Luk chi kam moh

Deadful Melody is a classic movie unfairly criticised by hardcore swordsman movie fans.

I won't reveal the plot details as to ruin your enjoyment, But I must tell you this is a brilliant movie. Much better than say, Swordsman and Fong Sai Yuk. The story brilliantly balances moments of drama, comedy, action and romance.

Brigitte Lin stars with Yuen Biao complemented by a cast of Hong Kong stars such as Carina Lau (in her only swordsman style movie role) and Wu Ma.

Brigitte Lin is wonderful as the sensual lyre playing master. While Yuen Biao is fantastic as the security guard sent out to deliver the magic lyre. The biggest surprise is Carina Lau who is supremely dynamic and manages to even outshine the likes of Wu Ma who is also brilliant.

The direction is also flawless. The magical effects are exhilarating, especially for a Hong Kong movie. The cinematography is fantastic and the storyline is really good.

The test for any movie is it's soundtrack, and I'm pleased to say the soundtrack in this movie is exhilarating. Especially the lyre pieces which are beautiful and haunting.

What can I say? All I can say, is see this underrated masterpiece and enjoy watching this, with fantastic performances all around, brilliant cinematography, an exhilarating soundtrack, flawless direction and a bitter-sweet denouement between the relationship between Yuen Biao and Carina Lau. What more could you want?

Brigitte Lin continues her fabulous track record of playing a superpowered martial artist (Bride with White Hair, Fire Dragon) as well as a cross dresser (Swordsman 2), with this fair high flying kung fu feature. Here she is Snow, protector of a powerful magic lyre that was intrusted to her by her father. Said lyre is the object of different clans of the martial world with leaders like The Hard Hearted Witch, Fire (Lord?), and Master Ghost. These leaders killed her father when she was a child. In order to lure the leaders into a trap, Snow has the lyre transported by Yuen Biao. Yuen is is supposed to be a hapless, carefree, young man, basically like the one he played in Zu Warriors ten years earlier, but his poc marked face and crooked grin no longer reflects the youthful acrobatic star. No, it's sad to say, but Yuen looks really old, and he doesn't really get to do enough to showcase his terrific skills. Anyway, there are pasts revealed, battles fought with animated energy punches, people flying, a few heads are ripped off, plumes of smoke erupt, and so on.

Deadful Melody is another in that line of fantasy Hong Kong Action flicks, like Zu Warriors (arguably the originator), Swordsman 2, Peacock King, and Chinese Ghost Story. It is a decent enough and should leave fans of this genre satisfied, but otherwise it is not great or a classic, by any means, just entertaining enough.

I kinda like these Brigitte Lin swordsperson mini-epics. Dragon Chronicles and Eagle Shooting Heroes are probably the daftest, East is Red is probably the moodiest, Swordsman 2 and New Dragon Gate Inn are fairly straightforward, and this one is a good old vicious revenge movie in a similar vein to The Bride With White Hair. I don't expect ultra-realistic fighting, or a plot I can follow with one braincell (when there is one), so I'm happy making do with the belly laughs. It's populist entertainment in a feisty pantomime style. I might be a bit soft in the head, but I enjoy the style. It's not high art, but it's not trying to be.

As far as I'm concerned, most of Brigitte Lin's swordsman/woman epics are played strictly for laughs. Some more subtly than others. Anyone taking fantasy movies like this one too seriously is probably in the throes of a terminal humour bypass. No doubt anti wire fu beardstrokers and grumpy snake/crane purists will be up in arms at the unrealistic action sequences, but that's their sole function in life, bless 'em.

The subs are fairly comprehensible and legible on the Mei Ah laserdisc transfer, so it ain't that hard to grasp what's going on and why. The ending is bit abrupt, but I'm used to that. They probably overshot the shooting schedule by twenty minutes and fried the budget on lyre ammunition. Que sera.

Some gender neutral broad and her brother seek revenge against a lot of kung fu people and so forth. Nothing new in terms of story but if you like exploding humans, then Deadful Melody is your movie. Aside from the typical 90s crackhead wire fu and the strange characters, lots of people get blown up and it's funny and the highlight of this film. And that's about it. A good film to smoke crack to.

The forces of evil want a powerful magic ancient lyre that holds the power to destroy them. Bridgette Lin plays Snow, whose family has been killed for the mighty instrument in the past. Now as a woman she desperately wants revenge. Meanwhile, Lau (Biao Yuen) takes the job of transporting and guarding the lyre not knowing or caring how much trouble it will bring. The lame attempt at comedy doesn't work in the films favor, but thankfully the fight scenes, though sparse, compensate for this. These two elements cancel each other out overall and make this fantasy film into something less than it could have been. It still remains watchable though. but to say the film is better than "Swordsman" or "The Legend" is delusional and only serves to tar those incredible films.

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: Commentary by Ric Meyers and Tai Seng's Product marketing manager; Artwork gallery; Select cast filmographies; and Trailers for "Running out of Time", "Dragon Inn", "Armageddon", "the Duel", "Body Weapon", & "Fist Power"