The Legend of Zu
Encyclopedia
The Legend of Zu, also known as Zu Warriors in the United States
, is a 2001 Hong Kong film produced and directed by Tsui Hark
. The film starred Ekin Cheng
, Louis Koo
, Cecilia Cheung
, Patrick Tam, Zhang Ziyi
and Sammo Hung
. It is based on the same source as the 1983 film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain
.
, Dawn sends away her disciple, King Sky. She believed their emotional attachement limits their abilities to progress. Dawn gives him her weapon, the Moon Orb, to help him train; he is to return only after attaining a higher level; if she cannot be found, the Moon Orb will find her. Moments after they parted, Insomnia attacks and disintegrates her.
200 years later, at Omei temple, Grandmaster White Brows senses darkness coming and dispatches his disciple, Red, to investigate. King Sky joins Red (old friends) and the Omei to defeat Insomnia. White Brows engages and weakens Insomnia with his weapon, the Sky Reflector; Insomnia retreats into the legendary Blood Cave; Omei's top warriors pursue Insomnia. At the cave, King Sky notices Enigma, who resembles Dawn. Focusing on the cave, White Brows warns that the cave is capable of sucking away the powers of those who venture near it. Both Red and King Sky risk their lives to battle Insomnia within the cave, but they narrowly escape after White Brows sacrifices the Sky Reflector to save them. With Insomnia absorbing the cave's energy, White Brows has Red guard the cave's entrance while the Omei reconnoiter.
At Omei, White Brows tries to combine Enigma's Heaven Sword with Hollow's Thunder Sword to form a new weapon. Unfortunately, the fusion process rebounds; Hollow dies and Enigma is seriously injured, but King Sky rescues her. White Brows appears before King Sky and admits that Enigma is the reincarnation of Dawn (he needed a immortal to wield the Heaven Sword). He then appoints King Sky as chief of Omei as he ventures into a new dimension to find a weapon to defeat Insomnia. Before leaving, he resurrects Hollow, hoping the reborn Hollow (renamed to Ying) will retain his abilities to wield the Thunder Sword in their most desperate hour. Without a wielder of the Thunder Sword, King Sky asks Enigma to help him attempt to wield the sword, but is unsuccessful and he was burned alive in the process. Enigma tries to save him, but fails and buries him.
Meanwhile, Red is possessed by Amnesia (a flower demon) while guarding the Blood Cave. Red returns to Omei and decimates the clan and captures Enigma. Amnesia then destroys the rest of Omei, weakening the clan. To the survivors' frustration, Ying has yet to re-awaken his abilities. In a pitted fight against one of the Sword Saints, Thunder, Ying's abilities and memories return. Concurrently, through the power of resurrection, King Sky revives just in time to intercept White Brows's weapon. With his new Ming Fire Sword, both King Sky and Ying face Red at the Blood Cave.
After Ying rescues Enigma, Ying and Enigma return to Omei to stop Insomnia's final assault. King Sky exorcises Red, but he sacrifices himself to finish off Amnesia. At Omei, Enigma and Ying successfully fuse their swords to form a new celestial weapon to defeat Insomnia. King Sky joins the duo and they weaken Insomnia. Enigma possesses Insomnia to prevent the demon from escaping, giving King Sky a chance to destroy it. Just as Insomnia is destroyed, Enigma remembers herself as Dawn and tells King Sky she is happy to find him again before disappearing. After the battle, Enigma is reincarnated as a new immortal and Mount Omei is restored. King Sky parts with the Omei to rebuild his clan.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a 2001 Hong Kong film produced and directed by Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
. The film starred Ekin Cheng
Ekin Cheng
Ekin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. Early in his career he used the name Dior as a first name. He has also been referred to as Noodle Cheng, after a popular noodle product with a similar name...
, Louis Koo
Louis Koo
Louis Koo is a Hong Kong actor. He was once a notable local television series actor, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 for Detective Investigation Files IV. In recent years, he has focused on film...
, Cecilia Cheung
Cecilia Cheung
Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi is a Hong Kong actress and cantopop singer. She is the ex-wife of Nicholas Tse, thus being the daughter-in-law of Patrick Tse and Deborah Lee. She and Nicholas have two sons, Lucas and Quintus Tse...
, Patrick Tam, Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
and Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
. It is based on the same source as the 1983 film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain
Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain is a 1983 Hong Kong supernatural fantasy film directed by Tsui Hark, who attempts to combine Hong Kong action cinema with Western special effects technology...
.
Plot
The film is set in a mythical mountain range called Zu, which exists between Heaven and Earth. The mountains are populated by peace-keeping immortals. A demon called Insomnia desires to rule Zu and the world below; it begins wiping out the clans. In the Kunlun MountainsKunlun Mountains
The Kunlun Mountains are one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km. In the broadest sense, it forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin and the Gansu Corridor and continues east south of the Wei River to end at the North China Plain.The...
, Dawn sends away her disciple, King Sky. She believed their emotional attachement limits their abilities to progress. Dawn gives him her weapon, the Moon Orb, to help him train; he is to return only after attaining a higher level; if she cannot be found, the Moon Orb will find her. Moments after they parted, Insomnia attacks and disintegrates her.
200 years later, at Omei temple, Grandmaster White Brows senses darkness coming and dispatches his disciple, Red, to investigate. King Sky joins Red (old friends) and the Omei to defeat Insomnia. White Brows engages and weakens Insomnia with his weapon, the Sky Reflector; Insomnia retreats into the legendary Blood Cave; Omei's top warriors pursue Insomnia. At the cave, King Sky notices Enigma, who resembles Dawn. Focusing on the cave, White Brows warns that the cave is capable of sucking away the powers of those who venture near it. Both Red and King Sky risk their lives to battle Insomnia within the cave, but they narrowly escape after White Brows sacrifices the Sky Reflector to save them. With Insomnia absorbing the cave's energy, White Brows has Red guard the cave's entrance while the Omei reconnoiter.
At Omei, White Brows tries to combine Enigma's Heaven Sword with Hollow's Thunder Sword to form a new weapon. Unfortunately, the fusion process rebounds; Hollow dies and Enigma is seriously injured, but King Sky rescues her. White Brows appears before King Sky and admits that Enigma is the reincarnation of Dawn (he needed a immortal to wield the Heaven Sword). He then appoints King Sky as chief of Omei as he ventures into a new dimension to find a weapon to defeat Insomnia. Before leaving, he resurrects Hollow, hoping the reborn Hollow (renamed to Ying) will retain his abilities to wield the Thunder Sword in their most desperate hour. Without a wielder of the Thunder Sword, King Sky asks Enigma to help him attempt to wield the sword, but is unsuccessful and he was burned alive in the process. Enigma tries to save him, but fails and buries him.
Meanwhile, Red is possessed by Amnesia (a flower demon) while guarding the Blood Cave. Red returns to Omei and decimates the clan and captures Enigma. Amnesia then destroys the rest of Omei, weakening the clan. To the survivors' frustration, Ying has yet to re-awaken his abilities. In a pitted fight against one of the Sword Saints, Thunder, Ying's abilities and memories return. Concurrently, through the power of resurrection, King Sky revives just in time to intercept White Brows's weapon. With his new Ming Fire Sword, both King Sky and Ying face Red at the Blood Cave.
After Ying rescues Enigma, Ying and Enigma return to Omei to stop Insomnia's final assault. King Sky exorcises Red, but he sacrifices himself to finish off Amnesia. At Omei, Enigma and Ying successfully fuse their swords to form a new celestial weapon to defeat Insomnia. King Sky joins the duo and they weaken Insomnia. Enigma possesses Insomnia to prevent the demon from escaping, giving King Sky a chance to destroy it. Just as Insomnia is destroyed, Enigma remembers herself as Dawn and tells King Sky she is happy to find him again before disappearing. After the battle, Enigma is reincarnated as a new immortal and Mount Omei is restored. King Sky parts with the Omei to rebuild his clan.
Cast
- Ekin ChengEkin ChengEkin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. Early in his career he used the name Dior as a first name. He has also been referred to as Noodle Cheng, after a popular noodle product with a similar name...
as King Sky - Cecilia CheungCecilia CheungCecilia Cheung Pak-Chi is a Hong Kong actress and cantopop singer. She is the ex-wife of Nicholas Tse, thus being the daughter-in-law of Patrick Tse and Deborah Lee. She and Nicholas have two sons, Lucas and Quintus Tse...
as Dawn / Enigma - Louis KooLouis KooLouis Koo is a Hong Kong actor. He was once a notable local television series actor, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 for Detective Investigation Files IV. In recent years, he has focused on film...
as Red - Patrick Tam as Thunder
- Kelly LinKelly LinKelly Lin Hsi-Lei is a Taiwanese actress and model who has appeared mainly in Hong Kong films.-Biography:Lin was born in Taiwan in 1975. She moved to Santa Barbara, California with her family at the age of 12. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Degree in Economics...
as Amnesia - Zhang ZiyiZhang ZiyiZhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
as Joy - Sammo HungSammo HungSammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
as Grandmaster White Brows - Ng Kong as Hollow
- Wu Jing as Ying
- Lau Shun as Master Trascendential
- Lam Chi-tai (stunt)
Distribution
Although Miramax Films bought the rights to distribute it in the United States, the film was never released in theaters, despite advertising the American release with movie trailers (which appeared as previews & on the Apple website under Movie Trailers). It was eventually released on DVD on August 19, 2005 under the title of Zu Warriors.Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Those who praised the film mostly noted its thrilling action scenes and elaborate, computer-generated sets.External links
- The Legend of Zu at Hong Kong CinemagicHong Kong CinemagicHong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people that created them. The website contains news, interviews, film reviews and a database of people,...
- The Legend of Zu on Baidu BaikeBaidu BaikeBaidu Encyclopedia is a Chinese language collaborative Web-based encyclopedia provided by the Chinese search engine Baidu. Like Baidu itself, the encyclopedia is heavily self-censored in line with government regulations....
- Michael Chung. The Essence of the Movie Legend of Zu Mountain.