Human Lanterns DVD Review:

Synopsis

During a town’s lantern contest, two noblemen, Tan Fu and Lung Shu-Ai are desperate to best each other. Their rivalry is demonstrated by a heated argument over a prostitute Lung is in love with one night in front of the townsfolk.

Lung discovers that his faithful lantern maker has actually been passing off someone else’s designs as his own. The actual lantern maker is a disfigured hermit, with a connection to Lungs past.

A psychopath in a monkey costume then kidnaps the prostitute. Lung is immediately placed under suspicion.

Things get worse when Tan Fu’s sister disappears as well. The two men suspect each other and head towards a showdown, while a local policeman tries to discover what is going on.

Review

My experience of the Shaw Brother’s movies is fairly limited; I remember their co-production with Hammer Studios entitled “The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires” and also the fact that Quentin Tarantino is a big fan. Kill Bill was heavily influenced by the Shaw Brothers’ style, so much so that their logo appears at the start of the first volume.

The film is a mixture of kung fu and horror, to surprisingly good effect. The swordplay and martial arts scenes are outstanding, with plenty of wire-work adding to the otherworldly feel of the movie.

The performances of the cast are pitched perfectly for this material, and they seem to relish barking out the more melodramatic lines of the script. Special mention must go to Lo Lieh, who puts in wonderfully sinister work as the lantern making hermit.

The mystery and horror are possibly two of the weaker aspects. The killer is enjoyably nasty but his choice of costume (a bizarre monkey suit) makes him less than threatening. The identity of the killer is so obvious, that anyone who has watched an episode of Scooby Doo will work it out straight away. The gore is fairly tame, but that’s probably because I’ve become a bit jaded in my old age.

However there is much that makes the film enjoyable. The direction and cinematography are impeccable, with the patented Shaw-scope frames being filled with gorgeous scenery. There are plenty of bizarre and creepy images, such as the opening credits, and a water-wheel crushing bones.

Ultimately, the film zips by at a brisk pace, and is a huge amount of fun. It has certainly made me want to check out more of the Shaw Brothers back catalogue.

Score : 3.5/5

Picture

Presented in a 2.35:1 non anamorphic format, the picture is sharp and vivid, and Momentum Asia have done an excellent job of restoring the print.

Sound
The original Mandarin audio track is available in a 2.0 channel format, which makes the most of the orchestral score of the movie. For non-purists, there is also a dubbed Egnlish track.

Extras

Unfortunately, the extras are just trailers for this and other upcoming Momentum Asia releases, which are:

The Heroic Ones
Heroes Two
The Spiritual Boxer
Death Duel
Magnificent Trio



Sandeep Talati