Filmmaker reacts to House of Flying Daggers (2004) for the FIRST TIME!
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Hope you enjoy my filmmaker reaction to House of Flying Daggers. :D
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Original Movie: House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Ending Song: / charleycoin
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Fun fact about the ending: The snow was completely unscripted. It suddenly started snowing during filming, but Zhang Yimou decided that it would make the blood spatter look better.
And what a happy accident this turned out to be. The way the seasons seemingly change as the two fight makes it seem like it's an epic battle beyond time, and it sort of becomes a microcosm for all warfare endlessly happening in human history.
That’s really awesome! Happy they went with it!
This! Flying Daggers is one of my absolute favourite films. I remember about the snow and it makes the last fight sooooo insanely epic and beautiful
and most of the film was shot in my lovely Ukraine (including that epic shot with changing seasons)
@@veneramine I had no idea! absolutely gorgeous!
Curse of the Golden Flower (originally Curse of the Golden Chrysanthemum) is a masterpiece you definitely need to check out. Excellent story telling, martial arts and wardrobe design.
was about to comment this. I love that movie so much. really wan a reaction for it. only one other youtuber has done a reaction for COTGF but she talks over it the whole time, ruining any form of reaction content.
So underrated! This “trilogy” of Crouching Tiger, Flying Daggers, and Curse of the Golden Flower (which you should def react to) plus Hero are all top notch
So glad to see you get this one finally. This is about as perfect a film as you can get. Visually it is stunning, such vivid colors and the outdoor filming is everything. Absolutely one of my favorites.
When I was in college, I’d play the soundtrack to this when I had to work on papers or study hard. It’s so fire! Such a beautiful movie.
I was so excited that you were reviewing this that I didn't mention Curse of Golden flowers but fellow fans did. I loved your reaction.
I love curse of the golden flower
The Flying Daggers take your crush..what would you do?
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Have a great day!
Another low key earlier movie under the radar is brotherhood of the wolf....so underrated...
FFFF YES! THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES! Thank you for reacting to this
EDIT: If you appreciate the photography of movies from this era, an out of left field film to consider is The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover. It's not Chinese, it's English, but it's one of the major arthouse films of the 1990s. Beware though, it was the film that invented the NC-17 rating because of its violence and sexuality, despite being an artistically significant film.
So, I was of the opinion for that the only filmmaker currently alive who matched the creative and technical sophistication of Stanley Kubrick was Chanwook Park. Almost a decade later, I've come to the opinion that another filmmaker on their level is Zhang Yimou, the Director of this film.
(It actually took me years to realize that the Director of House of Flying Daggers, which I watched at High School age, and To Live, which I watched on PBS as a child, was the same guy who directed famous movies Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, and Hero.)
I had to write this before watching. As a person who has seen a ton of movies made in Asia I have been waiting for this reaction from you. In my mind this is one of the most visually beautiful movies from the region that I have seen to this day. Can´t wait you notice all the colors and themes.
The cinematography in this film is next level.
Zhang Yimou, the director of this and Hero is actually more known for his historical dramas. I'd recommend To Live, Raise the Red Lantern, Red Sorghum, The Road Home and The Story of Qiu Ju
He’s one of the best directors imo. Raise the red lantern, to live, and my personal fav the story of qui ju are all masterpieces
Raise the Red Lantern is amazing!
The echo dance drum sequence never fails to give me goosebumps.
Learning Chinese philosophy and their ancient connection with nature really shows in these movies. I love that you mentioned their utilization of the environment reminds me of Chinese poems, songs and stories of them and nature during ancient times
I had such a crush on the actor who plays Jin. He also does Japanese films.
So glad you watched and reacted to this! For such a brilliant film it's oddly underappreciated.
It might be a bit of an ordeal if you want to watch the full two-part four-hour thing, but I'd definitely recommend checking out 'Red Cliff'. That's a historical war epic few others can match with a brilliant cast. For example, Takeshi Kaneshiro, our boy Jin, plays famous master strategist Zhuge Liang aka Kongming as a delightful trickster dandy opposite to Tony Leung's austere general Zhou Yu. Zhao Wei is a spunky warrior princess Lady Sun -- and speaking of her, you might also want to check out her as Mulan in 'Hua Mulan' (or 'Mulan: Rise of a Warrior' internationally). Deeply tragic film but very good.
This is one of my favourite films. I often watch it with Curse of the Golden Flower and Hero. I also listen to the three soundtracks.
Hero may be the most beautiful film ever made.
Yes. MAN FROM NOWHERE and RED CLIFF will hit sometime. Thank u.
🤘🏽
But the original cut of Red Cliff (Chi bi) with two parts.
Finally someone who is reacting to this movie. I can't really say why, but this one is burned into my memory since I first watched it years ago. Maybe your reaction will help me understand why that is 😉
Having some vino tinto and tapas as snacks (just arrived in Spain today) and ....here we go 😊
Happy you had a safe travel!
Same here.
Yessss was hoping this would make the channel. I recently seen your reactions to Hero and Crouching Tiger, then this appears. 👍🏼😎
So glad you reacted to this movie! Another good one is Curse of the Golden Flower! Some others in the comments have mentioned this one as well. The drama! Whew, chile!
One of the most beautiful films of all time. And Shakespearian to boot. A true tragedy. Glad you loved it.
I flipping love Zhang Ziyi in this movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Rush Hour 2!!!!!💗❤💗❤💗❤
Btw, please react to Curse of the Golden Flower💛
Agreed, Curse of the Golden Flower is another one of those visually stunning films. Story is also amazing!
👍 👍 Great review and analysis.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers are two of my all time favorite movies.
Zhang Ziyi is a classic beauty and an underrated actress.
So glad you finally reacted to this one and appreciated it! Cheers James!
Thanks for doing this one! It's absolutely one of my all time favorites...
Yimou Zhang is a great Director of beautifully filmed, powerful stories, full of people depicting character, or cultural spirit. Many thoughtful, wonderful films. Even his 2008 Opening show, for the Winter Olympics, in Beijing, was colorful, and powerful.
You should check out his other films, including a low key favorite of mine, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. All his movies are well worth viewing.
If you like Zhang Ziyi, you have to check out 2046 or Legend of the Black Scorpion
curse of the golden flower & memoires of a Geisha should be on your list James!
The song that plays throughout the film for Mei and Jin is called "Lovers". When it kicks in just before the credits roll I always well up. Such a beautifully tragic film.
A nice detail as well is that Mei threatened to kill Leo with the dagger in her heart. But that drop of blood hitting her dagger shows that she still wouldn't have killed him. She tried to intercept Leo's dagger with her own, to save Jin. And Leo also didn't try to kill Jin. He pretended to throw his dagger, hoping he would die from Mei's and that she would die from her wound. Leo is tragically left to live and wanders off alone in the cold, while Jin and Mei share their last moments of love together. Hate this film 😂😭
Love this reaction. please watch "Curse of the Golden Flower" too. Chinese Drama (no hollywood endings) at its best.
♥ this movie! Zhang Ziyi is beautiful!
The director, Zhang Zimou, is famous for his use of colors in his films. He also directed Hero, The Curse of the Golden Flower, was the director of the opening ceremony for the Bejing Olympics, He uses colors to enhance the stories and action, which is always superb. He's one of my all ime favorite directors.
"Shadow" is another great wuxia movie by that same director. Its visual style is something else, every frame shot like chinese ink paintings.
Curse of the golden flower. Its the one they did after this. Same dude did this and hero. Its right up your alley.
Zhang Ziyi, and this director - it is on UA-cam/Google - the whole movie is her - "The Road Home" which was lost to history pretty much - it "did not ship" to Cannes for its introduction; but Sony found it when Crouching Tiger got so famous. The Road Home, she has often said it was her favorite - MANY retakes, the falling in the snow was just shy of 100 takes and it would have been more but she got hurt, so the called it a day. There are pictures from Hero of just how badly bruised she was; and literally people picking her off the ground to reset. The other - just crazy good work this director did before this in 1994 was "To Live" - in this case neither himself or the film made it to Cannes and he was "house arrested" with the lead actress for 5 years - lowered to 2 years for that film (the actress, Gong Li was the villain in Memoirs of a Geisha, also they were in the movie 2046 though at different parts - so they might have not met on set), I guess most recent the witch in Mulan.
Takeshi Kaneshiro the young lead actor speaks 3 languages ( Japanese, English, Chinese) and also plays in another film with another male lead Andy Lau in "WarLords" with Jet Li which is just brutally tragic.
Wow. I just finished re-watching this film... then i saw this when i opened YT.
Holy sheeeet!
I'm glad you noticed Andy Lau. He's not a snack. He's THANKSGIVING DINNER! 😊
The latest Wuxia movie in this calibre that I've watched was "Reign of Assassins" Starring Michelle Yeoh. Great plot device, great exposition. You should give it a watch. Other recommended films are: "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flames" and "Brotherhood of the Blades". But if your into the 90s and early 2000s vintage Wuxia movies, then I recommend: Tsui Hark's "Dao" a.k.a. "Blade" from 1990, "Iron Monkey" with Donnie Yen, "The New Dragon Gate Inn", "Seven Swords" and for some Korean epic masterpieces, try "Musa" a.k.a. "The Warrior" and "War of Arrows".
Great Post
Great film！！ one of my favorite films！
To answer your questions: that sound you were asking about? That's a gu-zheng (Chinese zither). The blades cutting through the air is often referred to as "singing" where you're making the sword sing as you're moving it through the air like that.
Glad a lot of ppl here are rec'ing Golden Flower, but SHADOW is the true successor to them all in terms of visual technical brilliance.
You have to watch Fallen Angels by Wong Kar Wai! The male lead is the same guy, and it's very creative from technical point and "cinematic", maybe even more so than Chungking Express.
I wish you could watch old Michelle Yeoh movies like WING CHUN, HEROIC TRIO and SILVER HAWK. Some are not available anywhere.
Great stuff as always, you contiune to deliver such thoughtful and wonderful content, as always stay geniune and stay awesome
i loved this movie, i remember finding it at my local store for like $2, and i fell in love with it
I love this movie. So excited to watch your reaction!
I've been waiting for this reaction.
Finally!!!! Same director as The Hero. And Andy Lau, one of my favorite actors
Enlightening beings can be together
Omg I haven’t seen this movie in years…I specifically remember the drum scene at the beginning
Beautiful cinematography and the sound was amazing.
Andy Lau is a great actor. You should watch him in Infernal Affairs.
I love me some good bamboo forest scenes
The snow at the end of the film wasn't planned, it just naturally started snowing in the middle of their shoot so they went with it.
I think, given your introduction, that you would really enjoy Legend of the Demon Cat (2017).
This movie does SO MUCH with color.
Such a feast for the eye and beautiful cinematography too! The logical next step is to watch 'Curse of the Golden Flower', the movie this director, Yi-Mou Zhang, made after Hero and Daggers.
But I would also recommend giving his earlier movie 'Raise the Red Lantern' a go. It is not a fantasy but period drama and also very good.
You absolutely have to watch Jet Li's Fearless if you haven't yet... He put a lot of his personal philosophies on martial arts and life into it. I would recommend the director's cut if you have the choice though. Its his magnum opus!
I would also recommend his film Once Upon A Time In China which is about a legendary folk hero in China who was watching China lose its traditions, its power, and its soul with the influx of foreigners at the turn of the century in a time of rapid change for the country.
He didn't fake her out in the end. He wanted Mei to Kill him. He didn't want to live without her, so he threatened to kill his former partner. But he really didn't want to kill him, he wanted to die with Mei. But Mei still loved him, she was just in love with the new guy. So she didn't throw her dagger to kill her ex, she threw it to block and save the guy she was in love with.
I saw this in theaters almost 20 years ago, and I still love it.
The scripted title was something like, Ambush from/in 12 Directions. Yeah the flower field was supposed to be green, it was planted for the year before - but film got delayed and they field was dried flowers basically. The reason the main character is "reclined" at the beginning (where the dress flies away, was that he fell off a horse and could not walk; and was carried in (he was in Chungking Express, Fallen Angels of course). Another VERY unusual film with blindness is "Happy Times" from 2001; very different and it fakes you out thinking its a comedy for the first 20 minutes (Yimou said he would not attempt comedy again). I literally threw a back disc and was on the living room floor and CBC had foreign movies running and I could not turn it off) - got me researching once I got on my feet again - as I kind of "oh that was well done".
This was great! Hope you'll finish this off with Curse of the Golden Flower at some point.
This is one of my favorite movies especially since I watched it as a kid so a lot of nostalgia and its such a gem of a movie not many people know about.
Amazing movie! Was a real treat seeing this on the big screen back in the day, though the ending was a killer...
This is a classic movie
Three movies. Hero
House of flying daggers
And
Curse of golden flowers
That is the set you need to watch.❤
Not a Wuxia film, but there is a Chinese film called Farewell, My Concubine that details the lives of two Beijing-style Opera actors and their lives during WW2, the civil war, and the Communist revolutions, and was nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography at the Oscars. I highly recommend it.
This was so good on the big screen. Love this flick!!!!
You should check out SPL aka Killzone with Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and more. Awesome action movie and shot really well.
All the best
I don't knoow who that actress was but she was ASSUME!!!!
It is very interesting to see your reaction to the films Robocop and Robocop 3. This is a cool immortal classic 👍
Youre amazed by the colors here...wait till you watch Curse of the Golden Flowers. Zhang Yimou is such a world treasure.
Only certain reactors could really appreciate this movie
What? Get out of here. Anyone could really enjoy any movie. That is simply ridiculous.
@@shelbyseelbach9568 you wont find many reaction channels with this movie. It is what it is
@@shelbyseelbach9568 you wont find many reaction channels with this movie. It is what it is
this movie changed my life. I was a kid when I watched this. And even though I crew up a Jackie Chan fanatic, this was my first time watching a martial arts movie that has a woman as the lead (before I was crouching tiger and let Michelle yeoh rule me for 20 years)
The Curse of The Golden Flower is another one...
I LOVE Hero ... and this Movie. They're both so good. Yi-Mou Zhang had another movie came out 2018 Shadow. Not as good but still a lot of fun.. and I have to admit, I really liked The Great Wall 🙂
The fact that you called early 2000 films "older films" blew my mind.
From my perspective those are quite new.
Age does interesting things to your head and your interpretation of time.
Good good followup to HERO man.
Someone below said Raise the Red Lantern, and I want to second that. It's a drama, not action, but I think the technical aspects of the film would be so interesting to you. It's a gorgeous film and so interesting and beautiful and well executed.
And I don't think a single other reaction channel has done it (despite my begging).
None of them actually wanted to kill each other even at the very end. Gad.
along with Hero this is one of my favorite films in this genre... I literally had this move downloaded on my IPod back in the day
I thought I watched this movie, but I mistook it for Curse of the Golden Flower. I _need_ to watch this movie now! Wow!
this movie is so good
One of my favourites, absolutely stunning
Hero is my favorite
Something I think you missed in the final fight. The dude in the green not only siked her out, but she also siked him out.
He was hoping for her to kill herself trying to kill him. That way they both die, either for love of her or to spite the guy in blue.
But she was just trying to deflect his blade, leaving him unexpectedly alive to suffer his consequences.
Wow, just mentioned this yesterday in my comment, WOOHOO!!! I knew you would get an absolute kick out of the use of color, cinematography and set designs in this one.
I know I've mentioned them before, but two other projects to check out, which while very different in every way, also have just insane use of color, cinematography and set designs, the Three Colors Trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Blue with Juliette Binoche, White with Julie Delpy and Red with Irene Jacob, 3 powerhouse women of French Cinema. The other is the series Hannibal with Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelson, extra love to Mads Mikkelson, who does a brilliant job of portraying Hannibal Lecter, delivering a performance at least equal to Anthony Hopkins, if not better.
Stranger Than Fiction, which I mentioned the other day, is one you'll love the story and characters, it's really something else and the cast is pretty stacked. And as an extra tease, though very different, I'd put it with, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show and Being John Malkovich.
James I wish you would watch some of the great John Wayne movie hatari,hellfighters, Rio bravo, The searcher's brannigan,Rio grande, Rio lobo are brilliant movie's
Consider RZA's Man with the iron fists
Joint Security Area (2000)
You need to watch The Curse of the Golden Flower!
Have thoroughly enjoyed this channel since discovering it last week. And so glad you are covering foreign films. I can NOT recommend this movie suggestion enough: please watch The Royal Tailor. Korean film 2015. I have watched that movie, truthfully, over and over and over. I have watched it with family, I have watched it alone. It is one of THE best films I have ever seen, and I've watched a lot of movies. It is absolutely a BEAUTIFUL film and I KNOW without a doubt you will enjoy it both as a fan of films and as a film maker. And please do a reaction! Please!
This was my second exposure to this genre after CTHD and it really solidified my love for this story telling/music/action combo.
Hi, did you do Hero reaction? I cannot find it unfortunately.
I'm so excited you saw this one. I like it better than crouching tigger hidden dragon!
I used to watch this all the time on my PSP
Kung Fu Hustle
The Good the Bad the Weird
This, Hero, and Crouching Tiger are three of the most beautifully shot films ever imo. The action is amazing, but the artistry is superb!
Please look into 'Curse of the Golden Flower '.
The Legend of Zu (2001)! One of the greatest Wuxia movies ever made, visually like nothing else. Also check out Black Mask (1996); fine HK action, it is a must see! One of the movies The Matrix guys were watching big time :) amazing early Jet Li!
How about that archery - eat your heart out, Legolas!