Tai Chi Zero [DVD]

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION As an uncommonly gifted child, Yang Luchan had a fleshy abnormality that holds tremendous power growing on his forehead. However being teased as the town fool, Yangs mother spurs him to practice martial arts, and following her wishes, Yang travels the distance to come to Chen Village to learn TAI CHI. At this legendary village, everyone practices TAI CHI and uses TAI CHI in every aspect of their lives. Nevertheless, it is forbidden for a villager to disclose TAICHI to an outsider, and Yang learned this the hard way. Upon arriving at the village, locals discourage Yang by challenging him with fights. From the strong men to hold ladies to children, everyone defeats Yang with their TAICHI moves. After facing the toughest battle and being defeated by Master Chens beautiful daughter Yuniang, Yang is determined to master the art of TAICHI and he needs to find Master Chen. Little does Yang know, the poor strange man who he befriended with is in fact Master Chen who then saved him from the duel with Yuniang. Master Chen realizes Yangs genius and disguises himself to secretly guide Yang to his self realization of TAICHI. One day, a frightening steam-powered machine came to the village, lead by Fang Zijing, a childhood friend of Yuniang. He has bribed government officials to permit him to build a railway that will run straight through the village. Yang decided to join forces with Yuniang to defeat Fang Zijing and destroy the machine. This brave act may just win the hearts of the villagers. AMAZON.COM Actor-turned-director Stephen Fung's Tai Chi Zero is a frenetic, genre-bending martial arts fantasy that tips its hat to Chinese action cinema of the past while taking a radical approach to its future via a torrent of references to video games, animation, American movies, and other pop culture ephemera. Olympic wushu champion Yuan Xiaochao is top-billed as Lu Chan, an impulsive kung fu prodigy who's loosely (make that very loosely) based on real-life tai chi teacher Yang Luchan. The movie's Lu Chan also sports a horn on his skull that, when pressed, substantially boosts his powers but also drains his energy (shown on-screen as a diminishing, Xbox-like icon). To control his talents and save his life, Lu Chan travels to the Chen village, where the inhabitants have mastered the art of tai chi. There, he is faced with not only the locals' reluctance to share their secrets, but a former resident (Eddie Peng) who threatens to bulldoze the village with a monstrous, steampunk-influenced machine to make way for the railroad and the 20th century. Lu Chan's fight to save the town is depicted in a meta-flurry of information à la Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: actors and their characters, as well as various fighting styles, are introduced by pop-up-styled titles, while the combat itself unfolds via rapid-eye editing and camera angles. Stylistic references to silent film, European westerns, and anime are also woven liberally throughout the picture, but the manic pace and deluge of visual information obscures not only the martial arts choreography by Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung, but also more affectionate touches like cameos by kung fu veterans Bruce Leung and Xiong Xin-Xin and Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau. Tai Chi Zero's attention deficit disorder aesthetic even extends to its basic structure, with the picture ending abruptly, rewinding, and then previewing Fung's 3-D follow-up, Tai Chi Hero. Longtime Asian-action fans may find this much media overload ado over nothing, though the film's extraordinary popularity abroad indicates that its approach has found favor with newer audiences. --Paul Gaita REVIEW A masterpiece! --io9Playful, exciting, and hugely entertaining --TwitchA non-stop action epic with a fresh take on the genre --Toronto Film ScenePlayful, exciting, and hugely entertaining --TwitchA non-stop action epic with a fresh take on the genre --Toronto Film Scene ABOUT THE ACTOR Angela Yeung Wing, also known by her stage name Angelababy, has made a career in Hong Kong as an actress and a model. Born in Shangai to her half- Chinese/German father and Chinese mother, she moved to Hong Kong at age 13 and took her stage name Angelababy as a composition of her legal given name Angela and her family given nickname "Baby". ABOUT THE DIRECTOR Stephen Fung Tak-Lun was born in Hong Kong. Stephen made his acting debut in Forbidden Nights(1990), playing the childhood version of the male lead. By 1998, Stephen was voted by the Hong Kong press as "Upcoming Actor of the Year." In 2004, Stephen wrote/directed/starred in his feature film directorial debut "Enter the Phoenix" for Jackie Chan's newly formed company JCE Movies; it became an instant hit. His second directing/starring feature "House of Fury" marks Stephen's first collaboration with legendary action director Yuen Wo Ping (Matrix, Kill Bill) proves also to be a success. "House of Fury" was the opening film for the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2005, official selection for the 18TH Tokyo International Film Festival, and at home, the highest grossing Hong Kong film for the first half of 2005. Besides continuing with his acting career, Stephen has wrapped promotions for his latest movie "Jump" which he directed for Sony Columbia Pictures Asia and written and produced by Stephen Chow. See more