Legend of Condor Heroes - first 2 eps
May. 25th, 2010 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI am currently on ep 3 of Legend of the Condor Heroes (2008) and I am so in love, it's not even describable.
I don't watch too many of them, because their length requires a huge investment of time, but I do adore my wuxia dramas. To me, they are romantic, violent fairy tales for adults. My favorite of them (such as Return of Condor Heroes (2006)) have the same intensity and beauty that a dream does - you wake up half-sorry that nothing around you seems as vivid.
I meant to get to LOCH for ages - I liked the actors, I've heard good things about this version, and it's a prequel of sorts to my favorite wuxia drama of all time - that same Return of Condor Heroes (the protagonist of ROCH is the son of the secondary OTP of LOCH and protagonists of LOCH are important and very cool secondary characters of ROCH).
LOCH is based on a famous wuxia novel and while I cannot evaluate it as an adaptation (as I have not read it - I do not believe an English or Russian translation is available anywhere), so far the story is very engaging on its own merits.
It all starts when two legendary heroes are killed by a bunch of bad guys and their pregnant wives are left helpless. Wife of Hero N1 manages escape to Mongolia and safety. There she raises her son Guo Jing with the blessings of the local ruler and under tutelage of 6 eccentric martial arts teachers. Guo Jing (who does not know of how his father died) is sweet-natured and kind, but he is also very straightforward and rather dim. He is an adorable darling and I love him to bits already - a sort of big kid with incredible martial arts potential.
Wife of Hero N2 is not so lucky. The leader of the bad guys who killed the heroes cannot help his passion for her - the Evil Prince takes her into his Kingdom and makes her his wife. When her son is born, he treats the boy, named Yang Kang, as his own - forbidding anyone to mention to the boy the truth about his background, getting the best possible martial arts teacher for him, and developing pride in his achievement but also a certain kind of amusement at Yang Kang's desire to fight his "father's" enemies (which would have been his biological's father's allies).
Eventually the guys' paths will cross but, more importantly, Guo Jing will meet Huang Rong. I have not yet met Huang Rong, one of the most awesome heroines ever (if her character in ROCH is anything to go by) - she is supposed to be street-wise (and cross-dressing) daughter of a legendary hero and no mean fighter herself. I cannot wait!
Have Guo Jing/Huang Rong MV:
And for good measure, have Yang Kang and Mu Nianci MV (I always knew Yang Guo's parents must have been really cool!). You have NO idea how hard it was to find a non-spoilery one.
And for good measure, MV of Yang Guo/Xiao Long Nu from Return of Condor Heroes. They are one of my hugest OTPs of all time.
I don't watch too many of them, because their length requires a huge investment of time, but I do adore my wuxia dramas. To me, they are romantic, violent fairy tales for adults. My favorite of them (such as Return of Condor Heroes (2006)) have the same intensity and beauty that a dream does - you wake up half-sorry that nothing around you seems as vivid.
I meant to get to LOCH for ages - I liked the actors, I've heard good things about this version, and it's a prequel of sorts to my favorite wuxia drama of all time - that same Return of Condor Heroes (the protagonist of ROCH is the son of the secondary OTP of LOCH and protagonists of LOCH are important and very cool secondary characters of ROCH).
LOCH is based on a famous wuxia novel and while I cannot evaluate it as an adaptation (as I have not read it - I do not believe an English or Russian translation is available anywhere), so far the story is very engaging on its own merits.
It all starts when two legendary heroes are killed by a bunch of bad guys and their pregnant wives are left helpless. Wife of Hero N1 manages escape to Mongolia and safety. There she raises her son Guo Jing with the blessings of the local ruler and under tutelage of 6 eccentric martial arts teachers. Guo Jing (who does not know of how his father died) is sweet-natured and kind, but he is also very straightforward and rather dim. He is an adorable darling and I love him to bits already - a sort of big kid with incredible martial arts potential.
Wife of Hero N2 is not so lucky. The leader of the bad guys who killed the heroes cannot help his passion for her - the Evil Prince takes her into his Kingdom and makes her his wife. When her son is born, he treats the boy, named Yang Kang, as his own - forbidding anyone to mention to the boy the truth about his background, getting the best possible martial arts teacher for him, and developing pride in his achievement but also a certain kind of amusement at Yang Kang's desire to fight his "father's" enemies (which would have been his biological's father's allies).
Eventually the guys' paths will cross but, more importantly, Guo Jing will meet Huang Rong. I have not yet met Huang Rong, one of the most awesome heroines ever (if her character in ROCH is anything to go by) - she is supposed to be street-wise (and cross-dressing) daughter of a legendary hero and no mean fighter herself. I cannot wait!
Have Guo Jing/Huang Rong MV:
And for good measure, have Yang Kang and Mu Nianci MV (I always knew Yang Guo's parents must have been really cool!). You have NO idea how hard it was to find a non-spoilery one.
And for good measure, MV of Yang Guo/Xiao Long Nu from Return of Condor Heroes. They are one of my hugest OTPs of all time.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 05:12 am (UTC)I've watched bits and pieces of it, and the only thing I really remember about it is thinking that Hu Ge is too pretty to be Guo Jing. lol. But apart from that, he does a fairly good job.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 07:18 am (UTC)This and other wuxia novels are translated at SPCNET.TV forums. LOCH is my all time fave wuxia novel and the translations are not bad at all. You can also read ROCH or Smiling Proud Wanderer (another one written by Jin Yong who is the king of wuxia)
I love LOCH so much that I'm not so eager to seek out an adaptation but will keep this one in mind since it seems very loyal to the source material so far.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 02:52 pm (UTC)Thank you for the heads-up, I am going to check out the translations!
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Date: 2010-05-26 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 08:36 pm (UTC)I think he looks good in some shots but not others.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 07:37 am (UTC)Yeah, douche bag is the word to describe Yang Kang. In the novel he doesn't have any redeeming qualities but my lovely Guo Jing is good to him anyway, that is the way he is. He may not be the smartest piece in the chess board but he has a very kind heart and he is really a good person, actually he is my all time face wuxia hero and I love him to bits. Huang Rong on the other hand is very smart and fiercely loyal to her loved ones but I can't seem to like her since she is really not that good a person and she is very smart yes but her judgement is not always right and that causes lots of problems (Yang Guo is one that suffered a lot because of her).
What I love is that Jin Yong novels treat female characters as equals and more often than not, the female part of the couple is the more competent one who gets things done and rescues the hero. In JY's wulin world gender is not an important factor when it comes to ability and competency. And women are not treated as objects or used for titillation (yeah Ouyang Ke is a lecher but the novel firmly establishes him as a villain and condemns his behaviour towards women).
no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 03:53 pm (UTC)I like YK in the 2008 adaptation but I know they made him much nicer (and changed him) from the novel.
But I have no words for how much I adore Guo Jing - he is just such such an amazingly kind and good person. And I love how proud he is of Huang Rong's smarts.
I have a complicated relationship with Huang Rong (and had since watching ROCH). She is smart and devoted to those she loves but I agree - she is not a good kind person at base and she made Yang Guo's life a misery when he was a kid (and spoiled her awful daughter rotten causing trouble). I think if it wasn't for her meeting Guo Jing she could have very well become a villain - her moral compass is pretty shaky (same is true for Yang Guo - they both end up being good due to people they meet and the goals they end up picking as a result).
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Date: 2010-05-27 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-27 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-28 04:15 am (UTC)You're quite right about Huang Rong. I mean, I love her to pieces because of her intelligence (though I'm also biased because Zhou Xun acted her out), but she does cause some ridiculous problems in ROCH and in between LOCH and ROCH. Thank God she met Guo Jing. ♥
no subject
Date: 2010-05-28 10:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-28 08:19 pm (UTC)i totally agree!
Date: 2011-01-17 12:11 pm (UTC)