Mjeteconer Just perfect...

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

imayne Three hours will fly by when you catch King Hu's amazing, spectacular "A Touch of Zen", possibly the greatest feat in the history of martial arts film-making.The surface story about a poor student skilled in the ways of tactical warfare, who helps a master swordswoman and her bodyguard overcome the shame and dishonor of her father's murder at the hands of corrupt officials, gives way to a spiritual journey of enlightenment, making this an adventure film of the best kind, where the violence is only second place to the inner journey of the protagonist.These three hours feature subtle romance, elegant action sequences that showcase the Chinese approach to psychological and strategic warfare, while yet serving as a poignant statement about the horror of war and the possibility of redemption.The ending will strike you with a sense of awe that you have not felt since "2001", that's how good it is. For those of you who have not seen it, none will ever forget the sheer power and scope of the story that you have been told by the film's end.

ajoyce1va I rented this movie from Netflix. The DVD shows it in letterbox format with bright white English subtitles in the lower black space. The quality of the print that was used to make the disc is good for outdoor action, but the action in two long night scenes is so dark as to be mostly invisible.Obviously a lot of people love this film, but I'd give it only 7 out of 10 because it's way too long, over 3 hours. It was shown in theaters in the early 70's as Part I and Part II on separate days, which would be okay except the climactic fight in the bamboo forest which ends Part I is repeated in entirety in Part II. And there are other sequences which could be trimmed back. Towards the beginning, for example, Scholar Ku makes a long, long annoying nocturnal investigation of the spooky old mansion where he lives with his mother, finding nothing. Because the print is so dark, we see nothing as well. Again, in Part II, after the heroes have tackled the evil forces of the Eastern Chamber (a never-explained reference to some part of the Imperial Palace, I suppose), Scholar Ku wanders around the battle site laughing humorlessly over his own cleverness in the ways he spooked the Imperial guard force that came to attack. A little of this stuff goes a long way.Nonetheless, it's a good Netflix rental. I particularly enjoyed seeing Pai Ying in a heroic role as Gen. Shih, and hawk-faced Miao Tien as the evil Commandant's lieutenant. It was also interesting to see 1970's Taiwanese hero actor Tien Peng (often billed as "Roc" Tien) as a handsome official of intermediate strength and skill working for the evil Eastern Chamber people. And I loved Ku's mother.Two other people deserve honorable mention. The Chinese title "Hsia Nü" means "gallant lady", according to the subtitles, but lead actress Hsü Feng is hard to warm up to, and usually seems off-putting rather than gallant. She never smiles in this film or shows any emotional content when she fights. The other interesting person is Chiao Hu (often billed as Roy Chiao), who plays the Buddhist monk that injects the Touch of Zen. Chiao was always a likable actor, but he too never smiles or seems like anything but a chilly person here. In both cases, however, their demeanor is perfectly appropriate to the roles, so I didn't mind that.And was that Sammo Hung in a bit part, supporting the evil general Hsü in the final struggles?

moviesbest I will like to justify some comments on this classic film and also WARN those who are looking forward to watch it. If anyone expect this movie to be full of action, I suggest they stick to Hollywoood films. If they expect a lot of swordplay, go for the Shaw Brothers releases, there are plenty of them.Touch of Zen(Xia Nu) is a great piece of 3 hrs Chinese art like the Belle noiseuse,La, a 4 hrs French art, but not as long or as slow. I watched it 30 over years ago as a kid and found it boring(a box office flop then) but when I watched it on DVD recently, I really appreciate and enjoyed it. It's not like the usual Chinese sword-fighting movies, there are very few actions here, in fact, for the first half(Part 1) there is only 1 short action scene(I don't consider this a spoiler)at the climatic end, which I consider a classic. Here is where the recent "bamboo action scenes" from other movies got the idea. Bear in mind, there is no digital effect at that time. I think Cannes gave it a technical award due to that scene. Those who think that Crouching Tiger or Flying Daggers' bamboo scenes are better, they should take a second viewing and try to figure out how those scenes are shot. Those who enjoyed King Hu's or sword-fighting films should also watch Come Drink With Me, Dragon Inn Gate(the original), The Valiant Ones and The Fate of Lee Khan.(Too bad the latter 3 are not available in DVD yet) and those who appreciate Chinese art must watch his Raining in The Mountain and Legend in the Mountain. King Hu only directed around 15 movies in 30 years(probably the least for an Asian director of those times) and I recommend the above mentioned 7 to foreigners as I consider them as classics. I will give them a 8 or 9 for IMDb ratings.

PiranianRose To think that I used to accuse King Hu of doing injustice to the wuxia genre with boring storytelling and slow action, I must have been on crack at the time--as his best works completely transcend elements of conventional film-making. In A TOUCH OF ZEN, It's not the story or the action that stands out; although they are part of the system, they are secondary to the theme of spiritual enlightenment, which is what counts in Buddhist philosophy. When the abbot confronts the East Chamber agent, the art of combat is strictly utilized by the abbot to guide the agent to "put down his sword, and attain peace with Buddha." There is a haunting sight when the bookworm scholar is amused by his tactic which fooled the agents. He thinks he has reached the peak of perfection, but then he sees dead bodies lying around who have suffered from his tactic, and the only thing on his mind is a woman whom he lusts. As book-smart as he is, he still suffers from worldly affair like everyone else. Only at the end when he accepts Buddha is he able to live in peace.Aside from the philosophical points, ZEN also scores strongly in establishing mood, suspense, and fascinating visuals. The Jiang Hu in this film feels incredibly authentic, and the rich mise-en-scene is refreshing compared to the limited Shaw Bros studio offerings. I loved the photography throughout; it beautifully captures the spiritual wonder of ancient Orient. In framing still shots, King Hu chiefly employs medium and medium close-ups, mounting his camera at an upward angle so we can always see beyond the characters, perhaps to suggest existence of higher wisdom.One observation I would like to propose is that although ZEN is probably a milestone in Chinese cinema, it would be a minor masterpiece compared to the best works from 60s Japan. The lush photography and haunting images from KWAIDAN come to mind as a comparison. No doubt, King Hu also learned a few tricks from the likes of Kurosawa, such as pointing his camera at the sun which occurs frequently in ZEN.[9/10]