Liang Shan Bo yu Zhu Ying Tai (1963)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Han Hsiang Li

Writer:

Han Hsiang Li (writer)

Release Date:

3 April 1963 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Musical

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Character Name In Title

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

Li-chu Chang
Yanyan Chen	...	Ying-tai's Mother
Kuang Chao Chiang	...	Student
Chuang Chiao
Miao Ching	...	Ying-tai's Father
Han Chin
Chiang Fung
Julia Hsia
Man Huang
King Hu
Chieh Jen	...	Yin-xin
Ting Jing	...	(singing voice)
Pao-Shu Kao	...	Headmaster's Wife
Feng Ku	...	Wedding orchestra musician
Carrie Ku Mei
Shan Kwan
Hsiang Chun Li
Kun Li	...	Si-jiu
Ivy Ling Po	...	Liang Shan-bo (as Ling Po)
Ting Li
Betty Loh Ti	...	Zhu Ying-tai
Mar Lo
Chou Mo	...	Student
Sha-fei Ouyang	...	Shan-bo's Mother
Yen Shih
Dan Tang
Grace Ting Ning
Chung Wang
Chih-Ching Yang	...	Headmaster
Mu Zhu

Also Known As:

Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-t'ai (Hong Kong: Mandarin title) (literal title)
The Love Eterne (International: English title)

Runtime:

USA:126 min | Hong Kong:122 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:I

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Da sha xing yu xiao mei tou (1978)

An Absorbing Folk Tale

The beautiful Betty Loh Ti (and also tragic. Like others who were in that era, she was a young suicide) plays Zhu Ying Tai, a 17 year old girl who longs to get an education. In order to do this, she has to disguise herself as a boy. This film is a musical, with her sweet voice singing the plot as it goes along. She meets Shan-Bo, who is a boy who, unbelievably to me, doesn't know she is female (that part of it is minimally disconcerting, at best). Based on a Chinese folk tale (which should give you a hint to what could be), this is an absorbing drama, with a lavish group of sets, as well as two very appealing leads. There are class differences in this film, with Ying Tai being rich, while Shan Bo isn't. There were a number of these adaptations of folk tales at the time (The Kingdom And The Beauty, starring the beautiful and also tragic Linda Lin Dai immediately springs to mind) and this one is very good. If you like musicals with pageantry, here it is. Watch it on a big screen television, its better. I watched it from a VCD and the beauty of the film still grabs you. Rest in peace, Betty Loh Ti.