Review of Chinese Ghost Story, A

Introduction

A major hit film in China, A Chinese Ghost Story is about Ling Choi-San (Leslie Cheung), a tax collector going from town-to-town picking up what is owed. Unfortunately the rain soaks Ling to the bone and all his records are water logged. Looking for free lodgings for the night, he`s advised to try the creepy looking Lan Yeuk Temple. As he makes his way to the temple he evades wolves and comes across rapping daoist monk Yin Chik Ha (Wu Ma), whose purpose in life is defeating evil. While staying at the temple Link endures hungry zombies and falls in love with a gorgeous flying ghost, Siu Sihn (Joey Wong). She`s already promised in marriage though, to the Dark Lord of Black Mountain by the evil tree demon. Ling, having been seduced by the enchanting Siu Sihn, is on dangerous ground and it`s up to monk Yin Chik Ha to stop Ling from falling to the dark side of desire by rescuing him from the very pits of hell.

This is Chinese supernatural storytelling at its best.

Video

The 1.78:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer looks quite good throughout. It`s clear and well balanced with the night scenes looking pretty good too. There are only one or two scenes that remained a little soft, but these didn`t cause any problem. Just a few minor specks of dirt from time-to-time but nothing to cry about.

Audio

There`s a choice of DD5.1 Chinese or DD2.0 English dub with the dub sounding hilarious, but annoying. The 5.1 Chinese audio is clear with sound coming well from the front. There is some use of the surrounds with ambient sound effects but not a lot. What`s here serves the film well.

Features

Easy to navigate animated menus in the usual HKL style.

• Further Attractions - The usual array of Premier Asia and HKL trailers.

• Audio commentary - A man that needs no introduction when it comes to providing some of the best DVD commentaries, Bey Logan. Again Bey provides fantastic insight into the film, it`s history, the cast and crew and just keep rolling throughout the whole film.

• Trailer Gallery - UK and original theatrical trailer. The usual.

• Master of Illusion (24:15) (widescreen enhanced) - This is an interview with producer Tsui Hark and covers what inspired him to bring this film forward, its cast and crew and proves interesting.

• The Warrior (29:28) (widescreen enhanced) - Having started out at Shaw Brothers Studio, Wu Ma has been in the acting game for some 43 years and has played small parts in lots of films. Here he talks about the film and relates lots of little anecdotes. The subtitles are easy to read and make this a nice interview to watch.

• A Tribute to Leslie Cheung (static pages) - Sadly Leslie Cheung committed suicide this year (April 1st 2003) and this short tribute by Bey Logan is a look at some of Cheung`s highlights without speculating what led to his death.

A Chinese Ghost Story has good English subtitles and is packaged in a standard DVD keep case.

Conclusion

This is very entertaining and not what I had expected at all from a period Chinese film. I was expecting a lot of fantasy (and perhaps a dull interpretation of some history) and not enough story, but I was pleasantly surprised by the story and its imagination. The film has a good blend of swordplay and martial arts with comical touches too. With its action, monsters, magic and surrealism, A Chinese Ghost Story is fast paced, bizarre and stylish.

This isn`t a typical horror action film though, more a charming action/supernatural/love story. It works really well, particularly with Leslie Cheung as Ling, the tax collector. The monk too provides plenty of humour in his recanting of Sanskrit rap to defeat anything bad that moves and his general treatment of Ling. Lastly, the object of Ling`s desire, ghost beauty Siu Sihn (Joey Wong), tries hard not to like him, but it doesn`t work. All is not straightforward however in the path of love. Going into the depths of hell to rescue and prevent the marriage of Siu Sihn to the Dark Lord proves that there are all manner of creatures with long tongues just waiting to taste you.

The film has a running time of just 92-minutes which flies by effortlessly. The action and fighting are good fun as is the film`s fun style of camera work. The pacing of the film seems spot on. The few extras here turn out to be enjoyable too and all in it adds up to a satisfying DVD. The film manages to blend fantasy, the occult, love and action very well. Recommended.