah misahin fandom n kenyataan, bahwa Michael skrg sama Jaime. But they are happy, she helped him to be happy again, so I'm fine with it. Sometimes I wonder tho, if Barbara is still alive, what would their love be... Karena cuma if, maka jadi penasaran.

Anonymous said...

Aku suka nonton film kadng2 keterusan suka dg pasangan dlm film & berharap mrk jadian tapi banyak yg tdk terwujud :P....Kalo aku baca berita Tony & Carina sedih juga, kenapa Tony gak jadian ama Kitty, tapi kalo ada pilihan 1.Tony ttp single, 2. Tony & Carina , aku pilih no.2, Tony happiness adl prioritas. Aku pernah baca kalo Tony mutusin Kitty karena balik lagi dg Margie, tentu aku sebal bacanya, bad Tony, yah gak langsung jd anti ke Tony, aku baru tau kalo Grand Canal (1987) disitu ada Margie, peran Margie menyukai Tony, tp Tony menyukai Idy Chan, sesudah syuting HSDS gak lama Tony lanjut ke Grand Canal, toh ssd itu Tony msh pacaran dg Kitty. Kitty & Tony putus aetelah syuting bareng Two Most Honorable Knights(1988), meraka kompak tidak crita sebab mrk putus, ada yg bilang rn perbedaan personality, tahun itu jg Tony main Police Cadet 1988 bareng Sheren & Margie, Tony & Margie nyambung lg utk k-3x nya, setelah itu putus utk selamanya, Tony bilang gadis yg paling dicintainya Margie, tp sekarang mereka sdh dewasa n the feeling has gone, kalo dr sisi Margie Tony sangat sibuk dg pekerjaannya, dia prefer dg cowok yg lebih mencintainya, so mrk pisah baik2. Oh ya ketika Tony & Kitty Pacaran penggemar couple Tony & Margie protes, jadinya saat itu ada war antara penggemar Margie & Kitty, tahun2 itu di media ramai beritakan mrk bertiga, pada intinya aku bisa nerima Kitty & Tony tdk berjodoh, that's life.
Aku suka dg couple Tony & Kitty karena hobby nonton film n suka dg mereke yg cute bgt, aku suka nyerocos kalo ngomongin kesukaan aku, tapi aku tahu lah realitynya mereka udah punya pasangan masing2 n sepertinya bahagia.
Kalo berita Michael & Barbara aku gak tau banyak, tahunya Barbara pernah pacaran dg Kent yg sahabatnya Michael, aku pernah baca wawancara Michael, dia pernah 2x mengalami spark dg lawan main, dengan Anita Mui, udah ada spark kecil sbl mrk main bareng, spark paing gede dg Jaimie, dia juga mengakui kalo pas main film ada feeling dg lawan mainnya, tapi setelah selesai filming feeling itu dikeluarkan, btw Anita datang lho ke pernikahan Michael (ada fotonya) so sweet of Anita.

Icha said...

Ha... Fan wars, I'm so fed up with those...pas Nicky Wu mulai date Liu Shishi, banyak fans mereka yg marah lho! Sampe Ada satu fans nya LSS yg ngedelete blog dia khusus ttg LSS stlh denger kabar mrk dating. Buset deh...

Aku setuju, yg penting actor kesayangan kita bahagia....

Eh, Margie Sama Tony main di Yang's Saga kan? Aku ingat muka Margie yg cute itu...shock pas dibilang dia kudu habisin waktu 30 th lagi di Bumi stlh kematian Tony's character (mereka kan benernya minor demigods gitu di khayangan ya?). Aku dulu somehow ada jeda suka sama Michael sesudah nonton CLH. Lupa kali...ato gw kubur stlh aku diledekin masang fotonya Barbara di kamar. Udah gt, aku "nemu" Leslie Cheung, suka abis Ma dia.

Terus "nemu" Tony Leung n suka abis Ma dia. Terus lupa lagi, hehehe

Skrg balik lagi ke Michael...

Anonymous said...

Iya, Tony ama Margie main di Yang's Saga as minor demigods, disitu Tony turun dari kayangan menjadi putra ke 7 keluarga Yang, karakternya spoil, beda banget dengan perannya sebagai Zhang Wuji.
Kalo soal pindah2 ngefans sih aku juga biasa hahaha....Dari awal memang hubungan Tony & Kitty udah di sorot media dan fans, oh ya kapan bokapnya Michael Miu kena kanker?

Icha said...

oh, bokapnya Michael kena kanker sebelum doi masuk TVB. Karena itulah doi masuk TVB, utk cari dana buat ngobatin bokapnya...

Ga tau beliau (bokapnya Michael) masih idup enggak, mungkin sudah meninggal. But he'd be a proud dad to see his filial son...