Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) on Netflix
NR19831h 35mActionAdventureFantasy
In fifth-century China, the deserter Dik Ming-kei flees into the Zu mountains and becomes Master Ding Yan's pupil. The Blood Devil attacks, and only the Dual Swords can destroy it.
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb6.6/103,400 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
Constant civil war scars western China in the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and Dik Ming-kei deserts the Qiao Shu army. Vampires hunt him through the mountains of Zu until Master Ding Yan, a spiritual man with great fighting powers, saves him and takes him as a pupil. When the Blood Devil ambushes the pair, the devil chaser Siu Yu arrives with his own pupil, Yat Jan. The four hold the Blood Devil off, but destroying it requires the Dual Swords, and Ding Yan and Siu Yu cannot work together. The two pupils must travel a long way to claim the blades, with forty-nine days to do it.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Carpenter credited Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain with the visual design of his film Big Trouble in Little China, while Sam Raimi cited its imaginative and effective special effects on a relatively low budget as an influence on Evil Dead II.
- Director Tsui Hark brought in Western special effects artists, including Robert Balack, known for his work with ILM and Disney's Tron, as consultants to train Hong Kong film students in miniatures, optical compositing, rotoscoping and matte painting.
- Leonard Ho put forward HK$30 million towards the production of Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain, making it the most expensive film ever made in Hong Kong at the time.
- Golden Harvest demanded changes for the international export market, so Tsui Hark shot additional scenes to bookend the film and reframe it as a dream sequence had by Yuen Biao's character, a college student learning about Chinese history.
