Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark ventures into 3D territory in his latest film Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate.

HONG Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark embraces 3D technology with his long-anticipated wuxia film Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate.

The 3D kung fu blockbuster reunites Tsui with Jet Li some 14 years after their last film Once Upon Time In China And America (1997).

“I believe 3D is the way to go as it adds a touch of realism and we are just at the beginning of developing filmmaking technology that will evolve and grow with market demands. With China being a fast-growing market, we hope to be leaders instead of followers.

“Even now, most Hollywood blockbusters are available in 3D. In fact, we would be quite surprised if they were not.”

Tsui, 61, told a media conference on Monday when he was in Kuala Lumpur to promote his latest film.

The iconic director, whose previous kung fu film Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (2010) won him best director at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards, also conducted an hour-long filmmaking workshop with local students after the press conference.

Touted to be the first wuxia film to be presented in IMAX 3D format, Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate is said to be a re-imagining of Dragon Gate Inn (1966) and Tsui’s own new Dragon Gate Inn (1992), with new faces and a fresh storyline.

“It may be an action movie, but the story is more about the characters and their relationships,” offered Tsui, who was named Asian Filmmaker of the Year at South Korea’s 16th Busan International Film Festival in October.

The movie also stars other mainland Chinese actors Chen Kun, Zhou Xun and Li Yuchun; Taiwanese actors Kwai Lun Mei and Mavis Fan; and Hong Kong’s Louis Fan and Gordon Liu.

Jet Li plays Zhou Huaian, a Ming dynasty general who became a wandering swordsman. He has to combat the evil eunuchs, including one portrayed by Chen, at the fabled Dragon Inn. In the movie, Chen also plays a flighty treasure hunter.

Tsui Hark is flanked by actors (from left) Chris Li Yuchun, Chen Kun, Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Kwai Lun Mei.

Questions were aplenty for Tsui, who was only too happy to address them. Why did he cast inexperienced actors and non-fighters in the action movie? Why did the movie not feature Hong Kong actors in the major roles but mainland Chinese and Taiwanese actors?

“That did not occur to me during casting. I never consider where they come from. What matters to me is whether they are suited for the role,” he replied.

Commenting on casting newcomers, Tsui offered: “After working with Kwai Lun Mei in All About Women (2008), I knew she would be just the one to play the tribal princess. Similarly, Li Yuchun is a natural as the tough-talking Gu Shaotang. As for Mavis, I was more demanding as her character has a more complex story arc.”

At US$35mil (RM105mil), Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate is also China’s most expensive 3D kung fu film to-date and marks an important milestone in Chinese cinema.

With Chuck Comisky (the visual-effects supervisor for James Cameron’s Avatar) on board as the 3D special effects director for the movie, Tsui conjured up an all-new stereoscopic view of the ancient jianghu (martial arts world) with action choreographer Yuen Bun and production designer Yee Chung Man.

Treasure hunters stumble upon a lost city in Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate.

Tsui was so concerned about the 3D effects in Malaysian cinema that he dispatched two South Korean technical consultants to KL to ensure that everything was in line.

Having mastered 3D technology (“the Avatar team took eight years while we did it in one!”), Tsui looks forward to shooting his upcoming movie in 3D. He already has several scripts in mind but has not decided which one to take on next.

The characters

Tsui Hark’s movies are always populated by interesting characters with quirky facial features and complex personalities, which quickly establish each as a unique individual.

This writer met up with the main cast members during a press conference with regional media in Macau last week, in conjunction with the red carpet gala launch of the movie and the opening of the spanking new UA Galaxy Cinemas in Macau.

Jet Li

Teaming up with Tsui again after 14 years, Beijing-born action star Jet Li said he was excited about working on his first 3D project after making movies for so many years.

“When it comes to 3D, I’m just a greenhorn. So, I’ve got to thank director Tsui Hark for giving this greenhorn a chance to try something new.”

In the movie, he plays a general-turned-wandering swordsman named Zhou Huaian, who challenges the evil eunuchs of the East and West Bureaus of the imperial court to free his people from their oppressive rule.

Is it more difficult to film action movies in 3D? “If you had asked me this question when I first started then I’d say yes. But, for someone who has been making action movies for 30 years, I’d say it’s normal for any action movie to be challenging,” the 48-year-old actor philosophised.

“Since, for this particular movie, even all the non-fighters are fighting from beginning to end, it is not a problem for people who can fight a little (referring to his humble self) to be taking on some of the action. Wouldn’t it be strange if you hired Jet Li and got him to send pizza instead?” he teased, eliciting a round of laughter.

“The tough part here is filming in the desert with sand and smoke getting into your eyes, nose and mouth. But this is all a normal part of our work. At the end of the day, you don’t even remember how tough it was,” said Li, who disclosed that he would next be seen in Hollywood sequel The Expendables 2.

Chen Kun

Dashing Chinese actor Chen Kun shared that his joy at receiving the script for Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate quickly turned to concern when he saw that he had to play two very different characters, doing things that he was totally unfamiliar with.

One is the West Bureau Chief eunuch Yu Huatian, whose kung fu skills were so superior that he did not even have to resort to hand-to-hand combat with lesser opponents, while the other is the flighty treasure hunter Wind Blade Bu Cangzhou, who seemed to enjoy frivolous relationships with the ladies.

As a non-fighter, the Chongqing-born actor felt sufficiently concerned to ask director Tsui Hark whether it was alright for him to portray a villain whose kung fu was superior to Jet Li’s heroic character. “But the director did not see any problem there, so given his confidence, I went all out to do my best.”

Most questions directed at the 35-year-old actor revolved around his fights with co-star Li, who unlike him is a bona fide kung fu exponent. “Actually, it is not so much about me fighting with Jet Li. That’s why I am so thankful that Tsui Hark has created this amazing martial arts world for us. In essence, I am actually fighting Zhou Huaian (Jet Li’s swordsman character) as Yu Huatian (the powerful eunuch Chen plays).”

Chen dmitted that it was inevitable that he would feel pressure battling Li, and since Yu’s skill is supposed to be better than Zhou’s, Chen also had to convince himself into believing that.

“I’d tell myself that I was the best martial artist in our jianghu,” said the affable actor whose other movies this year were Love On Credit and The Founding Of A Party.

Zhou Xun

After doing more than 40 takes for a fight sequence in the movie, Chinese actress Zhou Xun said she was quite disheartened until co-star Jet Li reassured her that it was normal.

“I was quite concerned that it took so many takes but when I asked Jet, he replied that it was quite normal for action scenes and that made me feel somewhat relieved, so I went about filming like normal again,” shared Zhou, 35, who plays cross-dressing swordswoman Ling Yanqiu who is in love with Jet Li’s Zhou Huaian.

“Honestly, I was quite anxious about the role, since Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate is my very first swordplay movie. Although Painted Skin was technically my first wuxia movie, I never actually had to engage in swordplay in that one so it doesn’t really count.”

Although they had to undergo some intense training for the film, the Zhejiang-born actress said it was actually quite an enjoyable exercise. “We’d train in hand-to-hand combat and swordplay from 9am till noon. Then, it was time-out and we’d drop everything for lunch and then everyone would enjoy a relaxing afternoon snooze. After a good rest, we’d continue for the rest of the day.

“It felt just like going to school. Moreover, it was very healthy since we all had a good sweat after our daily workouts and it was summer so no worries about catching a cold.”

Li Yuchun

Of all the injuries and accidents on the movie set, Chinese singer-actress Chris Li Yuchun’s takes the cake. “I crashed into a horse. And, I couldn’t do much as I was suspended on a wire then. So, I quickly rolled myself into a ball to minimise injury,” shared Chris whose legs still hurt and had to take a break to recover.

Yet, the champion in the singing competition Super Girl (2005) counts herself lucky for being given the opportunity to star in a 3D movie in what is only the second movie in her fledgling film career.

“Everybody knows that I’m first and foremost a singer. This is only my second movie role and I’m still learning,” said the 27-year-old Chengdu native, whose first film was Peter Chan’s historical blockbuster Bodyguards And Assassins (2009). She played a self-sacrificing bodyguard for which she garnered nominations for best newcomer and best supporting actress at the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards.

In this movie, she plays a tough-as-nails bandit leader Gu Shaotang, who travels with her ex-lover Wind Blade Bu Cangzhou. Coming up next, she is set to play a Qing Dynasty warrior in her third movie, which is a martial arts flick titled The Guillotines, directed by Andrew Lau and produced by Peter Chan.

Asked if she would venture into modern roles for her future projects, Chris said she does not put too much pressure on herself. “Each film represents a breakthrough of sorts for me. Every character I played had been quite different. I prefer to let things develop naturally so I don’t intentionally seek out particular characters to play,” shared the singer who has four studio albums and two extended play albums to her name.

Kwai Lun Mei

Make-up alone took three hours for Taiwanese actress Kwai Lun Mei who literally had to sharpen her claws to flesh out her tribal princess Bu Ludu character. Travelling with a band of rowdy Tartar barbarians, the tattooed warrior princess propositions the handsome treasure hunter Wind Blade Bu Cangzhou while taking on the West Bureau eunuchs.

“I felt that my character was more like a wildcat. Once she set her eyes on the handsome fellow played by Chen Kun, she just pounced on him and wrapped herself around him without hesitation.”

The usually delicate-looking 27-year-old continued: “It’s totally different from what I envisioned of a girl in an ancient costume flick. I’d imagined her to be almost angelic in flowing robes like the characters in A Chinese Ghost Story.

“Nevertheless, I was excited to work with Tsui Hark because I knew he had a knack of bringing out a side of us that we’ve never seen. But, I was rather concerned when he told me I had to speak a non-existent language.”

After some deliberation, a script was written transcribing putonghua into pinyin, then stringing together the third or fourth words to conjure up a new language that nobody had ever heard before. Kwai added that voiceover was a main concern, for the movements of speech had to match syllable for syllable.

“There were times when I’d practise and learn the words by heart, then he would change the script and shake things up again. Then he would tell me, ‘I’d written in the script that I need five syllables for this scene, why are there only three?’ ”

Other major characters in the movie include Taiwanese pop singer Mavis, Hong Kong action film stalwarts Louis and Liu as well as mainlanders Viann Zhang, Sheng Jian and Du Yiheng.

Mavis plays a mysterious girl named Su Huirong, supposedly a pregnant palace maid who ran away to escape certain death at the hands of evil concubines and eunuchs.

Zhang is the evil imperial concubine Wan Zhener, while Liu plays East Bureau Chief Wan Yulou. Louis, Sheng and Du play the assassins from West Bureau eunuchs.

Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate is now playing in local cinemas.

• Samuel L. Jackson to host BET Awards
• Giuliana Rancic stays on with E! News
• Johnny Depp made honorary member of Comanche Nation
• Catch the ‘real’ Phantom of the Opera in the flesh
• Shrieks of joy over free Shrek tickets
• White House said to give inside access for bin Laden film
• CBS declares TV victory, 'Idol' still most-watched
• Not the end of the road
• Travelling talent
• The real deal