Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageA Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Director: Ching Siu-Tung
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A big hit in Hong Kong, credited to a young director of mildly innovative martial arts films, but showing all the signs of having been gazumped by producer Tsui Hark, director of cult hits The Butterfly Murders and Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain. Many of the ideas and visuals are swiped from recent horror movies like The Evil Dead. The storyline is a Ming Dynasty chestnut about a wandering scholar who falls in love with a glamorous female ghost, only to find the hordes of hell on his tail. Low points include the scenes in town, with market stallholders endlessly rhubarbing warnings about not going near the old house on the lake. High points include the special effects and a rap version of the opening words of ' Tzu's Tao Te Ching by a Taoist priest (Wu Ma, himself a director of some talent).Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Ching Siu-Tung
Producer: Tsui Hark
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Wang Zuxian, Wu Ma, Liu Zhaoming full cast
Genre(s): Fantasy
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now