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Royal TrampRating:
Release Date: 15 May, 2001 Retail Price: $24.95 OUR Price: $19.96 You SAVE: $4.99! Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Royal Tramp Reviews
Stephen Chow's Best - don't forget the sequel, or the book!
This was one of the first DVDs I bought for my collection after getting a DVD player. The plot is engaging and extermely well-written, and the brilliant physical comic performances of Stephen Chow and Ng Man Tat work wonderfully even for someone like myself who needs the subtitles to follow the story.
Be aware, though, that "Royal Tramp" and "Royal Tramp 2" are a single story split into two parts, rather than just a movie and its sequel. Be sure to get both.
Also, this movie is based in the only story by Louis Cha that is currently available in translation. The title of the book is usually translated as "The Duke of Deer Mountain", but the English translation (in 3 volumes) is called "The Deer and the Cauldron", Volumes 1 (ASIN 0195903234) and 2 (ASIN 0195903250) have just recently been reprinted, and Volume 3 (ASIN 0195903277) is due out in September 2001.
A parody that is a lot better than most Hong Kong films
Visually stunning parody of Hong Kong swordplay epics. Stephen Chow is a smart aleck, fast-thinking lowlife named Wilson Bond (really) who gets caught up in an incredibly tangled court intrigue. Bond starts out working for Chan (Damian Lau), Master of the Heaven & Earth Society and then he ends up on the side of Chan's target, Prince Ning (Siu-Lun Wan). Basically, in the great tradition of "Yojimbo" and "A Fistful of Dollars," Bond swears loyalty to whoever is threatening him at the moment and ends up playing everyone against everyone else while trying to figure out how to save his neck. This parody is more fun than a lot of the "serious" movies it is taking on. The DVD is letterboxed, which is great, but the English subtitles to the Mandarian language washes out from time to time. Then again, the dialogue in this 1991 film directed by Wong Jing is not exactly the strong set of "Royal Tramp." The fun continues in "Royal Tramp II" so be sure you watch both parts or you will be missing half the fun.
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