ZU WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (1983) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: HARK TSUI / SCREENPLAY: CHEUK-HON SZETO / STARRING: BIAO YUEN, HOI MANG, ADAM CHENG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Starting at a frenetic pace and building from there to delirious heights, Tsui Hark’s incredible Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain arrives in a new Blu-ray edition from Eureka Classics. It tells the story of young soldier Dik Ming-kei, one of many soldiers fighting for supremacy during the Tang dynasty, as he is separated from his army and finds himself lost in a cave in the titular mountain. Here he is attacked by strange creatures and survives only thanks to Master Ding Yan coming to his rescue. From then on, Ming-kei is thrown into a dangerous battle between near-godlike warriors that will decide the fate of the world.
Based on a novel and inspired by Hark’s childhood love of such stories, Zu Warriors throws everything into the mix, from martial arts to fantasy to horror, comedy (much of which works), apocalyptic drama, and unrelenting action. It’s all delivered at a heightened, unrelentingly loud pitch and could be wearisome as a result, but Hark displays a deft hand and is ably supported by a game cast. There’s so much invention on display as well, from innovative special effects to gorgeous costumes, sets and production design. It all goes to make Zu Warriors thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s easy to understand how it could be an influence on John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China amongst others. The new 2K restoration of the film presented here complements all this, displaying sharp colours and plenty of detail.
There’s a good selection of extras here to make this a disc worth picking up, particularly for fans, starting with the export cut of the film that has present-day wraparound segments making it a kind of time travel film. A scene-specific commentary from expert Tony Rayns provides a lot of information on aspects of the production. There’s a brand-new interview with Tsui Hark as well as archive interviews with three of the central cast. Also included is a segment from an episode of Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show from 1989 that reminds you that Jonathan Ross wasn’t always insufferable and has always been possessed of a great love and affection for genre film that makes this piece, including another interview with Hark, a valuable archival celebration. In addition, there’s the expected round of trailers as well as for early purchasers a new collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film.
If you already love this film getting this release should be an easy decision to make. For anyone else interested, there’s an abundance of invention and entertainment in the feature and a solid range of supplements to help enhance your enjoyment. Highly recommended.
