Few films cry out for the Blu-ray treatment more than 2004’s “House of Flying Daggers.”
The film gets its overdue high-def release this week (July 14) in a three-disk set alongside “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Curse of the Golden Flower.”
But while “Crouching Tiger” left critics in a state of near rapture, “Flying Daggers” remains the jewel of this glistening trio.
“Daggers” stars Ziyi Zhang as Mei, a blind dancer working in a brothel. She’s actually a member of the House of Flying Daggers, a rebel group out to overthrow the corrupt government desperately clinging to power.
A government soldier named Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is assigned to track Mei, hoping she’ll lead him back to the Daggers’ lair. Jin does as commanded, but at some point falls deeply for the beguiling dancer.
And who can blame him? Zhang’s porcelain perfection is a marvel to see in any film format, and her delicate acting lends Mei an almost spiritual quality.
Even if the love story behind “Daggers” remained butter knife dull, the film’s sumptuous set pieces should be required viewing.
The echo dance in the film’s opening moments remains the perfect marriage of sight and sound, and a fierce battle fought in an overgrown forest demands a second and third look.
Director Zhang Yimou (”Hero”) uses the latest CGI trickery to make the magic on display burst into life, but he could use a little fairy dust when it comes to navigating some crucial plot twists.
“Daggers” demands the standard suspension of disbelief in this genre, working in that rarefied air where swords can be commanded like remote control cars and gravity is optional.
The occasionally mannered acting can’t so much as dent the emotional intensity here, nor can a few herky jerky plot twists treated as the gimmicks they truly are.
“Daggers” arrives with precious few extras, the most notable being a short “making of” featurette which will only leave curious begging for more.
The film’s blazing colors and extreme choreography remain enough of a lure to tempt any action film fanatic.
(Photo: Ziyi Zhang stars as Mei, a blind dancer who can take on dozens of soldiers without losing her breath in the gorgeous action film “House of Flying Daggers.”/Sony Pictures Classics)
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
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Was nearly bored to death by “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.” That’s coming from someone who generally loves Far Eastern film.
Unfortunately, this is just a reissue of the subpar original Blu-ray that came out in the early days of the format. And it is still the censored versions (with certain scenes of blood being digitally removed to reduce the rating - the same thing they did to KUNG FU HUSTLE).
Thanks for the background on this, Synner_man — the lack of extras was alarming, and I had no idea about the digital slicing and dicing.
I reckon the Blu-ray folks will do what the standard DVD folks do — keep releasing new versions of movies with more and more extras tacked on.
The DVD of HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS also has one extra that was not ported over to the Blu-ray: a commentary with Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi.