Chinese Martial Arts Costume Period Or Modern Drama?

Chinese martial arts or modern drama?

  • Modern drama

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Martial arts - modern days

    Votes: 5 41.7%
  • Martial arts - costumes period

    Votes: 6 50.0%

  • Total voters
    12

Hunnie

Level 3
Legendary
VIP
Hi I figured this should be a fun thread. For anyone that is participating in the khmerforum posting, I like to see what is the top preferred series type for Chinese series in particular. Cast your vote and post why that is choice over the other. :D
 

Hunnie

Level 3
Legendary
VIP
I did not vote because I had to chose one. I like them all and do not want to pick one over the other because I like variety. It really depends on my mood most of the time.

True we all like variety, but I wanted to see the top choice from every individual, at least the ones who post on khmerforum to see the winning top choice. I felt that if we are able to vote all, it's hard to see the obvious winner. :D

Just like picking a girl, we can't have both anymore, we have to choose one. Let the better ones win since no two can really be equal. But thanks for your input. :)
 
I love the TVB adaptations of Jin Yong produced during the good old days. The new stuff (period drama) is worthless crap, I hope there's going to be a turn around in the future. I was visiting the SPP site and found it to have some new stuff I would be interesting in watching, maybe even pay for if they can draw my attention and capture my imagination. Its not the actors or special effects, but rather the writing and editing, these people are talent-less. I mean, how hard is it to make a good wuxia series? The whole formula is already laid out, cut and dried. It doesn't seem like they put any effort to make a good story anymore. Frankly, them people making them movies are very incompetent at their own game. I guess Chinese people can't make good series anymore. Remember those days when you could always count on finding a good series to watch? It's not like that anymore, very hard to find something good to watch now. :D

You know what though? Koreans make awesome films...

Oh yeah, hunnie, I really do appreciate what you have done for this Khmer Avenue and Khmerforums. You too Rei, you were the main contributor for the longest bro and you had to take all the backlash from haters, even to the point of changing your identity. I still remember the gay porn uploads incident.

Seriously, the new stuff is trash. Its sad cause I do need my daily wuxia fix and I'm not getting it at all....
 
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Hunnie

Level 3
Legendary
VIP
I love the TVB adaptations of Jin Yong produced during the good old days. The new stuff (period drama) is worthless crap, I hope there's going to be a turn around in the future. I was visiting the SPP site and found it to have some new stuff I would be interesting in watching, maybe even pay for if they can draw my attention and capture my imagination. Its not the actors or special effects, but rather the writing and editing, these people are talent-less. I mean, how hard is it to make a good wuxia series? The whole formula is already laid out, cut and dried. It doesn't seem like they put any effort to make a good story anymore. Frankly, them people making them movies are very incompetent at their own game. I guess Chinese people can't make good series anymore. Remember those days when you could always count on finding a good series to watch? It's not like that anymore, very hard to find something good to watch now. :D

You know what though? Koreans make awesome films...

It's true that it's hard to find a good remake or good series now a day, but I believe there is some that can be interesting and worth while to watch for some of the new ones. I'll recommend some when I come across it. I have to sit and actually pick out a new series to watch first. :D I don't want to bury my head in only oldies, I don't think it's healthy to do so. I have to be open to the horizon and try new things, you too Happy. :)
 
The Chinese are caught up in their economic growth spurt to be worrying about our wuxia needs. There's a connection there?
 
It's true that it's hard to find a good remake or good series now a day, but I believe there is some that can be interesting and worth while to watch for some of the new ones. I'll recommend some when I come across it. I have to sit and actually pick out a new series to watch first. :D I don't want to bury my head in only oldies, I don't think it's healthy to do so. I have to be open to the horizon and try new things, you too Happy. :)

Well I did enjoy Swordsman and Strange Hero, although not throughout the entire set of episodes but the parts that were good is worth watching....I just think there's a lot of new people in the game and they are still learning and all the old people are dead or retired and did not pass on their skills.
 

Hamster

Level 2
Swordsman
Wanderer
In the past I would choose martial arts costume dramas. Nowadays I find myself tuning into modern dramas more. The quality of Chinese dramas deteriorated a lot. Happy already said everything I want to say about it.
 

LianNiChang

Commoner
VIP
TVB has no budget to produce ancient dramas anymore, let alone mouhap (wuxia) films that require special effects, stunt doubles and scenery. Jin Yong has also banned them from ever producing his works ever again since HSDS 2000. But if they ever adapt his works afterwards would they have even been any good. All the talents in TVB are gone anyways. Most of the time people tend to go for family oriented dramas now and this is in every station.

Only Mainland produces ancient dramas and I can't stand the slow-mo flying effects; wuxia heroes are not birds or airplanes they're still humans. I was really looking forward to the new White Hair Maiden but I was so very disappointed. How could they do that to my favourite novel. The storyline is horrible, the actors are all wooden, the fighting scenes are boring and the lead actress is not good enough to be the incredible White Haired Demoness.

I couldn't watch Swordsman (I'm not a big fan of the original novel anyways). I didn't even watch Royal Tramp 2008 yet, I just can't finish it. Wallace and Huang Xiao Ming are both cute but I can't stand the fighting scenes and the dubbing is a bit annoying without decent female dubbers (Heang Molina did not dub this one). The last decent wuxia drama I think I watched and actually liked was The Patriotic Knights (sequel to Lofty Waters Verdant Bow) and The Return of the Condor Heroes 2003. I never really watched one I liked after that again sadly...
 

Rei

Level 3
Master
VIP
I don't normally follow up with TVB news, so thank you for the information LianNiChang. I've been wondering why TVB hasn't produced any wuxia over the half decade or so -- that pretty much answered it.
 
China is filthy rich now, makes no sense to me how TVB has no budget and has to stop production on a genre that is so popular.
 

LianNiChang

Commoner
VIP
Actually TVB can still adapt works from other authors (Wen Rui An, Gulong, Huang Yi) other than Jin Yong's works but the past results haven't been that great as they failed to achieve good ratings. Considering TVB puts a lot of effort and money into producing these dramas it's actually a big deal. TVB is really cheap I heard and employees work 16-18 hours a day filming with little sleep, and on the fly script. No wonder so many artists left TVB and headed for Mainland instead. It's sad but reality. Sheren Tang, Steven Ma, Charmaine Sheh, Bowie Lam, Maggie Cheung, Eric Suen, Gigi Lai (retired from acting), Kevin Cheng, Felix Wong all have left TVB. Artists like Sheren Tang, Felix Wong and Maggie Cheung criticize the company straight up and have a strained relationship with the company now.

Personally I am not a big fan of Mr. Huang Yi. TVB produced A Step Into the Past, Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion and Twin of Brothers based on his novels and I didn't like any of them. (TVB had to change all the details in the stories because they were too long and included A LOT of sex). This author sounds like a pervert to me to be honest. On Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion TVB spent a lot and the ratings were horrible. The storyline was not even that good to begin with. For god sakes Sonija Kwok and Charmaine Sheh are both older than Raymond Lam who is the main lead.

I was okay with Mr. Wen Rui An's works. TVB produced Face to Fate (based on Shen Shuang Li Buyi), Strike at Heart and The Four (based on Sida Ming Bu aka The Four Constables series). Of course they never stick to the novel (why I wonder, why produce dramas from authors only to change the storyline and characters completely, why not make your own storyline then) and again failed to achieve good ratings.

TVB produces mostly ancient dramas based on Historical series now. (mostly Qing Dynasty with shaved heads or queens battling over power). And these dramas don't use martial arts as an emphasis either but I guess that's what people look for because TVB just can't produce proper ancient wuxia serials anymore anyways. But with all artists leaving the company and so many newcomers joining I don't think the results would be good even if they tried. Imagine if TVB were to adapt Legend of the Condor Heroes right now, no one is a good candidate at all for the lead roles I can honestly say.
 
Imagine if TVB were to adapt Legend of the Condor Heroes right now, no one is a good candidate at all for the lead roles I can honestly say.

my god that is so true to mention, but on a side note, Raymond Lam is one talented actor, and also Frankie Lam was brilliant in Face to Fate.

Man you are brilliant yourself for knowing all this stuff lol....
 

Hunnie

Level 3
Legendary
VIP
More votes on the modern days, but more talks on the ancient ones. :D
All the interesting factors are very interesting. I love to hear LianNiChang tells us about her insights with the novel in comparison to the series, it's very fascinating. I wonder if those novels comes in English?
 

LianNiChang

Commoner
VIP
Haha a few of them do come in English. Actually The Duke of Mount Deer was translated and published into English (I believe hard cover) but I have not read it yet myself. Its a good story but not my favourite really, I have tried the first chapter and got a bit bored. I rather just watch adaptions. The White Hair Maiden is my favourite novel and the 1986 version is my favourite serial but I wish it was more closer to the novel. To date NO adaption is as close as that one, and it is only around 60% faithful.

Currently I am re-reading The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (I read it a long time ago) but it is the first edition not the third edition with the new changes. After reading I can honestly say very few adaptions are actually faithful to the storyline. The 1986 version is the closest so far. The first 2 chapters the story starts out with Guo Xiang wandering trying to find Yang Guo (she is in love with him) and makes her way to Shaolin and meets and befriends He Zhudao. I believe this is three years after the end of Return of the Condor Heroes. Then she meets Zhang Zunbao (later would become Zhang San Feng) and his master Reverend Jueyuan.

Then the third chapter fast forward like 60 years later Yue Daiyan is travelling ALONE making his way back to Wudang for his master's birthday celebration and saves the lives of a few villagers and finds the Dragon Sabre by chance. He takes the sabre and is ambushed on a boat by Yin Su Su and her brother Yin Ye Huang. But this is the thing. He NEVER got to see Yin Su Su throw darts at him OR hear her voice. He faints and when he is awake he finally hears Yin Su Su's voice telling the escort agency to escort him back to Wudang. He has no idea what she has done or ever seen her face.

The 1986 version is the closest one so far BUT the first two chapters is completely omitted from every adaption. The one we see in this version is just a flashback and Guo Xiang doesn't get to meet or befriend He Zudao either. And in this adaption Zhang Cuishan is travelling with Yu Daiyan when they find the Dragon Sabre. And Yu Daiyan gets to see Yin Su Su's face too when she attacks him here.

Enough talk about mouhap dramas but I used to love modern series back in the days with the good old dubbing. I hated that from 2003 and on the voices got changed for TVB modern dramas so I was really picky to what I watched. Especially there's that one lady voice she sounds like a duck. She dub Charmaine and Sheren's voice in War and Beauty. Some of my favourite modern dramas are Family Man, Burning Flames I and II, A Case of Misadventure, Armed Reaction 2-3 (part 1 and part 4 the dub was a bit off for me), Reaching Out, and etc. I loved that group that used to dub most of the TVB dramas. They stopped in like 2004, and dubbed very few and then SPP finally took over for mostly ancient serials (they are okay too). But now only Srok Khmer dub TVB series, what's going on? They sound kind of annoying.
 

Hamster

Level 2
Swordsman
Wanderer
I'm glad the hsds86 didn't include everything from the book, the imperial parade for example. i also like the changes, especially for the ending. the novel's ending is whack.
 

veyha

Beggar
Nothing can beat martial arts (costume/period). But when it comes to comedy or slapstick humor, it should stay away from wuxia series. I cringe when something modern (random English/modern technology) make its way into a period martial arts series.
 

Bluebird

Guest
Martial arts & costume period.
Loves to see different outfit during that era.
Especially, TVB oldies in the 80's & 90's.:cool:
 
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