The Tai-Chi Master (Tai ji Zhang San Feng, 1993)
Yuen Woo-ping
Hong Kong
91 mins, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)
Nobody does wire-fu like Jet Li, that's for sure. TAI-CHI MASTER is one of the best martial arts flicks and very often winds up in people's top-ten lists. It is easy to see why: there's a decent story laced with so much implausible action that I am sure Newton is spinning in his grave. Although we do get the best performances from Li and Siu-Hou Chin, who play the former friends Junbao and Chin Bo respectively, Michelle Yeoh is at her usual magnificence and has some great stunts with plenty of grace.
Another neat thing about this film is the amount of humor that found its way into the script. Although many of the HK flicks are funny, whether by accident or design is another matter, TAI-CHI MASTER is clearly following the formula fight-tragedy-comic-relief-fight-fight, and so on. It may be somewhat disorienting at first because everything starts on such a light note that it's hard to take the dramatic parts seriously when they come. However, the mood gradually darkens until there's nothing left of the initial comedy. I liked that approach quite a bit, and it seems to work very well in the film.
This is definitely a must-see, if for no other purpose, then at least to see Jet Li talking to ducks. There's some great Taoist thinking throughout, so you shouldn't miss Reverend Ling's insights into the nature of things: "To live is to die, to die is to live." Michelle Yeoh fans should not neglect to see this either, as it is easily one of her best films. Great music by Wu Wai Lap, the guy who did the excellent score for THE HEROIC TRIO.
The Universe DVD is, well, quite awful. I have the "remastered" release, which is missing about 4 minutes due to the PAL transfer (which shows, as the entire film looks muddy), and although it is generally dust and scratch free, it detail-free as well. The bit rate hovers around 2.5 and barely makes to 5 even in the most complicated fight scenes. The colors are off, which is usual for PAL transfers, and there's bleeding throughout. There's also quite a bit of ghosting, which can become irritating, especially in the second part of the film. The Cantonese track is muffled but on the Mandarin track, the special effects overpower the dialogue. I've heard the Disney version does not fare much better in terms of quality though.
April 12, 2001. BLS