Soundtracks are (mostly, not always) the heartbeat of a series/movie. Sadly, especially nowadays, it doesn't always get used wisely or is present from the first to the last scene or is too loud or doesn't fit at all.
Personally, I love the epic soundtracks, the classical instrumental ones, like used in movies like "Tiger and Dragon", "Ashes of Time", "Hero" or"House of Flying Daggers" or series like "Ever Night", "Tribes and Empires", "The Longest Day in Chang'an" or "Water Margin 2011". Composeres like Tan Dun or Frankie Chan have an incredible feeling for how to use music, when to use music and - when not.
Unfortunately, there is a trend amongst new productions (Asian as well as American or European) to add music to every scene, which makes its impact (and the impact of many scenes) simply go poof - especially if a movie or series gets literally turned into a musical with one piece of sung soundtrack after another and for every scene around the leading cast.
I like scenes where the production team around director, writer and composer took the risk to not add any kind of music at all. This creates incredible tension, at times, and forces the watcher to focus on the goings-on - same goes for scenes filmed without any dialogue (which needs extraordinarily good actors and a great script, though) - like in French film noir "Rififi" from 1955:
The centerpiece of the film is an intricate half-hour heist scene depicting the crime in detail, shot in near silence, without dialogue or music...and it works!!!
Having watched countless Asian, European and American movies and series - old and new - over the bygone 45 years, I confess, I still prefer the great composers of the Golden Aera / Golden Age of movie making: Miklos Rosza, Michel Legrand, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Howard Shore, Tan Dun and some others.
As for c-drama-series: If a soundtrack adds to the story like in the above mentioned ("Ever Night", "Tribes and Empires", "Water Margin", "The Longest Day..." etc.), if it adds to the tension of a scene or to the plot in a whole, it will find a way into my rating, if it's just the typical song or dideldi-dideldum music for a love scene that adds nothing at all to the story, I'll ignore it. Acting, casting, plot, screenwriting, directing, costumes - that's way more important for me in a c-drama.
Unfortunately, the soundtracks for many c-dramas are as medicore, today, as many scripts, plots and the acting of pushed-to-fame wannabe actors. The music used leaves no memorable impact and I'd still prefer listening to a soundtrack from the 1940s or 1950s by amazing Hungarian composer Miklos Rosza than to most of the music I come across while watching c-drama, these days.
One of the legendary directors (together with China's King Hu), who became cult. My dad (a fan of Toshiro Mifune) often watched his movies when they got re-broadcast on German TV in the 1970s and I was allowed to watch, too. This way, I came to watch quite a number of his movies as a kid and later as a teen. My faves are definitely "Ran", "Kagemusha", "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai" and "Hidden Fortress".
Totally agree! Both of them are very talented actors. Haven't watched their previous works yet, but I'm most interested…
It's a series that keep one glued to the screen. There are moments where I wanted to take a break, but then I got back to watching the same moment - too curious to find out what happend next. :)
It would definitely be interesting to see, how these stories would work, if they all would have more time to develop it and to dive deeper into it. Maybe, one day...
Nope. Zhong Ling and Mu Wan Qing left a few eps earlier and never returned. Duan Yu only ends up with Wang Yu…
Me too. With Liu Mei Tong they chose a beautiful actress for Mu Wanqing. Not one of the little barbie girls. She really looked like an actress for a wuxia story. A credible swordswoman. Same as Xue Hao Jing as Ren Ying Ying in the lastet "Swordsman" adaptation. I think, you're right, the censors surely had a word in this - if it's true, the series got cut down from 60 episodes to 50, so, it's easy to guess that they cut a lot of scenes. Really a shame.
I'm currently watching all three adaptations (2003, 2013 & 2021) alongside each other.2021 has a lot, what I really…
Thanks for the tip! The cast from 2013 wasn't bad, in general, but the chemistry between the three MLs wasn't good at all and Wallace Chung was definitely not well chosen for Qiao Feng. I think, Chen Long would have been great in this role, but I'm not sure if he'd have agreed to play him shortly after his amazing Wu Song.
He Hong Shan did such an amazing job as A zi. Her character is annoying as f****. But for some reason I kind of…
She's great, indeed. And I had to look twice when I read, she turned 34, this year. Other than many other actresses, who try and fail when they play teens, she's really credible as the annoying teen-girl, A Zi is supposed to be. In looks and perfoemance. Very good actress!!!
Only a 3.6/10 on Douban. I have never seen a drama with such terrible score. Even the most recent one with that…
I'm currently watching all three adaptations (2003, 2013 & 2021) alongside each other. 2021 has a lot, what I really like, but having reached the chess scene, I must say, 2003 and 2013 came up with way more creative and spectacular ideas for this interesting game of Go.
As for the leading men: I love Hu Jun & Gao Hu in 2003, I also love Han Dong in 2013 and I actually like all three MLs in 2021, but, still, all three also seem to lack something. Can't describe, what it is, but there is missing something with the 2021 guys of what Hu Jun and Gao Hu brought with them all naturally in 2003...
Nope. Zhong Ling and Mu Wan Qing left a few eps earlier and never returned. Duan Yu only ends up with Wang Yu…
The most boring of the girls in this adaptation. Worst case scenario, for me. I wished for Mu Wanqing (so beautiful) and/or Zhong Ling (so cheeky) to be with Duan Yu, but this boring Wang Yuyan. Whenever she opens her mouth, I feel the urge to lay down and fall asleep... *yawn* Not sure, if I still feel the urge to finish this, knowing about the end, now... *sigh* But, after all, there are other characters, too, whom I came to like (especially some of the baddies), so, I guess, I'll go on watching...
Half a dozen people told you already, it's not a BL story. And even if you'll ask another half a dozen people,…
This show has so many characters, the links are really helpful with finding out who is who. And even if it's not BL, no one forbids you to ship your fave characters. ;)
Is just me, who finds it a bit sick, to still promote tiger bones and bear bile as medicine, in a series filmed, today, while tigers are on the brink of extinction wherever they live in the wild and that torturing bears to win the bile is meanwhile considered massive animal cruelty...??? No wonder, that "medicine" like this is still sold and that there are still animals out there who have to suffer for antiquated beliefs... And why has there to be a living pheasant to be shot with bow and arrow...??? I, for my part, do NOT need things like this to get entertained...
You won't regret it. I plan to upload all 86 episodes of the "Water Margin" (2011) series to my Facebook page (currently are 25 eps. up, if I remember it right), also all of the Water Margin Heroes movies.
One thing, I really like about this new adaptation: Other like in 99,5 % of the other costumes/Xianxia/Wuxia series the characters do NOT constantly vomit blood every five minutes and after every fight they get into...even though they might possibly be severely injured. That cliché is so overused, it's really great to see a series breaking up with this "tradition"...
Totally agree! Both of them are very talented actors. Haven't watched their previous works yet, but I'm most interested…
Be warned, "Bloody Romance" has some very intense scenes, but I think, it's amazing. Especially the end as it comes with a riddle...whatever happens, make sure to watch till the end...keep the fan in mind... ;)
I liked them all, but Wang Yan Lin and Li Yitong had the best story, indeed. The other two storylines were nothing really new, so, I loved the ides behind Wang Yan Lin's and Li Yitong's story. I love the different ways... :D
Personally, I love the epic soundtracks, the classical instrumental ones, like used in movies like "Tiger and Dragon", "Ashes of Time", "Hero" or"House of Flying Daggers" or series like "Ever Night", "Tribes and Empires", "The Longest Day in Chang'an" or "Water Margin 2011".
Composeres like Tan Dun or Frankie Chan have an incredible feeling for how to use music, when to use music and - when not.
Unfortunately, there is a trend amongst new productions (Asian as well as American or European) to add music to every scene, which makes its impact (and the impact of many scenes) simply go poof - especially if a movie or series gets literally turned into a musical with one piece of sung soundtrack after another and for every scene around the leading cast.
I like scenes where the production team around director, writer and composer took the risk to not add any kind of music at all. This creates incredible tension, at times, and forces the watcher to focus on the goings-on - same goes for scenes filmed without any dialogue (which needs extraordinarily good actors and a great script, though) - like in French film noir "Rififi" from 1955:
The centerpiece of the film is an intricate half-hour heist scene depicting the crime in detail, shot in near silence, without dialogue or music...and it works!!!
Having watched countless Asian, European and American movies and series - old and new - over the bygone 45 years, I confess, I still prefer the great composers of the Golden Aera / Golden Age of movie making: Miklos Rosza, Michel Legrand, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Howard Shore, Tan Dun and some others.
As for c-drama-series:
If a soundtrack adds to the story like in the above mentioned ("Ever Night", "Tribes and Empires", "Water Margin", "The Longest Day..." etc.), if it adds to the tension of a scene or to the plot in a whole, it will find a way into my rating, if it's just the typical song or dideldi-dideldum music for a love scene that adds nothing at all to the story, I'll ignore it.
Acting, casting, plot, screenwriting, directing, costumes - that's way more important for me in a c-drama.
Unfortunately, the soundtracks for many c-dramas are as medicore, today, as many scripts, plots and the acting of pushed-to-fame wannabe actors.
The music used leaves no memorable impact and I'd still prefer listening to a soundtrack from the 1940s or 1950s by amazing Hungarian composer Miklos Rosza than to most of the music I come across while watching c-drama, these days.
My dad (a fan of Toshiro Mifune) often watched his movies when they got re-broadcast on German TV in the 1970s and I was allowed to watch, too.
This way, I came to watch quite a number of his movies as a kid and later as a teen.
My faves are definitely "Ran", "Kagemusha", "Rashomon", "Seven Samurai" and "Hidden Fortress".
It would definitely be interesting to see, how these stories would work, if they all would have more time to develop it and to dive deeper into it. Maybe, one day...
I think, you're right, the censors surely had a word in this - if it's true, the series got cut down from 60 episodes to 50, so, it's easy to guess that they cut a lot of scenes. Really a shame.
The cast from 2013 wasn't bad, in general, but the chemistry between the three MLs wasn't good at all and Wallace Chung was definitely not well chosen for Qiao Feng. I think, Chen Long would have been great in this role, but I'm not sure if he'd have agreed to play him shortly after his amazing Wu Song.
Other than many other actresses, who try and fail when they play teens, she's really credible as the annoying teen-girl, A Zi is supposed to be. In looks and perfoemance. Very good actress!!!
2021 has a lot, what I really like, but having reached the chess scene, I must say, 2003 and 2013 came up with way more creative and spectacular ideas for this interesting game of Go.
As for the leading men:
I love Hu Jun & Gao Hu in 2003, I also love Han Dong in 2013 and I actually like all three MLs in 2021, but, still, all three also seem to lack something. Can't describe, what it is, but there is missing something with the 2021 guys of what Hu Jun and Gao Hu brought with them all naturally in 2003...
I wished for Mu Wanqing (so beautiful) and/or Zhong Ling (so cheeky) to be with Duan Yu, but this boring Wang Yuyan. Whenever she opens her mouth, I feel the urge to lay down and fall asleep... *yawn*
Not sure, if I still feel the urge to finish this, knowing about the end, now... *sigh*
But, after all, there are other characters, too, whom I came to like (especially some of the baddies), so, I guess, I'll go on watching...
Here you can answer this question for yourself...:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demi-Gods_and_Semi-Devils
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Demi-Gods_and_Semi-Devils_characters
No wonder, that "medicine" like this is still sold and that there are still animals out there who have to suffer for antiquated beliefs...
And why has there to be a living pheasant to be shot with bow and arrow...???
I, for my part, do NOT need things like this to get entertained...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH52rHH1zNs
Other like in 99,5 % of the other costumes/Xianxia/Wuxia series the characters do NOT constantly vomit blood every five minutes and after every fight they get into...even though they might possibly be severely injured. That cliché is so overused, it's really great to see a series breaking up with this "tradition"...
I liked them all, but Wang Yan Lin and Li Yitong had the best story, indeed. The other two storylines were nothing really new, so, I loved the ides behind Wang Yan Lin's and Li Yitong's story. I love the different ways... :D