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Hong kil dong (1986) More at IMDbPro »

22 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Recalling childhood..., 16 February 2006

Author: Todor Nenov from Bourgas, Bulgaria

It was one of the most famous martial art movies in Bulgaria in the late 1980's. And it definitely deserves its place! When I was about to see the movie for the very first time, I didn't know exactly what to expect - I hadn't had seen other North Korean movies by that time, it was time, when the Chinese cinema dominated overwhelmingly with "The Shao Lin Monastery", "The Martial Arts of Shao Lin" and many more. But "Hong Kil Dong", which follows the life of the famous \and legendary\ Korean hero, proved to be something different... The film opens with a dynamic fight between Hong Kil Dong and Japanese ninjas during which the credits are shown. One of the first things to be noted is the monumental music score - I must admit that to me it is the best score for a martial arts movie, together with John Barry's OST of Bruce Lee's "Game of Death"! The sequence ends almost abruptly, then we move forward to the birth of Hong Kil dong - son of the Royal Councillor Hon and his young concubine. The Councillor's wife, not surprisingly, dislikes Hong Kil Dong's mother and hires assassins to kill her and her little boy while on a trip in the province. But an old man, who happens to be master of the Tao arts, saves them from the assassins and then takes little Hong as his apprentice... Hong becomes an invincible fighter, fights corrupt noblemen and thugs, helps the poor and, at the end, fights Japanese ninja brigands, who had become the scourge of his homeland. Of course, it is typical story for a movie like that. The thing that makes "Hong Kil Dong" different from the other movies of that period is the psychological depth in which the main characters are revealed. There are numerous fighting sequences, but there are also many lyrical digressions, full with romance and emotion. I must also stress on the acting abilities of Ri Yong Ho and the other actors - they do their job just fine. There are many interesting details depicting life in Korea in the 17-th century, in which the movie action takes place. "Hong Kil Dong" attracted hundreds of thousands people to the cinemas across Bulgaria, it was almost impossible to get tickets for it, unless you book them 2 or 3 days earlier! I've never seen such thing in my life and I'm pretty sure I never will, but nonetheless the distant childhood memories remain. If you ever find this movie just see it! I'm sure at least you won't be disappointed.

3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Insane orient cinematography of the old school, 5 May 2006

Author: Andrei Pavlov from Archangel, Russia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I remember my visit to the theatre to watch this movie here in Russia (USSR then) back in 19XX - sorry, don't remember the exact decade. That was a nasty experience. To say I was impressed is to say nothing. Yes, it was the time when ninja warriors ruled our minds. We sucked into our inner world each ninja movie we could see. And those movies were never stupid for us. We even had heated conversations concerning how to write down "ninja" in Russian ("ninza" or "nindza"). And some of us made those "stars" (used by ninjas in combat) and threw them. We also knew how to put a T-shirt on in order to make a real ninja-looking head cover. Glorious times! The plot of the movie as I remember goes below.

Korea, the time when the Japanese warriors robbed and killed people on the continent (at least it goes as the background in the movie). A little kid and his mother are being attacked by some thugs in the forest. A tough situation. Luckily, a very old man appears to defend the poor woman and her child. He is old but he is a Tao master (martial arts). A few movements and all the thugs are left frozen in different positions (the old man has just shown off some "acupuncture" technique using his fingers). The little boy (his name is Hong Kil Dong) is so amazed that he kneels in front of the old man begging him to teach this fighting style. After some noes the old man agrees. Then years are passing: the boy grows up practicing the art of combat every day. After all those years he can jump over the trees, kill with a flute, and move like no other human can. Ninjas come to Korea to rob and kill (a usual treat for them). But now the people of Korea have somebody to protect them - Hong Kil Dong, a boy with insane fighting skills. Before fighting the ninjas, the boy has a "serious talk" with the native thugs. After this "talk" they become friends and can now act as one deadly team against the ninjas. The fight begins. The ninjas are running underground and the positive heroes are killing them off by piercing swords into earth - the fountains of red blood are to follow. Finally only the evil ninja leader remains. He is to be slaughtered as well, but he can also jump as high as Hong Kil Dong. This last fight of the movie is beautifully shot: these two rivals are doing their utmost to show what they are capable of. The ninja is defeated after all, but the hero is not left unharmed.

Great movie, great acting, beautiful scenery, fine music, and cool action sequences with blood spraying in all directions - all leaving very warm reminiscences. Maybe, it is a bit childish, if judged by the standards of serious cinema, but I will definitely buy the DVD as soon as I see it on the shelves. By the way, today's crouching dragons, flying tigers, whatever, do not impress me at all. They did it better decades ago. I would collect all the old ninja movies at home if I could find them here on DVD. They were really great.

By the way, "Black Eagle" was and is also great. Its place on the bottom list of IMDb is disgraceful and unjust. These old movies are not Matrix-like, but they have a peculiar solemn style of their own which does not fade away (in my humble opinion).

8 out of 10. Thanks for attention.

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