Although Hark Tsui seems to be a productive man in the Hong Kong movie business - he has acted, produced, written and directed really a lot of movies - I can't say that I've heard of him before. Not that this is a big surprise. I haven't seen many movies of this kind yet and it's only since I saw "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that I'm quite intrigued by the genre of the Kung-Fu movie. I'm not saying it is my favorite genre, but it's always nice to see the many spectacular moves, the many fights,... as long as they contribute to the story.
"Dao" or "The Blade" as it is called in English, starts with telling how the daughter of the master of a saber factory is in love with two men that work for her father. Because she can't decide which one she wants, she has come up with a cunning plan. She will make them fight over her and the winner will get her. But her plan doesn't work and instead of fighting with each other, both man refuse to talk or even to look at her... One of them is Ding On. He was adopted by the master when his own father was murdered and now the man chooses On to become his successor. But On has other things on his mind. All he wants is to find the evil Kung-Fu master who is said to be able to fly and who has brutally murdered his father...
Like I said before, I'm very new to the genre, but it's already obvious to me that there must be some different styles in these movies. When I compare it to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", then this movie is definitely a lot more realistic, but also a lot darker. It's closer to reality because in this movie you don't see anyone jump over a roof or fly from one tree top to another. When they fight in this movie, they do make jumps, but not 50 feet high. The people in this movie are still subject to the rules of gravity and everything what they do is still possible for a human being. But as I said, the movie is also a lot darker. The fights are very brutal and blood is spilled like if it's nothing. And next to all the blood you also get things like a head on a stake, a skinned man hanging upside down, limbs being thorn of,...
I guess both movies have their fans and their opposition, but personally I must say that I feel more for this kind of movies. Although I was able to enjoy the other one too, I liked the more realistic approach of this movie better. I know that must sound strange to a lot of people - "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" hasn't obtained a real cult status for nothing - and when you see the overall rating of both movies I'm probably one of the few, but that doesn't bother me at all. I give this movie a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10, just like I did with the other one.
"Dao" or "The Blade" as it is called in English, starts with telling how the daughter of the master of a saber factory is in love with two men that work for her father. Because she can't decide which one she wants, she has come up with a cunning plan. She will make them fight over her and the winner will get her. But her plan doesn't work and instead of fighting with each other, both man refuse to talk or even to look at her... One of them is Ding On. He was adopted by the master when his own father was murdered and now the man chooses On to become his successor. But On has other things on his mind. All he wants is to find the evil Kung-Fu master who is said to be able to fly and who has brutally murdered his father...
Like I said before, I'm very new to the genre, but it's already obvious to me that there must be some different styles in these movies. When I compare it to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", then this movie is definitely a lot more realistic, but also a lot darker. It's closer to reality because in this movie you don't see anyone jump over a roof or fly from one tree top to another. When they fight in this movie, they do make jumps, but not 50 feet high. The people in this movie are still subject to the rules of gravity and everything what they do is still possible for a human being. But as I said, the movie is also a lot darker. The fights are very brutal and blood is spilled like if it's nothing. And next to all the blood you also get things like a head on a stake, a skinned man hanging upside down, limbs being thorn of,...
I guess both movies have their fans and their opposition, but personally I must say that I feel more for this kind of movies. Although I was able to enjoy the other one too, I liked the more realistic approach of this movie better. I know that must sound strange to a lot of people - "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" hasn't obtained a real cult status for nothing - and when you see the overall rating of both movies I'm probably one of the few, but that doesn't bother me at all. I give this movie a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10, just like I did with the other one.