Even when it is obvious that this is a low budget production. You still will be amazed by the beautiful cinematography and artwork. It is like a live action manga. Some special effects are a little cheesy. But they are used in such a way that you won't mind. The action scenes are fast paced and very energetic. There is not much of a story. The main part is about Ching's love for Yiu May-kwan (Anita Mui). There is lot of humor used in this movie. Sometimes it is a bit over the top but in combination with the serious love theme there is a fine balance which overall is very enjoyable. This movie is a showcase what the hong kong cinema is about. The lack of budget never is a problem for hong kong movie makers to be creative and come with a good product. When it comes to action Hong Kong cinema is the best. Saviour of the Soul is proof of that.
13 Reviews
Excellent
MishaD11 September 2003
This is the movie that got me hooked on Hong Kong action cinema, so regardless of its faults, I will always have a weak spot for it. Most ingredients are standard HK action fare: wooden acting, some forgetable cantopop song, dubious humor, and a slightly incomprehensible plot. Yet there's also lots of action, and this is where the film really shines. There is swordplay with flexible swords, there are vicious yo-yo's (!), there are silly supernatural villains, and there's a hero whose shirt keeps slipping from his shoulders. This hero is Andy Lau, who lets his charisma do most of the acting. he is supported by Aaron Kwok and Anita Mui (in a semi-funny double role). All in all, it's better-than-average HK fare, that probably will also appeal to non-fans.
Not Bad
crossbow010629 August 2008
I just saw "Dance Of A Dream", which also starred Andy Lau and Anita Mui and I liked their chemistry, even though the film has nothing in common with this one. This one is a sci-fi fantasy with superheroes. Ms. Mui plays May and, of course, looks wonderful. She also plays her sister, who keeps getting herself shot, blown up (its comic relief, she doesn't die). Aaron Kwok plays The Silver Fox, who wants to kill May because May blinded his mentor. Mr. Lau, as Ching, tries to protect her. There are pretty good action sequences in this film, decent fight scenes. Nothing terribly original or revelatory, but you can do a lot worse. Its a great Saturday afternoon movie, play it on a big screen TV and enjoy. The acting is fine, especially the always mesmerizing Anita Mui. If you're a fan of this genre, watch it, its fun.
wonderful combination of action and special effects
Brucev-318 November 2000
Saviour of the soul is a mix of martial arts, shootouts and fantasy. It is obvious that it is a comic adaptation. The story isn't always clear,but it succeeds very well in keeping your attention, although sometimes i wanted to last the action sequences a little longer. There is a lot of humour in it and still succeeds in being serious when it has to. There are some special effects in it that will amaze you (without the use of digital effects which we are used to nowadays). I always enjoy the action sequences Hong Kong movie makers come up with. They really are the best when it comes to action. Saviour of the Soul is certainly a classic when it comes to the wonderful combination of action and special effects. Go see it!
Hong Kong magic with sweet Anita Mui.
Bogey Man18 June 2002
I love Anita Mui. That 1963 born beauty began her career as a singer and soon started to act, too. She has the most beautiful eyes and face I've ever seen. If a movie she stars in is pretty mediocre, I will still want to check it out because of Anita. Savior of the Soul is directed by Corey Yuen and David Lai, both are professional directors and have many films on their filmography. Savior of the Soul starts very promisingly with one of the most incredible action scenes I'd ever seen. The start is fantastic, but soon the film turns into usual comedy, but still doesn't forget those effects laden action parts, which along Anita save this film from total failure. The story is very confusing even at Hong Kong standards, so it is no use in trying to describe it. It involves one mean demon named Silver Fox who is trying to kill Anita's character for vengeance and so on. There are many characters and many turns, but that is usually the case in Hong Kong films.
The action scenes are incredible and fantastic, as wires are used and camera flows and twists all the time with the flying and fighting characters. If you have seen films like Ching Siu Tung's Heroic Trio (also starring Anita!), you know what to expect from this, as the action scenes are equally great, even though not as plenty as in Heroic Trio. The drama parts in Savior of the Soul are often stupid, and the film tries to be too funny, and fails like Ching Siu Tung's other film, Terra Cotta Warrior, which has great beginning and ending, but stupid and "funny" middle part. Savior of the Soul could have been greater if they had left out those slapstick parts and concentrated more on serious fantasy film making.
Savior of the Soul is still very nice film for fans of Hong Kong cinema, and has also many positive things. Never have I seen such a great visuality and cinematic magic anywhere else, than in these Orient movies. Their cinema is so unique, it is even too much for many, and I know many movie fans, that don't like Hong Kong films at all. I think it is mostly because of the lack of imagination and tolerance for something never before seen. Action, horror and fantasy are the genres Orient is almost unbeatable in. There are many great Orient film makers, and internationally known Tsui Hark, John Woo and Ringo Lam are only few, and many great talents are almost unknown for many western viewers.
Savior of the Soul is another wonderfully shot and edited fantasy adventure film, but there are too many stupid moments and also little slow moments to fully appreciate the film. Still, as the cinematography and other magic elements are so perfect, I gladly give this 7/10 rating!
The action scenes are incredible and fantastic, as wires are used and camera flows and twists all the time with the flying and fighting characters. If you have seen films like Ching Siu Tung's Heroic Trio (also starring Anita!), you know what to expect from this, as the action scenes are equally great, even though not as plenty as in Heroic Trio. The drama parts in Savior of the Soul are often stupid, and the film tries to be too funny, and fails like Ching Siu Tung's other film, Terra Cotta Warrior, which has great beginning and ending, but stupid and "funny" middle part. Savior of the Soul could have been greater if they had left out those slapstick parts and concentrated more on serious fantasy film making.
Savior of the Soul is still very nice film for fans of Hong Kong cinema, and has also many positive things. Never have I seen such a great visuality and cinematic magic anywhere else, than in these Orient movies. Their cinema is so unique, it is even too much for many, and I know many movie fans, that don't like Hong Kong films at all. I think it is mostly because of the lack of imagination and tolerance for something never before seen. Action, horror and fantasy are the genres Orient is almost unbeatable in. There are many great Orient film makers, and internationally known Tsui Hark, John Woo and Ringo Lam are only few, and many great talents are almost unknown for many western viewers.
Savior of the Soul is another wonderfully shot and edited fantasy adventure film, but there are too many stupid moments and also little slow moments to fully appreciate the film. Still, as the cinematography and other magic elements are so perfect, I gladly give this 7/10 rating!
Watch it only if you're an Anita Mui fan.
eddax7 September 2010
Ugh. It's quite rare that the English title of a Hong Kong movie is better than the original Chinese one but I'm sure they gave this movie its Chinese name (which translates to '91 Condor Heroes) solely to capitalize on lead actor Andy Lau's popularity from his role as Yang Guo in the classic TVB series, Return of the Condor Heroes. Any connection between this movie and that series is loose at best and I didn't really pick up on it, especially since the plot of this movie is all kinds of ridiculous. Apparently Wong Kar Wai co-wrote this. No wonder it barely makes sense to me, ha.
The direction of this movie was bad as well - scenes could go from comedy to action to melodrama in the course of a minute without any regard for flow, though the fighting sequences, choreographed by luminary Corey Yuen, were good whenever there wasn't an over-reliance on special effects.
The dearly departed Anita Mui is classy in every role she plays. Yes, even in her dual role of the twin sister who gets shot in the butt.
As for Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, well, there's a good reason why they only won their respective first acting awards 9 and 14 years after this movie.
The direction of this movie was bad as well - scenes could go from comedy to action to melodrama in the course of a minute without any regard for flow, though the fighting sequences, choreographed by luminary Corey Yuen, were good whenever there wasn't an over-reliance on special effects.
The dearly departed Anita Mui is classy in every role she plays. Yes, even in her dual role of the twin sister who gets shot in the butt.
As for Andy Lau and Aaron Kwok, well, there's a good reason why they only won their respective first acting awards 9 and 14 years after this movie.
Plenty of fun bits, unfortunately outweighed by boredom
Leofwine_draca10 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Parading as an action flick, this is in fact a mixed-genre outing with a heavy emphasis on romance over the thing most Hong Kong fans will be looking for: the martial arts. Despite being bookended by some fantastic fight scenes, the middle section of this movie is a long, uninteresting romance between two lovers who may be doomed, and the situations they encounter. Throw in some bull about evil angels and you have an extremely slow-paced film with a bare minimum of special effects and too much emphasis on specific comedy which doesn't translate well to the West. Consternation arises at the subtitles, which appear to have been written by a person non-fluent in English and thus don't make a whole lot of sense.
Not that the film is worthless, just don't bother with the middle. My recommendation is to fast forward. The opening of the film bodes well, with a mysterious black-clad swordsman entering a futuristic jail and slaughtering dozens of prison guards in the process. Bodies are stabbed, dismembered, and a guy is memorably chopped in half vertically, stolen for BLADE II. Moments later we have yet another battle, this time in a public toilet, which mixes gore, action, and outlandish sequences of impalement and fighting skills to good effect. The next great fight is right at the end of the movie, which includes a scene where a bad guy is trapped inside a mirror and still keeps attacking our hero - just as incredible and crazy as it sounds, and pretty unique with it.
The fight sequences are hard-hitting and elaborate, unsurprisingly enhanced by plenty of wire work and various special effects. The last fight sequence involves some muddled scenes of people jumping in and out of each other for no reason and taking drugs to increase their strength like in UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. The fighting is solid and usually impressive. The acting is not so good, with Andy Lau failing to capture the audience's attention as the nondescript hero and Anita Mui falling at the wayside in her attempts at a sympathetic heroine - bring back Joey Wong. Blame can be laid on the script and the direction, which is more interested in technicality and looking flashy than getting performances across. Despite flaws this is good at times but sadly the boredom outweighs the excitement so I am unable to recommend it. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation.
Not that the film is worthless, just don't bother with the middle. My recommendation is to fast forward. The opening of the film bodes well, with a mysterious black-clad swordsman entering a futuristic jail and slaughtering dozens of prison guards in the process. Bodies are stabbed, dismembered, and a guy is memorably chopped in half vertically, stolen for BLADE II. Moments later we have yet another battle, this time in a public toilet, which mixes gore, action, and outlandish sequences of impalement and fighting skills to good effect. The next great fight is right at the end of the movie, which includes a scene where a bad guy is trapped inside a mirror and still keeps attacking our hero - just as incredible and crazy as it sounds, and pretty unique with it.
The fight sequences are hard-hitting and elaborate, unsurprisingly enhanced by plenty of wire work and various special effects. The last fight sequence involves some muddled scenes of people jumping in and out of each other for no reason and taking drugs to increase their strength like in UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. The fighting is solid and usually impressive. The acting is not so good, with Andy Lau failing to capture the audience's attention as the nondescript hero and Anita Mui falling at the wayside in her attempts at a sympathetic heroine - bring back Joey Wong. Blame can be laid on the script and the direction, which is more interested in technicality and looking flashy than getting performances across. Despite flaws this is good at times but sadly the boredom outweighs the excitement so I am unable to recommend it. Perhaps something has been lost in the translation.
Campiest HK movie I've ever seen
teresateng11 September 2004
Saviour of the Soul (1991)
This movie is so campy! It's like a 1960's Batman TV-episode plus melodrama and minus the plot. Both have villains using magenta-colored gas while fighting.
I almost wish it was just a straight comedy because Andy Lau and Anita Mui were better in their comedic roles than they were playing serious characters. The plot was too ridiculous. The one character that I really liked was the younger sister. She was built up and then forgotten.
3/10
This movie is so campy! It's like a 1960's Batman TV-episode plus melodrama and minus the plot. Both have villains using magenta-colored gas while fighting.
I almost wish it was just a straight comedy because Andy Lau and Anita Mui were better in their comedic roles than they were playing serious characters. The plot was too ridiculous. The one character that I really liked was the younger sister. She was built up and then forgotten.
3/10
A tight budget produces quality work!
sulpher28 October 2006
This film demonstrates to young and novice film makers what can be done if you have real talent. The composition of every shot in every scene is what many film makers can only wish to achieve.
The story apart as this is a corny movie, this film will show you perfect camera angles, superior editing and how to use light, shadow and colour like a master. Please bear in mind that this was all achieved using basic film techniques and no digital effects.
You will see great washes of colour and lighting to which the actors are set against and into, the use of water and lighting is seen to produce a magnificent feel and add great drama and movement to scenes.
Andy Lau, seems to have located or created locations that reflect the scene being shot by the colours and lighting used and plays on this by not being restricted to primary colours.
Too me, this film seems like a test bed for superior camera work and set design and succeeds to that end.
Also to note is the direction of the actors. Their movements are measured and seem to strive for perfection. It seems like the most minute actions were included to endorse the objectives of the characters, so that even the most impossible actions can be seen as plausible in the world this film is set in.
Listen for the "your the one that I want" line sung in engrish in the scene before the toilet fight. Travolta eat your heart out.
The story apart as this is a corny movie, this film will show you perfect camera angles, superior editing and how to use light, shadow and colour like a master. Please bear in mind that this was all achieved using basic film techniques and no digital effects.
You will see great washes of colour and lighting to which the actors are set against and into, the use of water and lighting is seen to produce a magnificent feel and add great drama and movement to scenes.
Andy Lau, seems to have located or created locations that reflect the scene being shot by the colours and lighting used and plays on this by not being restricted to primary colours.
Too me, this film seems like a test bed for superior camera work and set design and succeeds to that end.
Also to note is the direction of the actors. Their movements are measured and seem to strive for perfection. It seems like the most minute actions were included to endorse the objectives of the characters, so that even the most impossible actions can be seen as plausible in the world this film is set in.
Listen for the "your the one that I want" line sung in engrish in the scene before the toilet fight. Travolta eat your heart out.
mind-bending comedy action
Flower-1324 April 1999
The first time I saw this film I was totally stunned. The pace never slows down for one second. Action sequences of never before seen standard comes one after another. It is truly fantasy. I think this is necessary if you are going to make a "manga in motion" picture, which is exactly what this film is. The directors have created an post-holocaust-like kind of world and the characters fit in like the hand in the glove. If you like Hong Kong movies because of the rapid pace, incredible fight scenes, and, the often included, comic dialogue; you will love this one. Saviour of the soul contains all of these, and a lot of it. This film is a classic in its genre.
A swashbuckling spectacle...
abentenjo12 August 2002
Saviour of the Soul radiates innovative action and gawping visuals for a non-stop hour and a half, spinning a tale of star-crossed lovers in a haze of delirious pandemonium. Aaron Kwok brakes test tubes and inhales colourful gases to possess his opponents, running through the torso at warp speeds and stealing their life support. As the cloak-cladded Silver Fox', Kwok is the most dazzling out of the young cast (mostly made up of Cantopop starlets), yet not to be upstaged by the talented Anita Mui who takes on a clever duel-role as two sisters, one a fashion-conscious jabbermouth, the other a sultry law-abider named May. Fundamentally a futuristic sci-fi thriller (its glossy mise-en-scene and specialised camerawork dominate proceedings), May is the victim of a vengeful Silver Fox, longing to seek revenge for his master's subsequent killing, while Andy Lau plays the charmer after her heart and summarily her protection. Hectic showdowns involve flying daggers which explode on impact, Andy's nifty yo-yo that doubles as an extendable wobble-sword, and a completely surreal stuck-in-a-mirror routine that'll leave you both puzzled and enthralled. This film is just awesome, and there's nothing really quite like it.
Wild, wacky, dramatic sci-fi fantasy.
OllieSuave-00731 August 2017
This is an action sci-fi adventure from Hong Kong, starring Aarok Kwok as the graying black-clad swordsman Silver Fox, out to wreck havoc on mercenaries Ching (Andy Lau), Kwan (Anita Mui) and Chuen (Kenny Bee). He kills Chuen (Kenny Bee), but is wounded by Kwan (Anita Mui). Kwan is later poisoned by a spell, which only the powerful Madam Pet (Carina Lau) has the antidote. While Ching hopes to obtain the antidote from her, Silver Fox is out to defeat them all.
Filled with wild, sword-wielding action, sci-fi elements, drama and some wacky comic relief, this film is definitely a medieval fantasy with reality-suspended moments. Aaron Kwok plays quite the formidable villain, somebody you would love to hate. Andy Lau was OK as the protagonist, but Anita Mui is the main highlight of the film. Quite the fast-paced movie, but there's a little too much genre elements all slapped into one story.
Grade B-
Filled with wild, sword-wielding action, sci-fi elements, drama and some wacky comic relief, this film is definitely a medieval fantasy with reality-suspended moments. Aaron Kwok plays quite the formidable villain, somebody you would love to hate. Andy Lau was OK as the protagonist, but Anita Mui is the main highlight of the film. Quite the fast-paced movie, but there's a little too much genre elements all slapped into one story.
Grade B-
Not worth the time
Antagonisten29 June 2002
I enjoy Hong Kong cinema quite a bit and i had pretty high hopes for this movie when i got i on DVD. Especially for the manga-like action-sequences which were rumored to be something very special. But unfortunately my hopes were all crushed within 45 minutes of the movie.
There are several problems with this movie. The first problem is unfortunately very common in Hong Kong cinema and that is bad acting. The actors are just horrible and can´t seem to say a single line in a credible way (which is strange since for example Andy Lau has since made good performances). The second problem is the misplaced comedy scenes. Several times the movie shifts from a very serious and emotional scene to slapstick comedy in the blink of an eye. This ruins both the comedy (which is very cheap) and the emotional scenes since you can never take anything about the movie seriously. The third and last major problem is the sub-standard action sequences. The action is both quite poorly choreographed and the effects look very cheap (people being cut to pieces by swords are VERY obviously dolls etc.). The action scenes are also too short and too far between. This creates a problem with the pace in the movie which is much too slow. And the story is much too thin and unbelievable to support the film. What might have saved this movie would have been a steady fast pace, but unfortunately it slows down and becomes very boring at times.
If you enjoy this kind of manga-style action-films there are a lot of better alternatives in the genre. This poor attempt is simply not worth the effort. I rate it 3/10.
There are several problems with this movie. The first problem is unfortunately very common in Hong Kong cinema and that is bad acting. The actors are just horrible and can´t seem to say a single line in a credible way (which is strange since for example Andy Lau has since made good performances). The second problem is the misplaced comedy scenes. Several times the movie shifts from a very serious and emotional scene to slapstick comedy in the blink of an eye. This ruins both the comedy (which is very cheap) and the emotional scenes since you can never take anything about the movie seriously. The third and last major problem is the sub-standard action sequences. The action is both quite poorly choreographed and the effects look very cheap (people being cut to pieces by swords are VERY obviously dolls etc.). The action scenes are also too short and too far between. This creates a problem with the pace in the movie which is much too slow. And the story is much too thin and unbelievable to support the film. What might have saved this movie would have been a steady fast pace, but unfortunately it slows down and becomes very boring at times.
If you enjoy this kind of manga-style action-films there are a lot of better alternatives in the genre. This poor attempt is simply not worth the effort. I rate it 3/10.
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