DVD only Condition: Acceptable
Inventory Msg: unless otherwise stated, items will be shipped with case artwork, but not the case (save on shipping). Case will be included for 1 extra point upon request.
DVD only Condition: Acceptable
Inventory Msg: unless otherwise stated, items will be shipped with case artwork, but not the case (save on shipping). Case will be included for 1 extra point upon request.
As the title indicates,Seven Swordsis in the epic spirit ofThe Seven Samuraiand its American cousin,The Magnificent Seven. A grittier enterprise, it may not surpass Tsui Hark’s 1990s classics likeOnce Upon a Time in China, but offers its own unique pleasures--like non-stop action (for which it received a coveted Golden Horse Award). Based on the bookSeven Swordsmen from Mountain Tian, the action begins in rural China in the 1600s. The Ching Dynasty has just banned martial arts, and in response seven dissidents band together to fight against Fire-Wind (Honglei Sun) and his minions. The septet includes Hong Kong superstars Charlie Young (Wu Yuan Yin), Leon Lai (Yang Yun Chong), andHero's Donnie Yen (Chu Zhao Nan). One of the mountain villagers they save is pretty Korean refugee Green Pearl (So-yeon Kim), who falls for the moody Chu. Filmed on location in scenic Xinjiang,Seven Swordsis a feast for the eyes. Though some critics have taken Hark to task for the army's anachronistic goth-punk garb, it sure looks menacing. Originally four and a half hours long, this version clocks in at 153 minutes. Hark's soft-spoken commentary, along with Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan, is on the first disc. Deleted scenes and other extras are on the second. Because of the cuts, the complex narrative isn't always easy to follow--and the film still feels long--but the gold-tinged visuals and fight choreography by Kar-Leung Lau (The Legend of Drunken Master) helps to compensate.--Kathleen C. Fennessy
A fantastic Asian movie that you don't want to miss The movie Seven Swords is a really fantastic spectacular production with a really great story line and cast. This is a must for lovers of history and action.
Big disappointment... Okay, first things first: "The Magificent 7" or "Seven Samurai," this movie is most definitely NOT.
It is more like "The Storm Riders" meets "Conan" meets "Mad Max."
The action is grotesque, without any really great choreography. The plot is thin. Character development is poor. Overall, very poorly done...
Don't waste your time or money.Enjoy the movie Yes the other reviewers are correct. Its difficult to go into a lot of character development when you have 7 characters (not counting the bad guys) to fit into a two hour movie. It would have been nice to find out more about the bad guys also. And yes you have to "fill in the blanks" because it doesn't explain a lot but hey its not a four hour movie so they can only do so much. But you can also simply relax and just enjoy an action flix. It reminded me of the Magnificent 7 and 7 Samurai in that there are 7 of them coming to the aid of a 'helpless' village against the bad guys. If you like action/martial arts movies at least rent this one. While its not the best action flix its not the worst neither. I certainly enjoyed it more than Crank (which I had high expectations for, hoping it would be as good as Transporter.)
I'd give it 3 1/2+ stars but bumped it up to 4 rather than down to 3 due to the extra features along with an uncut version (haven't viewed that just yet but did go through most of the interviews.)
I'm considering getting the Seven Swordsmen DVD box set which according to reviewers of that TV Series is a more detailed story about the individual characters.
