Blast from the Past: A Guide to “Girls with Guns” Genre Set in 5th century China, centers on Di Ming Chi a young innocent from the West Zu army who wandered away from the battlefield and into a magical underworld filled with demons and murderous swordsmen. When his life is saved by the noble warrior Ding Yin, Di joins forces with his band of fighters -- including a Buddhism monk named Abbot Xiao Ru, his klutzy underling Yi Chen and a fearsome old wizard named Long Brows -- in their quest to save the world from the terror of the Blood Demon. In spite of Long Brows' powers the Demon attacks and poisons Abbot Xiao. Ding and company take the injured monk to the enigmatic Countess of Jade Pond hoping that her skills can cure him. Though she manages to cure Xiao, the demon soon possesses Ding. The combined power of Ding and the demon are too great; the Countess can only surround her castle with a solid block of ice and wait while Di, Yi and one of the countess's guards venture to the top of Blade Peak to find the legendary Twin Swords. Edit Translation
- English
- Українська
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
Cast & Credits
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![Adam Cheng in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Adam Cheng in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
Adam ChengDing YanMain Role -
![Brigitte Lin in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Brigitte Lin in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
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![Yuen Biao in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Yuen Biao in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
Yuen Biao Main Role -
![Mang Hoi in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Mang Hoi in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
Mang HoiYi ZhenMain Role -
![Damian Lau in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Damian Lau in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
Damian LauHiu YueSupport Role -
![Sammo Hung in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)]( "Sammo Hung in Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain Hong Kong Movie (1983)")
Sammo HungChang Mei | [Fatty]Support Role
Reviews
"Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain" has the distinction of being known as the film that inspired John Carpenter's 1986 fantasy film, "Big Trouble in Little China". Now that I have that context, the influence of this film is fairly evident throughout "Big Trouble in Little China". Not the blatant orientalism (a specifically western problem), but just how muddled and convoluted it is as a narrative "in middle of things", and as a visual effects film.
Sammo Hung is in this movie and they have him dressed like a fifth century Mario Luigi. The fate of billions depend on a bunch of kids who have to save the world from the devil because the adults are too busy drawing lines in the sand! Easily as you could sum this movie with a basic "Character A and Character B do [blank]", watching it in real time reveal a story that tends to be hard to follow and piece together.
The enthusiasm that went into the film's special effects is pretty clear from the jump, it's just a shame that none of that energy translated to the greater narrative. Fun as it is to watch the characters kind've fumble their way through one event after another, none of the characters really leave a lasting impression on you. Performances as a serviceable as they can be in a film like this, and certainly do enough to maintain the goofiness of the story.
If you've never seen this film before, but might've heard about it, give it a chance. You might have fun.
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