DVD Review

To compare 'House of Flying Daggers' too closely to Zhang Yimou's previous film, the awe-inspiringly beautiful 'Hero', would be doing it a great disservice. Where 'Hero' was the ultimate expression of style over substance, a film where the beauty almost covered over the rather dull narrative, 'House of Flying Daggers' feels like a real narrative piece of cinema. As a result, compromises have been made with the 'Hero' formula. For a start, this is nowhere near as visually striking as 'Hero', the loss of genius cinematographer Chris Doyle is notable, but it does have an organic beauty in its own right. Fittingly, with this being a more natural story, the style is more organic and less overtly stylized. Similarly, the narrative tricks that were notable in 'Hero' are absent here. Yimou favoring a far straighter narrative tact manages to craft a film that is noticeably different from the norm but also pleasingly conformist.

The story, at its heart, is a simple one, essentially a love triangle with a bit of deception thrown in for good measure. At the peak of the triangle is Yimou's muse Zhang Ziyi, often a very cold onscreen presence, but unleashed, here, to deliver an absolutely luminescent turn as Mei. When she smiles, those soft features could light up a room with her mega watt star power. Personally I can't wait for her full English language debut in 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. She is not the only thing that is luminescent about this film though. There are also a number of very striking set pieces, they may not be as grand in scale as 'Hero' but remember this is a very different type of film. Yimou uses CGI in a wonderfully restrained way, concentrating on objects rather than people, he frees his camera for the kind of moments that beggar belief. That said, the real special effect here is the mighty choreography and staging of the fights. These are set pieces in the truest sense of the word and, unlike in 'Hero', they feel more integral to the plot and the characters. That said, I think there may well be a lot of people who wander into this film with the wrong type of expectations. This would be a real shame because what we have here is a film that, although very different, easily stands shoulder to shoulder with that earlier masterpiece. It could even be argued that it very nearly outclasses it.

What a crashing disappointment this is. This is clearly a deeply beautiful film that deserves the utmost visual quality but what it gets here is something of a travesty. This image looks like a poor quality DV copy and it suffers enormously from blown out contrast and overly ripe whites. Detail is also poor and artifacts are noticeable throughout which is all a crying shame. I certainly hope that this is not the best we will see of this film, it is such a pity for a film that was made with such care to be unleashed in such a sub standard image. One of the worst transfers I have seen in quite some time.

All is not lost though as the DTS track included here is a blinder. Mastered significantly higher (1536 kbps) than most mixes, this is full bodied intelligent sound design which features awesome range and depth. Audio set pieces abound with split channel activity and deep luxurious bass. Dialogue is also well delivered, never getting lost in the mix. This is a truly immersive experience, delivered with a precision and poise that any home cinema fan will enjoy. A Dolby track is present but slightly less impressive.

A very limited selection here with only the international trailer being of any note. If your eyes are strained from reading the subtitles of the film you will pleased to know that the trailer is English Language.

As good a follow up to 'Hero' as anyone could have hoped for. The main problem is the terrible video presentation, if you have to see it now, then get this version. However, I can't help but feel it may be better to wait for a treatment that gives the film the image it demands.

Chris Hacking