The Movie Diorama Zhang Yimou really is one of the best directors of this genre (I also recommend you watch Hero). This is a tale of love, betrayal and, again, some damn good swordplay. We follow Mei who is a member of the Flying Daggers, a underground group plotting against the government, who gets arrested until she is freed by a mysterious figure where she soon starts to fall in love. This really was a tragic film. By the end, I was so emotionally invested that the final scenes just killed me inside. Like taking out my heart and stabbing it with a dagger...a flying dagger...*ahem*. Exploring the themes of love, it conveys the lengths we go to be with the one we truly love. Interestingly the majority of this film is actually set in a woods, varied by autumnal trees and bamboo. Both make for some great action scenes, particularly the bamboo forest ambush. Yimou's utilisation of colours creates some visually splendid landscapes, again the bamboo forest uses several shades of green, both in natural aspects and the characters' attire. The production design truly excelled within the Peony Pavilion, where the costume design was also fantastic. The Echo Game scenes were inventive and splendid to watch. Zhang Ziyi, who is one of my favourite Chinese actresses, exhumed elegance, innocence and a sense a badassery. Her choreography was already exquisite, but having to do that without actually looking at the opponent (due to her character being blind) really showcases mastery of the art. The love triangle was beautifully crafted and held a glimpse of tenderness. A few gripes, I found the CGI projectiles to be jarring and too frequent. The story is not as grand as other martial art epics so may not be particularly engaging for everyone. Also the betrayals that are revealed towards the end seemed too convenient and didn't really impact me. However, this is another solid Chinese wuxia flick with a tragic love story that definitely makes you emotionally invested.

Bill Slocum "House Of Flying Daggers" starts out a marvelously visual experience but eventually suffers from being too driven in its desire to offer same. Taken as an adventure, a character study amid civil war, or as a love story, it was a letdown, albeit a highly sumptuous one.In 859 AD, China is riven by a longstanding struggle between a collapsing dynasty and an insurgency which has the support of the people, the House of Flying Daggers. After one apparent high-ranking member of this group is revealed as a blind dancer in a Feng Tian brothel, two captains agree on a plan to get her to take them to the Flying Daggers' mysterious leader. In time, we learn more than one game is being played."Don't turn a game into reality and spoil our plan," the senior captain, Leo (Andy Lau) warns his partner Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro).But Jin styles himself too much a lady killer and can't help himself, especially when the lady is the gorgeous and deadly Mei (Zhang Ziyi): "If I die under a skirt, I can still flirt as a ghost."The film sets up an epic confrontation between the government and the Flying Daggers, to which Jin and Mei will discover themselves just "pawns on a chessboard." Yet the only chessboard we see used is that of director and co-screenwriter Zhang Yimou, who employs his trio of charismatic actors in the foreground of gorgeous scenery and head-spinning stuntwork.In his DVD commentary with Ziyi, Yimou acknowledges the influence of the earlier wuxia classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (which featured Ziyi) as well as Sergio Leone's epic "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly." You see the latter influence show up especially at the end. But those films, for all their rich visual textures, had stories going for them, too.This time the story amounts to frequent repetitions of similar activities, such as government ambushes, or else spectacles that grow less focused and more obtrusive as the movie goes on. The point of the movie, we are led to believe, is this big battle "that will decide the fate of the Flying Daggers," yet we end up knowing no more about that than when we began.I can watch Ziyi feed squirrels for two hours and not complain. She has an especially stirring opening sequence playing something called "the echo game" which works as a setpiece not only because of its fantastic visual design but also because at that point in the movie, the plot is only getting started and Yimou's tendency to bask in visuals is not yet a deficit. It's a classic setpiece.The other main actors are also good company. Kaneshiro especially takes the seemingly thankless role of a playboy officer and turns it into the film's central role. To the extent I came to care for anyone, it is Jin, more even than Mei. Kaneshiro with both his devil-may-care attitude and deeper sensibilities draws you into this fantastic setting, enough that the first half of the film with its endless stunts and color schemes takes on elements of a quality joyride.Eventually, the story bogs down around numerous hidden identities. Artifice, ever-present, takes over. By the time I was watching an ambush in a bamboo forest conducted largely 20 feet off the ground, I no longer felt engaged but rather manipulated. And it gets even more protracted in a long and sloppy ending.As a cinematic experience, "House Of Flying Daggers" merits viewing. I just felt as little as I found myself caring about the way it ended, Yimou cared even less.

Leofwine_draca I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the recent Oscar-winning period movies that have been coming out of Hong Kong – I thought that CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and HERO were both okay films, well made certainly, but lacking that certain dynamic spark which is needed for a classic film. So it was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, well aware that director Zhang Yimou was also responsible for HERO, and fully expecting to be let down by this film, as well. I was in for a surprise.HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS blew me away. Whereas the two films mentioned previously have seemed false, concerning tired notions of heroism and chivalry, this one concentrates on torrid romance, with many love scenes taking place during the film's running time. This is what is needed to give the film heart and dynamism. Obviously, the excellent technical qualities are what make this such a good film; the CGI effects are excellent, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the fight choreography spellbinding. Director Yimou is first and foremost an artist and it shows; this is the most visually beautiful film I've seen in my life. Each of the major set-pieces has a major colour scheme going on and the camera superbly captures all the nuances. Costumes, sets, and weaponry are vibrant and engaging as well.The acting is excellent. Veteran Andy Lau has the most interesting role, a soldier torn between his duty and the girl he loves. Said girl is played by Ziyi Zhang, who I haven't liked much in her previous films; here she's excellent, and Zimou really captures her fragile beauty and innocence. The other central performer is Takeshi Kaneshiro, familiar from his role in 1997's HERO; here he makes good on his central role in that film – he's great as well.The various fight scenes are all fluid and the wire work is nicely incorporated into the battles, which never seem outlandish or unnecessary as in the films I mentioned at the beginning of this review. There are lots of shots of weapons flying through the air which I liked, and a classic stand-off at the film's climax, which takes place in a snowstorm and reminded me favourably of the climax of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND HTE UGLY; director Zimou is obviously cut from the same cloth as Sergio Leone. Other highlights include the showdown in the bamboo forest and the magnificent echo game which opens the film, and which makes the best use of surround sound I've experienced.

bowmanblue I read a few criticisms of the House of Flying Daggers that it's all 'style over substance.' Well, it's certainly stylish, but I found there to be a fair amount of substance in essentially a kick-kicky type film.Yes, it's dubbed into English. Some will appreciate that, other puritans may long to see it in its native tongue. Either way, I don't think it will affect too many people's perception of the film. It's about a subversive organisation, known as the 'Flying Daggers' who are working to bring down the corrupt Chinese government of times past. The chief of police gets one of his best men to befriend a female member of the Daggers, in the hope that she'll lead the authorities to the Daggers' leader, in order to destroy them at the highest level.Nothing too new there and I won't give any more away on the story, as there may be a few twists and turns that you don't see coming.It is beautifully shot. Obviously too much for some, who cry style over substance. I don't see how people can't be taken with the scenery and costumes. Plus the fight scenes (of which there are certainly many!) are amazingly choreographed. The film runs for nearly two hours, but I'm pleased to say that it doesn't seem that long.There's enough drama and character development intertwined with the obligatory martial arts then mixed with a love story to give you something pretty interesting.I doubt the House of Flaying Daggers will ever become too mainstream. Ultimately, most of its audience will be those at least with a passing interest in martial arts films, but if you've watched any of them, or simply enjoyed Bruce Lee's work, then give it a go. It's good fun.