Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Feature: 8 disc package (region 0 NTSC). Format: DVD Region Label: Tai Seng Video Manufacturer: Tai Seng Video Publisher: Tai Seng Video Region Code: 0 Studio: Tai Seng Video Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Features
8 disc package (region 0 NTSC). Episodes 1-41 (end). Brown Case Boxset. English And Chinese Subtitles.
Editorial Reviews:
Brought to life for the first time in animated form is this adaptation of Louis Cha's novel "Return of the Condor Heroes" set in the martial arts world during the mid-13th century Song dynasty in China. The story begins with an orphaned boy named Yang Guo who is sent to the Chuan Jun Clan to train in martial arts.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Condor Hero 2006 tv series Comment: It's a little irritating that the product information provided for this special-cover box set is incorrect. The dvd set that is depicted inside the box is the 2006 live-action tv series from China, not the Japanese-produced animated series in the description.
Condor Hero is based on the extremely popular novel by author Jin Yong, which is customarily titled Return of the Condor Hero in most English translations of the story title (the novel itself hasn't been translated into English). This represents the second story in a trilogy, preceded by Legend of the Condor Heroes (also known as Eagle-Shooting Heroes) and followed by Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Return of the Condor Hero has been adapted for television many times, but it's refreshing to see it done outside the confines of a studio, with a big enough budget to handle the sweeping action and intense martial arts scenes.
Sadly the subtitles are a bit of a disappointment, but some of the mistakes are understandable given the differences in grammar and vocabulary between Mandarin and English. If you purchase this dvd set I would recommend setting the audio track to Mandarin, since that is the language in which it was filmed and you'll be able to hear most of the actor's actual voices that way rather than dubbed Cantonese voices.
While some changes were made to the story, the script hews fairly close to the novel, often taking whole scenes directly from the book. The liberties that were taken were mostly to compress the story into a smaller number of episodes - the series has 41 episodes as it is.
If you enjoy martial arts action and don't object to extensive use of "wire-fu" and digital effects, you'll enjoy this series. If you're expecting digital effects of the quality you'd see on an American television programme, you'll be disappointed. You may also be disappointed if you want lots of action without much plot. This story has an extensive plot and a great deal of romance, since it's essentially a story of two star-crossed lovers making their way through the martial arts world.
I personally think this is the best version of Return of the Condor Hero available. The casting and performances are excellent, the locations are gorgeous, and the martial arts scenes aren't bad (your mileage may vary). The only flaws I can really complain of are the poorly-translated subtitles and the use of incidental music taken from other sources, notably the Harry Potter films. Those flaws aren't enough to lessen my recommendation.
Customer Rating: Summary: What does it take... Comment: ...to get an accurate analysis of the version in one of these reviews? The only other review was a straight out of the manual "How to Get your Review Rated as Helpful" by amazon, which basically just tells you to agree with popular opinion. No, to be HELPFUL you need to give information that helps others. For instance, instead of telling how it's like House of Flying Daggers, actually have watched the version, and tell us enough about it that we can figure this is out. Otherwise, we are stuck wondering if this movie called Condor Hero is in fact "Legend of Condor Hero", "Return of Condor Hero", or the third one. As it is, the only thing I can say is that if it is 2001, and Return of Condor Heroes was 2006, it probably isn't that version. By the way, Amazon unknowingly released Return of Condor Heroes, as Legend of Condor Heroes because it was actually printed as such in English. This is a very confusing mess, so it helps if you tell DETAILS. Customer Rating: Summary: Best Version! Accurate English Translation! Comment: This is the best English Version available out there in my opinion. Others have really lousy translations--what they call literally translated. This TV Series is indeed a masterpiece--the effects are dazzling with crystally clear picture quality. The scenes are amazingly beautiful. Musical is good too. IF you like House of Flying Daggers, Jet Li's Hero, The Banquet, Curse of The Golden Flowers, alike, you will find this one even more intriguing!! It has an excellent storyline!
