Disappointing melodramas
J. L. Gomer | Marysville, CA United States | 03/13/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a big fan of foreign language films and my large collection includes Kurosawa, Ozu, Bergman, Dreyer, Malle, and many others. I purchased 3 DVDs from this Chinese Film Classics Collection and they are all terrible movies. Empress Wu Zetian chronicles the rise to power of the woman who was empress of China from 690 to 705 AD. It is slow-moving and the actress playing the empress sneers evilly throughout. A drunken monk attempts to provide comic relief, but instead is just embarrassing. Dream of the Red Chamber is based on the famous novel and is one of the most filmed stories in Chinese cinema. This is the first filmed version and I sincerely hope the later versions are more interesting than this one. It is a long (2:05) costume melodrama which is static and even more boring than Empress Wu Zetian. There is lots of weeping and whining, a couple of songs, and a final tragedy. I didn't think this movie would ever end. Don't waste your money!"