Burning Paradise

Burning Paradise
Directed by Ringo Lam
Produced by Tsui Hark[1]
Written by
  • Nam Yin
  • Wong Wan-choi
Starring
  • Willie Chi
  • Carman Lee
Music by Mak Chun-hung[1]
Cinematography Gao Ziyi[1]
Production
company
DLO Films Production Limited[1]
Release dates
  • 26 March 1994 (Hong Kong)
Country Hong Kong[1]
Language Cantonese[1]
Box office HK$ 1,819,697

Burning Paradise (Foh Siu Hung Lin Ji 火燒紅蓮寺) is a 1994 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam. The film is set in the Qing dynasty and stars Willie Chi Tian-sheng as Fong Sai Yuk and Yang Sheng as Hung Hei-kwun as Yang Sheng.[2]

The film was a box office failure in Hong Kong.

Release

Time Out London referred to the film as a "A box office disaster in Hong Kong".[3] After its release in Hong Kong on 27 March 1994, it grossed a total of HK$1,819,69.[1] The film was the 145th highest grossing film in Hong Kong for 1994.[4]

The film was released direct-to-video in the United Kingdom.[3] The film was released on DVD on 29 June 2010. The DVD contains an interview with Tsui Hark and the film's trailer.[5]

Reception

Time Out London stated that "Some of the acrobatic fights do seem grimly anarchic, but the endless booby traps grow tiresome and the film's 'dark side' is undercut by feeble elements of humour and romance. As a genre piece: too little, too late."[3] Film 4 opined that "Lam gives the story a new twist by envisaging the temple as a kind of Quake-type fortress complete with bottomless pits, traps, poison gases and other nasties that await the two fighters who are assigned to free the monks. Some amazing cinematography and art direction lift this endeavour out of the ordinary."[6] The Austin Chronicle praised the film, stating that it is "Lam's bizarre direction that makes this one of the better chopsocky efforts in recent memory. He manages to make the genre's clichés seem brand new again, creating a considerably darker and more sinister piece than your typical martial arts picture" and that "Although the finale is a slight letdown, for the most part, Burning Paradise is a terrific movie that tells an old story with a new attitude."[7] Variety referred to the film as "the highly entertaining but uncharacteristic swordplay item" in a review of Lam's later feature The Adventurers.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Burning Paradise". Hong Kong Film Archive. Hong Kong.
  2. ↑ Crow, Jonathan. "Burning Paradise". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 TR. "Burning Paradise". Time Out London. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Morton, 2009. p.201
  5. ↑ "Burning Paradise - Release". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Burning Paradise Review". Film 4. Archived from the original on 5 February 2005. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. ↑ O'Bryan, Joey (12 August 1994). " "Burning Paradise". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Elley, Derek (16 September 1996). "Review: ‘The Adventurers’". Variety. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

References

External links