Kujaku ô (1988)

Two magically powerful monks who were separated at birth are reunited to fight the King of Hell.

Directors:

Yuen Biao, Ngai Choi Lam

Writers:

Izô Hashimoto, Heung Sang Kong,

Stars:

Yuen Biao, Gloria Yip, Pauline Wong

Cast

Credited cast:
Yuen Biao	...	Kông Chùe
Gloria Yip	...	Ashura
Pauline Wong	...	Raga (as Siu-fung Wong)
Hiroshi Mikami	...	Kujaku
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Boyle	...	Archeologist / Excavation leader
Kuo Hua Chang
Yiu-Sing Cheung
Yamson Domingo
Tonpei Hidari	...	Satô
Kara Hui
Eddy Ko	...	Jigume
Philip Kwok
Hung Lee
Hong Li	...	Kaimashôgejin
Chia Hui Liu	...	Kubira

Storyline

Two magically powerful monks who were separated at birth are reunited to fight the King of Hell.

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Plot Keywords:

buddhism | stop motion | based on manga | decapitation | based on comic | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong Japan

Language:

Japanese Cantonese

Release Date:

10 December 1988 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Legend of the Phoenix

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Toho-Towa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by A Xiu Luo (1990)

User Reviews

Disappointing

If you watch this movie to get some kung fu action out of Yuen Biao, you'll be pretty disappointed. Except for a couple of evasive flips and spins here and there, the is only one fight sequence in this movie, and it comes about an hour into it. This is a supernatural tale, neither funny nor scary, but with lots of pretty bad special effects.

The story is unclear and messy; yet another example of the fact that Hong Kong commercial cinema has never discovered the importance of a clear plot. Action, helpless women and funny effects seem to be all they think the audience wants.

Also, an already weak story is completely destroyed by the horrid English subtitles. Why can't they get someone who actually knows the language to at least rephrase the subtitles into something that makes sense? My theory is that the English subtitles are not for Western audiences at all, but for those Asians who happen not to speak Mandarin or Cantonese or any of the other five Asian languages this DVD was subtitled in.

Anyway, a main reason to watch this movie is Gloria Yip, perhaps the cutest Asian actress of all time. But she hardly has any lines here, nor much of anything to do - you should catch her in Flying Dagger (1993) instead, or Saviour of the Soul (1992).

All in all, this movie really hasn't got a lot going for it. Amazingly, it spawned a sequel, Saga of the Phoenix, where the entire cast returned. I haven't seen it yet, and, truthfully, I may not bother, because it looks like it's more of exactly the same.

Peacock King is yet another movie in which Yuen Biao is pretty much wasted. Why has he done so many bad movies? Was it just bad luck that none of them were hits, or does he actually like this kind of thing?

My rating: 3 out of 10.