CONDOR HEROES

I occasionally like to browse in my local CD/DVD shop to see if they have good deals. This week, I was told by the sales person that TVB would no longer continue to issue new VCD/DVDs of the older serials made in the ‘80s. I had notice many of the older series were no longer on the shelves, so, despite not knowing if this was just a sales gimmick, I blew a hundred bucks and swept that last copy of “Return of the Condor Heroes” （神雕侠侣）off the shelf.

I cannot claim to be a true-blue fan Louis Cha (金庸) since I never did complete all of his martial arts novels. But those I had read, I absolutely loved. He is a true master of his art, as many better than me have testified. His imagination and creativity is astounding and the sheer attention to detail in his novels is nothing short of a miracle.

Many of his works have been made into television drama serials, the most faithful being Hong Kong’s TVB. Amongst them, the most popular works, which also happen to be my favourites, would have to be “Legend of the Condor Heroes” (射雕英雄传), its sequel “Return of the Condor Heroes” （神雕侠侣）and lastly “The Demi Gods and Semi Devils” （天龙八部）. Some consider the last a loose prequel of the first. I am not an expert enough to argue either way, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Many people have their own opinion of the definitive version of the various serials. I am no exception. Not raindrops on roses, or whiskers on kittens, but these are some of my favourite things:

Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传) starring Felix Wong and Barbara Yung

Return of the Condor Heroes（神雕侠侣) starring Andy Lau and Idy Chan

The Demi Gods and Semi Devils （天龙八部）starring Felix Wong, Benny Chan and Fan Shao Huang

Anyway, I spent a good part of this weekend on my newly purchased series. The other two I already have in my collection, and have already watched them enough to memorise the dialogue. For some reason, I have resisted buying “Return” until now, so it was a great, great pleasure to reacquaint myself. Many people would assume that I love the series for eye candy Andy Lau, and while that was one factor among many, many others, I spent most of my time mooning not over Andy, but this guy:

Actor Bryan Leung Kah Yan (梁家仁) in the role of Guo Jing (郭靖), hero extraordinaire…and all MAN. I watched the DVDs twice through. The second time, I basically fast forwarded through all the various parts until I came to those scenes which included him. Frankly, I’ll marry him in a heartbeat if he were still available. Offer me Orlando Bloom, and I’ll still choose him. Chinese martial arts pwn elvish powers….hehe…..

PS: I really want to kill someone regarding the screwed up formatting.