Finally,
a really good print of this legendary 'Weird Asia' film from Taiwan,
it's great to actually SEE this remarkable movie.
In a
cockeyed rendering of Snow White, a meteorite shoots into the queen's
womb during childbirth, [somehow] resulting in a bright red gelatin egg
to pop from her uterus. The king is horrified by the squishy thing and
orders that it be banished, set adrift down a river. The egg is soon discovered
by seven dwarfs [see pic, bottom of page, left] who decide not
to eat it but rather wait for it to hatch. From this pulsating egg comes
Princess Yaur-gi, raised by the dwarfs to adulthood. Meanwhile, back in
the kingdom, there's an ugly cycloptic giant lizard wreaking havoc. Two
magicians convince the king that they can kill the creature. They do kill
it, thus winning favor with nobility. However, they are equally bad and
cause chaos with walking statues and a multi-headed fire-breathing dragon
[see pic, upper right]. Prince Yur-juhn decides to visit the kingdom
and put an end to the terror. Enroute, he stumbles upon the dwarfs and
the princess. The two fall in love immediately, but he must go to the
kingdom and be heroic. She patiently waits for Yur-juhn' return. Soon,
loneliness is overwhelming and Yaur-gi decides to trek off to the palace.
But danger awaits.
Chang
Hsin-yi was a pulp screenwriter of martial arts movies produced by the
Taiwan movie industry of the 1970s. He wrote almost a hundred of them,
including Lee Tso Nam's SHAOLIN
VS LAMA and KONG
FU WONDER CHILD with Yukari Oshima. He directed very few, helming
10 during a five year period (1978-82), mostly a collection of forgettable
crime actioners. This one is an exception and - despite being almost incomprehensible
- it has gained quiet a reputation to fans of Weird Asia cinema.
A Taiwanese/Chinese
film with English & Chinese subtitles; uncut 86 minutes,
on a DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT.
Extras include original theatrical trailer.
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