Posted in : Movies| Tagged : action movies , Formosan cinema , Jin Yong , Legend of the Condor Heroes , Legend of the Condor Heroes : The Gallants , tsui hark , wuxia
Legends of the Condor Heroes : The Gallants might be the biggest moving-picture show in the world now , but it ’s all ignored in English language media
Article Summary
If you do n’t know Chinese , you might not know that decent now , the braggy movie in the world isLegends of the Condor Heroes : The swell . This blockbuster adaptation ofJin Yong ’s authoritative wuxia epic novel , The Legend of the Condor Heroes , is one of the define whole kit and caboodle of the wuxia genre . It starsXiao Zhanas hero Guo Jing and is being hyped as directorTsui Hark ’s prominent counter in 10 . It opened this week for Chinese New Year , the biggest Formosan vacation and flick time of year of the twelvemonth , and has already rack up 300 million ticket sales . You would n’t jazz any of this because until Deadlinereportedon the Chinese New Year opening twenty-four hours loge office net profit , no Western media had written about it at all .
The original novel ofThe Legend of the Condor Heroeshas anofficial English translationfrom a UK and US publisher , all four volumes of it , and is big thanLord of the Rings – virtually every Chinese someone know it , and not just in China . Tsui Harkis one of the most influential military action director in the world next toJohn Woo , who has helped shape legal action pic in Hollywood and the rest of the world since the 1980s and nineties , not counting his two forgettable Hollywood - fundedJean - Claude Van Dammemovies in the 1990s . Yet there ’s not a single article written about this movie in English language or westerly medium , not even the Hollywood trades beyond a write up on the boxful situation charts .
The Most Influential Wuxia Novel of Them All
The Legend of the Condor Heroes , first publish in 1957 , may not be the first Wuxia novel , but it may be the most influential of Jin Yong ’s sagas . in the beginning serialised in Hong Kong ’s Min Bao newspaper that , Louis Cha , who wrote the novels under his playpen name " Jin Yong " , also ran . It tells the story of Guo Jing , a untried martial artist and Logos of a dead poor boy raised in exile by Genghis Khan to guide his army to inhibit China ’s become flat Song Empire . Guo Jing becomes a master copy of martial arts and team up with his love , Huang Rong , to forbid a war between the Mongols and the Formosan empire . He also let out the accuracy behind his begetter ’s death . Condor Heroes is the wuxia saga that uses the trope of mysterious martial arts as a superpower , turn over the wuxia genre into the Chinese rendering of superheroes . The original novel spawned two equally epic sagas , The Return of the Condor Heroes(now also being translated intoEnglish ) andHeavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre , featuring Guo Jing and Huang Rong ’s children and descendants . Jin Yong ’s novel have betray 300 million copies worldwide , and Condor Heroes has been adapted into over a dozen motion-picture show and TV series across Hong Kong , China , and Taiwan since 1958 , including Shaw Brothers in the 1970s , and evenWong Kar Waimade a prequel side story inAshes of Time . Legends of the Condor Heroes : The Gallantsis the biggest blockbuster adaptation of the novel to date . Tsui Hark ’s adjustment covers the climactic electric discharge of the novel and include a dear triangle subplot in an epic saga about state of war and perfidy . Guo Jing is an unwavering , virgin hero whose seriousness is made more interesting by the supporting cast , and fans have argued that Huang Rong is a more interesting fighter in the saga .
Legends of the Condor Heroes : The Gallantsis in the top 10 at the Chinese loge office as of this penning afterNe Zha 2,Detective Chinatown 1900,andCreation of the Gods II : Demon Force , but it has the most social medium buzz of out of all the 2025 Chinese New Year blockbusters so far with mavin Xiao Zhan and Tsui Hark in every Chinese media outlet elevate the picture show . Xiao Zhan has a huge fanbase in China and abroad , and this picture might have a bigger audience outside China than the other three bang . You would n’t know this if you did n’t follow Chinese language media since any pop culture and movies from China and the East are considered niche in the West despite being huge hits , just like anime is . None of the other current Chinese New Year megahit hits have the world ethnical step ofCondor Heroesor potential for international exportation .
Sonyhas develop the world rights toLegends of the Condor Heroes : The Gallantsand will release it theatrically in the US on February 21st . It ’s already lean onFandango .
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