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A Chinese Ghost Story

Format: DVD
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 285 ratings

Product Description

Aspiring to be the top demon hunter, Yan Chixia ventures into the sinister Black Mountain, taking it as his training ground. There, he has slain all kinds of evil spirits and monsters in countless dangerous battles, but when the young exorcist encounters the enchanting fox spirit Nie Xiaoqian and falls helplessly in love with her, he can't get himself to kill her. Years later, the village at the bottom of Black Mountain is faced with a serious drought, and the villagers are forced to find a new source of water on the demon-infested mountain. Part of the search team, a good-natured scholar named Ning Caichen becomes smitten with Xiaoqian, who is being enslaved by the powerful and bloodthirsty Tree Demon... "This popular and beloved film, produced by Tsui Hark and directed by Ching Siu Tung, is a standout in the Hong Kong supernatural-action genre and spawned many sequels and copycats. A Chinese Ghost Story stars Leslie Cheung as Ning Tsei-Shen, a timid and likable tax collector. Looking for a place to stay the night, he comes upon a spooky abandoned temple occupied by a tough Taoist swordsman. Despite his warnings, Tsei-Shen stays anyway. Later he encounters a beautiful maiden who he quickly falls in love with. Unfortunately, she is a ghost who is being forced to trap men for an evil spirit who feeds on their souls. A Chinese Ghost Story has been widely praised for infusing the genre with humor, action, romance, and inventive special effects. Memorable images include an attacking mile-long tongue and a cloak opening to dozens of ghastly decapitated heads. The final battle in hell is said to have inspired scenes in Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness. And the film has its share of homage: A group of crusty zombies are reminiscent of the skeletons in special-effects guru Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad--and they are eliminated by Tsei-Shen in comedic slapstick fashion, not unlike the style of Charlie Chaplin. It's a must-see for Hong Kong action film fans."

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 ounces
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0076W0Q7M
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 285 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
285 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Shahar Gross
5.0 out of 5 stars This IS one of the BEST Asian fantasy movies ever
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2013
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This movie has EVERYTHING going for it.
it's very old, the plot is simple but perfect

A simple everyday guy meets a beautiful girl, he learns she is a spirit destined to marry a demon lord and he go's to rescue her,
he finds a super powerful monk warrior and together they embark on a journey to kill demons and rescue the girl.

The Music, the Acting, the fight choreography are all perfect,
The movie is a blend of Horror, Drama and a Romantic comedy, it has everything from monsters and very sweet and romantic moments, to scary demons. and it has a lot of of funny moments as well.

All characters are just COOL, the Warriors, good and bed, the main hero, the tree demon, all great

This film takes me back to when movies were simple and beautiful and fun to watch, just pure joy.
4 people found this helpful
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Thomas Newsom
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic HK Classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
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My obsession with HK fantasy and action really started with this classic film, and many years later the film holds up well. Played perfectly in my player. The only down sides are a few special features, there are in Chinese with no subtitles .Highly recommended
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alias-mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Wierd and wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2013
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One of the movies that hooked us on HK movies back in the z1980s (the others are Peking Opera Blues, Project A, and A Better Tomorrow). Excellent example of the ghost story romance genre of HK movies. The subtitles are fairly crummy, but not so much that you will be distracted from the story line. Visually stunning -- worth it just to *look at*. A must-see.
5 people found this helpful
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Crazy Fox
4.0 out of 5 stars Karma-Crossed Lovers
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2006
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I have watched this movie again and again, and it never stops being a lot of fun. Romantic and creepy, action-packed and humorous, deeply haunting and cheerfully light-hearted, it somehow manages to blend these diverse genres and moods into a wonderfully convincing mix. Some of the scenes are just breathtakingly beautiful, too. And I don't want to go reading too much into what is clearly meant to be (and suceeds in being) good simple entertainment, but anyone interested in how Taoism and Buddhism (significantly, they aren't very distinct here) actually operate in the popular imagination could spend days analyzing this enjoyable film.

It must be admitted that (as others have noted here) the subtitles are about the worst I've ever seen. While the dialogue doesn't necessarily have a lot of nuance, and while the story moves along primarily through visual means (one could probably pretty much follow the story with no subtitles at all), still, some proofreading and perhaps some consultation with someone whose first language is English might have been a good idea. Oh, well. Anyway, their garbled English is still better than my complete ignorance of Cantonese, so who's to complain?

So watch the movie and see for yourself. I bet you won't be sorry.
6 people found this helpful
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ZenDodge69
3.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Chinese Comedy/Romance
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2016
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This is a fun Chinese Comedy/Romance, it's really not much of a horror movie even with the ghosts and demons in it. A tax collector is forced to stay in a haunted temple and gets into one situation after another, and then meets an attractive ghost and falls in love with her. There is a lot of the usual Chinese slapstick and some martial arts. But the main story is the romance between the ghost and the tax collector. Featuring the talents of Leslie Cheung and the attractive Joey Wang, it's hard to go wrong with this movie.
2 people found this helpful
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Sophia
5.0 out of 5 stars Good to watch
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2018
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Good movie, story was good with some funny parts in it. It is more about love than horror, but there were parts that made me feel a little anxious and uneasy.
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steve
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun movie
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019
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One of our favorite chinese movies. Thanks to Amazon for carrying it and at a good. Had a hard time finding this movie.
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Gordon K. Werner
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Chinese film!
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2003
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A Chinese Ghost Story is a wonderfully bizzare little gem of a movie ... part love story, part horror story, but all kung-fu!
While the film shows its age ... and the subtitles are, shall we say, lacking in quality at times ... this is a good-hearted, completely engrossing movie that is a lot of fun to watch ... alone, with friends, or that special someone.
Note: Soundtrack is in Mandarin and Cantonese only. Subtitles are in English, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa (Malaysia), Bahasa (Indonesia), Chinese (traditional), Thai, Chinese (simplified)
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
martin detoudom
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
Reviewed in Canada on April 8, 2019
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Classic
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Jose Luis
5.0 out of 5 stars no deberia ser obligatorio
Reviewed in Spain on December 31, 2019
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tampoco deberia de ser o bligatorio
sino no me cosultan para opinar si no es libremente
no me gustan las imposiciones ni los campos obligatorios cada uno opina hasta donde cree conveniente
encaso contrario a su politica obien enviarme que opine sobre sus productos
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LOUVY CORP
5.0 out of 5 stars 香港ハリウッド！
Reviewed in Japan on May 10, 2023
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香港が８０～９０年代、極東ハリウッドと呼ばれた時代の名作映画。８０年代のアナログな映画撮影の時代がゆえにドキドキわくわくするシーンの数々。あついアナログSFファンタジーの時代へようこそ！
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Argentino1
5.0 out of 5 stars gREAT EFFECT AND STORY
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2018
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a MUST FOR ANY STUDENT OF cHINESE CULTURE AND LANGUAGE. gREAT EFFECT AND STORY.
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Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Die Geister und Dämonen im Lan-Ro Tempel....
Reviewed in Germany on September 2, 2015
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Regisseur Tsui Hark (Peking Opera Blues, Once upon a time in China) gründete bereits 1984 seine eigenen Produktionsfirma "Film Workshop" mit einer eigenen Special Effects Abteilung. Seit dieser Zeit ist er auch als Produzent tätig und förderte mit seinem Knowhow das neue Hong Kong Kino. Er hat die Angewohnheit sich sehr stark in die Gestalung der von ihm produzierten Filme einzumischen. Häufig verlangte er schon Änderungen am Set und ließ es sich nicht nehmen bei manchen Szenen seiner Produktionen selbst auf dem Regiestuhl Platz zu nehmen. Deshalb weisen seine prouzierten Filme auch sehr oft diesen typischen "Tsui Hark Stil" auf. Ein Beispiel ist die "Chinese Ghost Story" Triloge, bei allen drei Teilen führte zwar Ching Siu Tung ( Die Krieger des Kaisers) Regie, aber der Einfluss des Produzenten lässt sich nicht übersehen
Viele Kollegen halten deshalb die Zusammenarbeit mit ihm für schwierig.
Der erste Teil entstand 1987 und war so erfolgreich, dass man 1990 und 1991 für Nachschub sorgte - dennoch ist Teil 1 gleichzeitig auch der beste dieser Wuxia-Trilogie.

Erzählt wird die Geschichte des Schuldeneintreibers Ling Choi Sing (Leslie Cheung), der in seinem jugendlichen Leichtsinn und seiner Naivität auf der Wanderschaft die Schuldbriefe verliert und nun kein Geld mehr auftreiben kann. Mittellos sucht er vor einem aufkommenden Sturm im verlassenen Lan-Ro Tempel ein Nachtquartier. Dort herrscht allerdings reges Leben. Auch der einsame taostische Mönch Yin Chek Hsia (Ma Wu) hält sich in den alten Gemäuern auf. liefert sich dort mit dem rivalisierenden Schwertkrieger Hah Hau (Lam Wai) nächtliche Kämpfe und jagt dort auch Geister. An die glaubt unser junger Held natürlich nicht, auch wenn die Leute im Dorf ihm schon erzählt haben, dass es dort im Tempel spukt. Leider sind die Schönheiten wie Nip Siu Yin (Joey Wang) oder Siu-Ching (Xue Zhilun) keine Menschen, sondern Geister, die vom mächtigen Baumdämon (Lau Siu-ming) als Lockvögel benutzt werden um für den das hungrige, blutsaugende Monster menschliche Opfer, vor allem junge Männer, anzulocken. Auch Ling Choi Sing erliegt den Reizen der schönen Nip Siu Yin, zuerst ohne zu ahnen, dass sie eine Untote ist. Und die Liebe hat natürlich die Macht Geistwesen und Mensch aneinander zu fesseln....

Der Film erzählt vom gemeinsamen Kampf des jugendliche Helden mit dem taoistischen Mönch gegen die böse Welt der Dämonen. Ein Kampf gegen die Zeit, denn die Schönheit, die es zu retten gilt, soll mit dem schwarzen Fürsten der Hölle vermählt werden. Die Grundstruktur von "Chinese Ghost Story" ist der chinesischen Folklore entlehnt. Gegen Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts, in der frühen Qing Dynastie verfasste Pu Songling eine chinesische Geschichtensammlung, die später zahlreiche Hongkong Filme inspirieren sollte. Darunter auch der große Klassiker "Ein Hauch von Zen" von King Hu. "Chinese Ghost Story" ist vor allem durch seine originelle Art und Weise bemerkenswert, denn dem Film gelingt der Balanceakt Horror mit asiatischer Kampfkunst zu verbinden und dem Ganzen noch als dritte dominierende Komponente Humor und Slapstick beizumischen. Das Verschmelzen dieser verschiedenen Genres spiegelt auch die gattungsübergreifende Synthese wider, die auch die chinesische Folklore charakterisiert.

Imposant auch der Baumdämon, dessen Geschlecht hier nicht eindeutig festgelegt scheint. Ein Mischwesen aus Mann und Frau und von Lau Siu Ming, dem großen Meister der asiatischen Kampfkunst, toll gespielt. In weiteren wunderbaren Szenen sieht man wie Skelette zum Leben erwachen oder wie Geisterfrauen und Schwertkämpfer mit wehenden Gewändern durch die Luft fliegen und der Schwerkraft trotzen. Regisseur Ching Siu-Tung choreografierte später auch die Meisterwerke "Hero", "House of the Flying Daggers" und "Der Fluch der goldenen Blume". Die Nachtszenen im Wald sind sehr unheimlich gestaltet und erinnern ein biisschen an Sam Raimis "Tanz der Teufel". Höhepunkt der Teufelei ist eine riesengrße Zunge, die auf der Suche nach Menschenfleisch ist.
Hauptdarsteller Leslie Cheung war einer der beliebtesten Filmstars in Hongkong. Sein Leben endete tragisch. 2003 verübte er im Alter von 46 Jahren Selbstmord, indem er aus einem Fenster des Hongkonger Hotels Mandarin Oriental sprang. Er hinterliess einen Abschiedsbrief, in dem er schwere Depressionen offenbarte.
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