Do ma daan (1986)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Hark Tsui

Writer:

Raymond To (writer)

Release Date:

6 September 1986 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Plot:

The movie is set in chaotic 1920's China, when warlords fought each other for power while Sun Yat-Sen's...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Transvestism | Gunshot Wound | Gun | Sword Fight

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Brigitte Lin	...	Tsao Wan
Cherie Chung	...	Sheung Hung
Sally Yeh	...	Pat Neil
Kenneth Tsang	...	General Tsao
Ma Wu	...	Mr. Wong
Paul Chun	...	Fa Gum-Sao
Mark Cheng	...	Ling Pak-Hoi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kwok Keung Cheung	...	Tung Man
Feng Ku	...	Commander Liu
Hoi Sang Lee	...	Soldier with Moustache
Po-Chih Leong
Sandra Ng Kwan Yue
Dean Shek
Yin Szema
Ching Tien
David Wu

Also Known As:

Peking Opera Blues (Hong Kong: English title) (USA)
Dao ma dan (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Knife Horse Dawn (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:12 (re-rating) (2000) | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) | West Germany:16 | UK:18 (re-release) (uncut)

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: About 25 minutes in, when Tso-Wan (Brigitte Lin) cranks the Rolls Royce to start it, the sound track has the sound of a starter motor cranking an engine.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Nu ren bu huai (2008)

Definitely one of the greatest films of all time

absolutely perfect film-making in a way that storytelling here is of foremost interest and not just great shots and cinematography like overrated Wong Kar Wai and Zhang Yimou used to do. This film beautifully depicting characteristic traits of China like its values, culture and principles and cleverly Tsui Hark let this clashed with politics, authority and government - which the last lyrical image of the laughing Peking Opera actor beautifully addressing to that political institutions are very transient but not Chinese valuable roots and traditions.

Sure, it's not evidently among Tsui Hark's bigger masterpieces like "Seven Swords" or "Once Upon A Time In China", but yet i think this surely should be compared to those greatest classics in the world but it's very difficult when a lot of people can't respect and understand Chinese traditions, so what we now have here is a tremendously underrated masterpiece that should be studied in the years to come, because is very inspirational how to tell a story in a visual way. Peking Opera Blues is the perfect paradigm.

I'll never forget this truly great film.