R E V I E W

The Dark Tales

Universe  |  2001 |  143 minutes
Directed by Lee Ming Sum
Written by Raymond To

With Adam Cheng, Lolita Lee

B A C K G R O U N D
director, in cinemas, recent and related films

Director Lee Ming Sum is from Beijing, China. I could not locate any additional information about him. Writer and playwright Raymond To's first two film scripts were Shanghai Blues and Peking Opera Blues. He currently serves as the artistic director of the Spring Time Group, which was established in 1995 and produces stage plays in Hong Kong. It was under the aegis of that group that this play was presented.

This DVD is a videotaped record of a live performance of the stage play.

M O V I E

plot / performances / production / rating

Time for a confession: after updating other pages in the site to link to this review (since I was sure I would finish watching it last night), something came up and I didn't finish watching it last night.

Ah, well. I will finish this weekend, but based on what I've seen so far (the first 30 minutes of the nearly 2 1/2 hour play), I am very impressed.

Frankly, I couldn't follow the plot too well, because I was distracted by the incredibly colorful costumes, the singing, the dancing, and even some wire work. Actually, the subtitles were almost a distraction. So if you have a taste for period dramas with some humorous touches, and feel like something different, I believe this DVD is well worth investigating.

And I will try to finish watching the play and writing the review, if for nothing else then for posterity!

D V D

look
It's videotape, which still doesn't look as good as film. Still, the very colorful costumes and stage settings look quite good, and the tape is clean of any blemishes or imperfections. Of course, if it's digital video, that shouldn't be surprising. It's a full-frame presentation.

sound
The Cantonese DD 2.0 audio track sounded quite good. The recording is crisp and the performers enunciate quite clearly. The music also comes across well.

subtitles
The white removable English subtitles are easy to read (nice big font) although some of the translation seems simplified. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the songs (an integral part of the story) are also subtitled. Also included are traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles.

features
For some reason I forgot to write down the number of chapters on the disk, but it's more than the usual 8 or 9; I believe it's 16 or so. In any event, each chapter is keyed to the different scenes in the play, which is a logical and welcome touch.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
buy, rent, or pass?

Rent. Even though I've only seen the first 30 minutes, it looks very promising and, if nothing else, gives a peak into the world of Hong Kong stage plays that I've never seen before. On that basis alone it's worth at least a rental.

(Reviewed 01/10/02)

THIS DVD IS AVAILABLE AT HKFLIX.COM