Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain
1983, NR, 112 min.
Directed by Tsui Hark, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Yuen Biao, Adam Cheng, Brigitte Lin, Sammo Hung.

This early (1983) forerunner of such Hong Kong hits as A Chinese Ghost Story and the Swordsman series features everything from ice palaces to “Blood Monsters” as it follows the exploits of a wandering swordsman and his sidekick. As is to be expected with any period Hark film, the action is nonstop – airborne duels, exploding demons, and thousands of yards of billowing silk make this visually arresting adventure a psychedelic treat. Liberal doses of blood, guts, and the broad humor that typified Hark’s work in the mid-Eighties are here in abundance, and while Zu’s plot has since entered into the realm of cliché, this remains one of Hark’s most exuberantly entertaining films.

This article appears in December 3 • 1993 (Cover).

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