Picture of a Nymph is a true cult oddity that a specific brand of cinephile will adore. Many will be baffled by the mixture of action, supernatural demonology, romance, and musical numbers. Wu Ma’s film begins with what can only be described as a soap commercial-style musical number and just gets stranger from there. Featuring Yuen Biao, Lawrence Ng, and Wu Ma the film serves as a prequel to the popular Tsui Hark Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy and an adaptation of the same novel by Pu Songling.
Shih Erh (Biao) meets scholar Tsui Hung-Chuen (Ng) by chance, protecting him from a demon. The duo finds themselves in the midst of a plan by certain ghosts/demons to escape hell at the same time Tsui finds love with a woman who was tricked into the underworld, Mo Chiu (Joey Wang), by the same ghost/demon who wants to escape hell. Shih and Tsui must enlist the help of Shih’s strict, and musically inclined, Taoist master Wu Men-Chu (Ma Wu) if they are able to free Mo from the ghost’s clutches.
Director Wu Ma’s film owes a heavy influence to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy (duology at the time of this film’s release). The kinetic camera work. The handcrafted makeup and visual effects. The hyperbolic editing. All come from Raimi’s horror classic. Though Ma’s style and intent aren’t quite the NC-17 gross-out that Raimi’s films are. Not even in the slightest. Ma’s film is more of a romance by way of a goofy kid’s adventure. The result isn’t as successful as the Raimi films, but is still an entertaining romp.
Picture of a Nymph is a great primer for Tsui Hark’s Chinese Ghost Story and has its own charms, including not one or two but three out-and-out musical numbers (sung or at least lip-synced) by its director/co-star Wu Ma. Those, especially the opening moment as he uses his wuxia style skills to clean himself in a river, are worth the price of admission alone.
The Transfers
The all-new 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative is another flawless transfer from 88 Films. The transfer is sharp and without defects. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic look at all times. Bravo to the boutique label’s continued efforts in bringing their beautiful restoration work to Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio commentary by HK cinema expert Frank Djeng
Audio commentary by HK cinema expert David West
Image Gallery
Original Trailer
The first of two Audio Commentary tracks is with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng opens with his credentials. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title and how it is essentially a prequel to Tsui Hark’s A Chinese Ghost Story; the box office results of the film; details about Bo Ho Films which produced this film and why Sammo Hung (who produced the film) named it such; the lengths that Bo Ho films went to ensure that this was a true prequel including casting the same actors; a larger discussion of how HK studios will make “clones” of a popular hit film; the differences in cast and storytelling and style of this film as compared to Tsui Hark’s A Chinese Ghost Story; the development from the book this was adapted from; the career and life of star and director Wu Ma; his first viewing of the film in San Francisco Chinatown in the 1980s; the career and work of Yuen Biao; a larger discussion of the songs that appear in the film; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors some of the onscreen actors did in fact dub their own voice; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary is by HK Cinema Expert David West. West opens with his credentials before diving into an overview of this specific subgenre of Wuxia films. Some of the other details include a discussion of the career and personal history of co-star and director Wu Ma; the use of visuals and colors in the film, and references to other films, history, and stories; the career and work of actor Lawrence Ng Kai-Wah; the career and work of actor Yuen Wah; the history of Bo Ho films Sammo Hung’s production company – including the reasons why Hung opened the production company; the influence of Sam Raimi on both Wu Ma’s film and Tsui Hark’s film; the differences between Wu Ma’s adaptation and Tsui Hark’s; the career and work here of actor Elizabeth Lee; a discussion of the influence mentor Chang Cheh had on Wu Ma and how their work differed; the success of the film at the HK Box Office; a discussion of the career and history of author Pu Songling; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a larger discussion of the various cultural touchstones that may not be apparent to Western audiences; and much more.
Image Gallery (1:32) – the gallery consists of production stills and poster art all set to one of the songs from the film.
Original Trailer (3:35) – Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 Films continues to curate only the best in HK Genre Cinema. Recommended!!
The supernatural adventure romance Picture of a Nymph. New to Blu-ray from 88 Films.
The Films
Picture of a Nymph is a true cult oddity that a specific brand of cinephile will adore. Many will be baffled by the mixture of action, supernatural demonology, romance, and musical numbers. Wu Ma’s film begins with what can only be described as a soap commercial-style musical number and just gets stranger from there. Featuring Yuen Biao, Lawrence Ng, and Wu Ma the film serves as a prequel to the popular Tsui Hark Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy and an adaptation of the same novel by Pu Songling.
Shih Erh (Biao) meets scholar Tsui Hung-Chuen (Ng) by chance, protecting him from a demon. The duo finds themselves in the midst of a plan by certain ghosts/demons to escape hell at the same time Tsui finds love with a woman who was tricked into the underworld, Mo Chiu (Joey Wang), by the same ghost/demon who wants to escape hell. Shih and Tsui must enlist the help of Shih’s strict, and musically inclined, Taoist master Wu Men-Chu (Ma Wu) if they are able to free Mo from the ghost’s clutches.
Director Wu Ma’s film owes a heavy influence to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy (duology at the time of this film’s release). The kinetic camera work. The handcrafted makeup and visual effects. The hyperbolic editing. All come from Raimi’s horror classic. Though Ma’s style and intent aren’t quite the NC-17 gross-out that Raimi’s films are. Not even in the slightest. Ma’s film is more of a romance by way of a goofy kid’s adventure. The result isn’t as successful as the Raimi films, but is still an entertaining romp.
Picture of a Nymph is a great primer for Tsui Hark’s Chinese Ghost Story and has its own charms, including not one or two but three out-and-out musical numbers (sung or at least lip-synced) by its director/co-star Wu Ma. Those, especially the opening moment as he uses his wuxia style skills to clean himself in a river, are worth the price of admission alone.
The Transfers
The all-new 2K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative is another flawless transfer from 88 Films. The transfer is sharp and without defects. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic look at all times. Bravo to the boutique label’s continued efforts in bringing their beautiful restoration work to Blu-ray.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first of two Audio Commentary tracks is with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng opens with his credentials. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title and how it is essentially a prequel to Tsui Hark’s A Chinese Ghost Story; the box office results of the film; details about Bo Ho Films which produced this film and why Sammo Hung (who produced the film) named it such; the lengths that Bo Ho films went to ensure that this was a true prequel including casting the same actors; a larger discussion of how HK studios will make “clones” of a popular hit film; the differences in cast and storytelling and style of this film as compared to Tsui Hark’s A Chinese Ghost Story; the development from the book this was adapted from; the career and life of star and director Wu Ma; his first viewing of the film in San Francisco Chinatown in the 1980s; the career and work of Yuen Biao; a larger discussion of the songs that appear in the film; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors some of the onscreen actors did in fact dub their own voice; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary is by HK Cinema Expert David West. West opens with his credentials before diving into an overview of this specific subgenre of Wuxia films. Some of the other details include a discussion of the career and personal history of co-star and director Wu Ma; the use of visuals and colors in the film, and references to other films, history, and stories; the career and work of actor Lawrence Ng Kai-Wah; the career and work of actor Yuen Wah; the history of Bo Ho films Sammo Hung’s production company – including the reasons why Hung opened the production company; the influence of Sam Raimi on both Wu Ma’s film and Tsui Hark’s film; the differences between Wu Ma’s adaptation and Tsui Hark’s; the career and work here of actor Elizabeth Lee; a discussion of the influence mentor Chang Cheh had on Wu Ma and how their work differed; the success of the film at the HK Box Office; a discussion of the career and history of author Pu Songling; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a larger discussion of the various cultural touchstones that may not be apparent to Western audiences; and much more.
Image Gallery (1:32) – the gallery consists of production stills and poster art all set to one of the songs from the film.
Original Trailer (3:35) – Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 Films continues to curate only the best in HK Genre Cinema. Recommended!!
88 Films’ Blu-ray Edition of Picture of a Nymph is out March 10th.
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