Deadful Melody

Director: Ng Min Kan

Starring: Yuen Biao, Brigitte Lin, Carina Lau, Peter Chan, Wu Ma and David Lam.

Plot: In ancient China the land is ruled by six different clans all struggling for power. Each clan wants to posses the mystic lyre which will guarantee them supremacy over the land. Joining forces the clans ruthlessly attack the guardian of the lyre and his family, and in the chaos the only two survivors are separated: the son Lui Lun (Yuen Biao) and his older sister Snow (Brigitte Lin), who escapes with the lyre. Lui Lun is adopted by Master Late (Peter Chan) while Snow, after years of patient practice, finally masters the deadly instrument and seeks her revenge. Reuniting with her brother, Snow sets out to kill all the clan leaders.

Review: Deadful Melody is wonderfully shot, it reminded me of the Ching Sui Tung classics A Chinese Ghost Story and Swordsman 2, the blue backlighting makes the audience feel uneasy and tense, with the added smoke effects it really makes the shots atmospheric. Action director Meng Hoi had a few tricks up his sleeve when it came to shooting the fantasy midair battles. While in most cases trampolines and wires are used, in a few shots he has cleverly hid reversal effects, for example in one scene Yuen Biao seems to be side-flipping up a wall to avoid being hit by flying arrows, but in fact the arrows are pulled out of the wall on wires then the actor flips down, then the film is simply reversed making it seem as if the actor can really fly.

This film has lots of acting talent, it’s two main stars Yuen Biao and Brigitte Lin are impressive and so is its experienced supporting cast members. Yuen Biao handles the action well and like always is great to watch, he also has a few funny scenes with Carina Lau and a few dramatic scenes with Brigitte Lin. Brigitte Lin like in many of her wuxia film roles, is mistaken for a male, but she is always glowing with beauty. She has so much charisma that she steals the show, she also handles the action well.

The supporting cast members include Wu Ma as the leader of the fire clan, he has red hair in this, but is easily recognisable. His head student is played by Carina Lau, who gets to show off her dramatic and comedic range, and gets to the show the audience that she can handle some action. David Lam plays the leader of the ghost clan and is heavily made up with a beard and a pale white face. Peter Chan Lung stars as Master Late and as the name suggests he is always late, he also like eating smelly tofu. In the final scene Master Late arrives too late for the showdown and he stands amongst the carnage. Chung Fat plays the leader of another clan, he only gets about 5 minutes screen time and doesn’t have any fight scenes, so his expertise is sadly wasted. Elvis Tsui plays a clan leader and he gets a good fight scene with Yuen Biao, though I feel that the audience would have benefited more if Chung Fat was in this role, as Elvis is inexperienced in action. He has a long hair but is easily recognisable.

Overall Deadful Melody (like countless other HK films) tries to blend different genres together seamlessly, this disrupts the pacing slightly but rises the entertainment value. The director Ng Min Kan has done a nice job, if you are unfamiliar with his past works take a look at the end of Project A, he is the pirate that has a short fight with Yuen Biao. Fans of wuxia will not be disappointed.

Rating: 6.1 out of 10