This film is based on a folk story from the Song dynasty and tells of a young scholar, Ho Yunqing, who is commissioned by an eminent monk to transcribe a Buddhist sutra with extraordinary power over spirits in the realm of the dead. He travels to a deserted compound once owned by a former general deep in the mountains so that he can concentrate on his work without distractions. Here, he comes across several strange characters including Mr. Tsui, his host in that area and Melody who happens to be beautiful but mysterious as well her mother Chang, who is responsible for taking care of the monastery and old man Cheng who is half insane. Suddenly, two more people appear and start fighting each other Lama and Reverend; they represent both sides one trying to steal the sutra while another wants it back. Furthermore, almost imperceptibly married to Melody at some point he realizes that there is something wrong with this but it does not stop him from falling under Cloud’s spell when he sees her later on.
King Hu crafts his tale slowly, with the film featuring the majestic mountains and diverse flora and fauna of the place in a stunning manner, especially as regards their brilliant colors. In this way, for much of it, the movie acts like a combination of both tour guide and nature documentary. Moreover, this is where Henry Chan’s excellent camera work comes to play as it illustrates rural setting with equal enthusiasm touching on different settlements encompassing the entire movie.
However, King hu’s story is also an intricate one that deals with morality; nothing is as simple as it seems and Ho Yunqing finds himself unwillingly dragged towards directions he never thought possible or even desired. The story unfolds meticulously starting from a sense that there is something wrong about how people behave in all these scenes which appears very subtly through fleeting glances and pervading uneasiness.
This is the case until about halfway through the movie, at which point the truth, the “fractions,” and their objectives are finally disclosed in a very dramatic and extended conflict involving magic and relentless drumming that takes over much of the film with its incessant tempo underlining Ta Chiang Wu’s contribution to sound. This attention to detail also extends to costumes, which were designed by King Hu.
There aren’t many battles but they are mainly in the second half of it though Ming Tsai-wu’s contribution to art direction is not missed while they also look good especially considering it was shot in 1979.
The quality of the acting is also top-notch. Chun Shih, as the educated but rather innocent Ho Yunqing, gives another great performance; Melody is played by Feng Hsu in a way that makes her look nice and deceitful at the same time with enthusiasm. In contrast, Sylvia Chang plays Cloud equally well in a different role; on the other hand, Rainbow Hsu as Madam Wang is wonderfully irritating whereas Cheng, played by Feng Tien and she are the main comic acts in this film.
“Legend of the Mountain” is another masterpiece from one of the greatest movie directors ever to have lived it’s simply an audiovisual feast!
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