House of Flying Daggers is a better movie than Hero.

[SocratesInSpirit]

True or false?

[sir_captain]

1. False, but they're both really good

[SocratesInSpirit]

3. I like them both, too

Although I much prefer HoFD. It has a more linear storyline and I enjoy tragic romances (Hero had one but it was not the main focus). I also liked the music better. :)

Hero was interesting, and the use of color was brilliant, but I felt the disjointed storylines didn't allow us to get to know the characters well enough to sympathize with them. In particular, I felt Sky (I think that was the first assasin's name, the one that Nameless fought at the beginning) was underused.

[sir_captain]

6. Hero was highly dervative

particularly of Rashomon, but I enjoyed the narrative structure and the way it showed the subjectivity of truth--something that is highly relevant in today's world.

I loved HoFD as well, but I thought the last scene in the film was so corny that it ruined it a little bit for me. I was the US premiere, attended by Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi themselves, and the entire jam-packed audience giggled during the ending in the snow.

[SocratesInSpirit]

8. Regarding Hero

The more I see it, the more it grows on me - I always catch something new which gives me a lot to think about. House of Flying Daggers is a nice "escape" movie which I enjoy watching after a stressful day. (Heehee - I liked the ending, I'm a bit of a sucker for the sentimental :blush: )

[SocratesInSpirit]

4. double post - deleted

[sakabatou]

2. i haven't see HoFD

but I say, Hero is better.

[SocratesInSpirit]

5. No fair!

:P

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

7. Both interesting beautiful movies

but I prefer HoFD more because you felt more for the characters due to the linear storyline. I think Hero was trying to be more than it needed to be a good movie.

[bridgit]

9. ture...

if reminiscent of crouching tiger somehow :shrug:

[tigereye]

10. I think Hero is more powerful

if somewhat more abstract.

[henslee]

11. They all become one slo-mo kung fu fight for me with lots of cool

stacked furniture getting destroyed. Will say one thing... the girls always make my heart skip a beat. So gorgeous.

[SocratesInSpirit]

12. yes they are gorgeous

and the guys can be pretty hot too....the actor who played Jin is like the Chinese/Japanese Orlando Bloom. :loveya:

Regarding the kung fu stuff, I had a hard time buying that Mei was blind, even though in Wuxia movies the laws of physics are often bent or repealed completely...so I wasn't all that surprised when it turned out she wasn't actually blind.

[DerekG]

13. True--for two reasons

1. HOFD is home to one of the most beautiful love stories in all of cinema (the meadow scene, wherein Wind collects flowers for his beloved, had this guy in tears).

2. HOFD encourages individualism (both warring factions, you might recall, were corrupt); "Hero," on the other hand, is of a faintly totalitarian persuasion.

[SocratesInSpirit]

14. Well said!

:applause:

I'm glad there's one person who doesn't roll their eyes over the love story...I enjoyed the meadow scene too. I was also pleasantly surprised at the way the love story ended...I was expecting as per usual in movies like this that Jin and Mei would end their relationship in keeping with "the greater good." So even though they all died (or were about to die), the glass is still half full!

[DerekG]

16. Romances of the fantastical kind are my favorite

"Beauty and the Beast" (Cocteau and Disney versions, both), "Wings of Desire," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

In fact, my most depressing movie experience was "Attack of the Clones." I had longed to see Dante and Beatrice in space, and got "Dawson's Creek" instead.

[SocratesInSpirit]

18. Agreed...

I was expecting much better with Padme and Anakin but the dialogue was so bad it makes me laugh and cringe whenever I see AotC. I must say, though, the scene in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin turns against Padme was decent, it was almost exactly the way I had imagined it.

[DerekG]

20. Thankfully, the (truncated) love story in ROTS got the job done

One such scene, in which Anakin and Padme reach out to each other from across the capital, is one of the series' finest.

I can't prove this, but I think the artistic success of the LOTR films put a fire under Lucas's ass.

[SocratesInSpirit]

24. I'm glad SOMETHING inspired Lucas...

the Padme/Anakin romance was much improved...although lines like "hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo" made me giggle.

[redqueen]

15. Agreed.

I'm such a sucker for a good love story.

[Ramsey]

17. I prefer Hero

But both are really good! Hero was so beautiful and colorful and well-acted, I think it was more effective than Daggers.

[SocratesInSpirit]

22. Effective in what way?

Plot cohesion? Believability? Characterization? Overall story? I'm interested in hearing more. :)

[jpgray]

19. For me those movies are about beautiful actors and great production

The plots are always a bit cheesy and loopy. At least one person has to say "You killed my father, and thought I was secretly posing as a soldier of x, but really I am a covert supporter of y and have led you into my trap" &c during the course of the film. They're brilliantly made and a lot of fun though.

[SocratesInSpirit]

21. Heehee

I am somewhat new to the genre and so spent most of the movie yelling at Mei not to trust Jin and expressing the opinion to my husband that Jin was a "douchebag" so the twist threw me off completely. :rofl:

Leo still pisses me off, though. :mad: His attempted rape of Mei (I know, Jin tried to rape her too but he was drunk, and when she told him to stop later he did, unlike Leo who kept on going) and dagger to the heart destroyed any sympathy I would have had for him.

The aerial ballet-style fighting took some getting used to, but now I'm a big fan and I am always on the lookout for a good Wuxia movie.

[seemunkee]

23. False, it kind of bored me

I liked Hero better. I liked the story line and the use of color.