Burning Paradise
Burning Paradise
| 23 January 1994 (USA)
Burning Paradise Trailers

An exotic, legendary battle between the forces of good and evil comes to life as the celebrated disciples of the Shaolin Temple -- monks who practice a lethal and spiritual form of martial arts -- fight the evil followers of China's Manchu rulers.

Reviews
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
dmuel Yes, a well-choreographed martial arts melodrama from Ringo Lam. It is relentlessly bloody, adding a certain black-magic flair with the repulsive arch-villain in the story. Shaolin monks fight for their survival against Qing dynasty henchmen who are in hot pursuit of the monks. A number of kungfu battles ensue, building to the climatic ending with Shaolin masters against the black arts. Of particular interest is the view of the Qing dynasty as a source of evil in China. In fact they were regarded as "foreign invaders", eventually "ousted" in the early 20th Century. Today, due to political expediency, the Chinese communist party has chosen to delete this historic inconvenience from official history, as they refuse to admit that China today actually represents several previously autonomous regions.
Chung Mo An unusual film from Ringo Lam and one that's strangely under-appreciated. The mix of fantasy kung-fu with a more realistic depiction of swords and spears being driven thru bodies is startling especially during the first ten minutes. A horseback rider get chopped in two and his waist and legs keep riding the horse. Several horses get chopped up. It's very unexpected.The story is very simple, Fong and his Shaolin brothers are captured by a crazed maniac general and imprisoned in the Red Lotus temple which seems to be more of a torture chamber then a temple. The General has a similarity to Kurtz in Apocalypse Now as he spouts warped philosophy and makes frightening paintings with human blood. The production is very impressive and the setting is bleak. Blood is everywhere. The action is very well done and mostly coherent unlike many HK action scenes from the time. Sometimes the movie veers into absurdity or the effects are cheesy but it's never bad enough to ruin the film. Find this one, it's one of the best HK kung fu films from the early nineties. Just remember it's not child friendly.
xrellerx I have always been keen on watching Hong Kong movies, but all of them failed to meet my expectations...until now! BURNING PARADISE doesn't contain the flat humor most HK movies have, nor a second rate story line that has been dragged into the film. The story is not complex, but there are never scenes that are just there to fill some "intelligent" space (the only truely intelligent martial arts film I have seen is CROUCHING TIGER, but since Hollywood is involved it is no true HK movie for me). There are some incredible fight scenes in this movie, from the first one(which is one of the coolest I have ever seen, yet so short) to the last main scenes! But mind, there's also a lot of blood that flows (people cut in half, decapitated, etc). The production is pretty good and the special effects show that the fantasy of the writer can be fulfilled even though some shots must be pretty technical (notice: the sheet of paper that he throws and got pinned into a wall!). Yep, it's not Tsui Hark or John Woo that made my favorite Hong Kong film, it's Ringo Lam! And I'm sure as hell going to check out more from this director! Ace.
and187 Burning Paradise is an Amazing movie. I loved Magnificent Tiger Stance combined with Incredible Crane Stance. Willie Chi is a great Martial Artist, almost as good as Jet Li. This a must see, and a must buy movie. The story is about Fong Sai Yuk and Hung Hey-kwun. Fong is fighting The evil Manchus. And Hung is pretending to be a Manchurian, but he is really drawing a map of the Red Lotus Temple. In the end Fong has to save his girlfriend and fight the very powerful and evil Elder Kung. I give this movie 9/10.