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Leslie Cheung, Wong Tsu Hsien, Ma Wu, Joey Wang

Legendary Hong Kong producer/director Tsui Hark and filmmaker Ching Siutung combine forces in this high-flying supernatural romance classic. Ning Caichen (Leslie Cheung) is a lowly tax collector who t... read more read more...akes refuge for the night at the spooky Lam Ro temple. There he encounters and promptly falls in love with a beautiful ghost named Nie Xiaoqian (Joey Wang). Unfortunately Xiaoqian is damned to serve the evil hermaphroditic tree spirit Lao Lao, who (thanks to an extraordinarily long tongue) feasts on the souls of amorous young males. Usually Xiaoqian, along with her comely sister Qing, tempts would-be Lotharios to their arboreal doom, but she too is smitten with the downtrodden wanderer. Soon afterwards, Caichen meets Master Yan (Ma Wu), a Taoist hermit, martial arts master, and a sworn enemy of Lao Lao, who tells him of Xiaoqian's true, otherworldly nature. Nonetheless, true love proves to be strong. Caichen promises Xiaoqian that he will help spring her from her dubious employment and Xiaoqian protects her love from the evil wood sprite. Later, things grow more complicated for the lovers when they learn that Xiaoqian has been betrothed to a demon warlord. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

49% want to see it

6,157 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

8 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Siu-Tung Ching

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DVD Release Date: September 12, 2000

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Flixster Reviews (322)

  • blacksheepboy
    December 8, 2011
    blacksheepboy
    This is an odd movie that blends horror and slapstick humor quite efficiently, though the musical numbers are embarrassing and the ending is a bit frustrating. An entertaining and very funny supernatural romance that offers great special effects and plenty of style, especially in... read more the martial arts scenes.
  • Beefy
    August 6, 2007
    Beefy
    Crazy fun.
  • garyX
    July 14, 2007
    garyX
    Classic martial arts fantasy that never fails to entertain for a single second
  • thmtsang
    July 6, 2007
    thmtsang
    Leslie is brilliant in this film. He died too young.
  • gator681
    February 5, 2005
    gator681
    [color=darkslateblue]"A Chinese Ghost Story" is about a traveling collector who wanders into a haunted temple a few miles east of town. There he encounters all manners of creatures such as vampires and ghosts, not to mention a powerful Taoist monk. There is a certain amount of ... read moreatmosphere but too much comic relief ruins the mood too often. Plus, the production is too meager to support the effects that would have been necessary to make this work well.(I felt the same about Heroic Trio. You can see the difference good special effects can make in Hero and House of Flying Daggers.)[/color]
  • panta2
    August 25, 2011
    panta2
    A Chinese Ghost Story or "The Eternal Spirit of a Beauty" is a Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung, and produced by Tsui Hark. Loosely based plot on a short story from Qing Dynasty was developed into amazi... read moreng screenplay.

    Ning Choi-san is a little bit dorky tax collector whose job requires him to travel to rural areas. Arriving at a town he is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts because he did not have money to afford lodging at the town. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nip Siu-sin and falls in love with her. However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious because a Taoist told him that the people he saw at the temple were ghosts. That night, he returns to the temple to spend his night there and confirms his theory that Nip is actually a spirit...

    In memory of the late Leslie Cheung, director Ching Siu-tung and producer Ng See-yuen re-released the film in theatres across mainland China on April 30, 2011. According to press release, the film was digitally remastered from the original negatives and six months were spent on the remastering. In addition, premieres took place in both Beijing and Shanghai. Ching Siu-tung, Ng See-yuen and Lau Siu-ming were present. However, Wu Ma and Joey Wong, who were invited, did not attend the premiere. Ching Siu-tung had difficulty tracking down Joey Wong and had to contact her through her family in Taiwan. He received a telephone call at the last minute from Wong's father, stating that the actress was in poor health and not in good condition to attend the premiere. Wong's father also quoted her daughter saying that acting in the film was her best memories.

    In Chinese cinematography this movie is a classic... even with a really bad animation of some of the scary parts, I could understand that... I enjoyed the good and some really bad acting, but that is acceptable when we understand the concept of this art work and the tradition of Chinese acting which was used in this case in its best and sometimes not its best form. Watch it as a part of a history... it's worth it... but some of you could be disappointed...
  • Jossepi
    December 3, 2007
    Jossepi
    This is one of the most pioneer film that beautified Chinese ghost. It became the foundation as a ghost-man love affair classic thereafter. Every character--from the Taoist ghost buster's unforgetable singing, and the comely ghost lady who hides in umbrella; the 1,000 years old t... read moreree momo to the weak but kind-hearted bookworm--is simply bravo!
  • cacutshaw
    March 1, 2007
    cacutshaw
    This film has everything a genre fan could ask for, and oddly enough, is a very gorgeous film too. Another inspiration to Sam Raimi (along with Spooky Encounters) this film should not be missed for anyone who enjoys horror, or a good story for that matter. An effing classic.
  • kervin
    January 1, 2011
    kervin
    Funny and interesting film. It's much more of a comedy than a horror but has many laugh out loud moments and decent kung-fu scenes.
  • mincata
    March 16, 2007
    mincata
    This has got to be one of the worst movies I have EVER seen in my life!! It was so poorly written, directed and acted that I could not take it seriously. Also, the subtitles were TERRIBLY translated. Half of the movie I watched at 6X speed.... STILL booring.

View All Sien nui yau wan (A Chinese Ghost Story) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Gerry Shamray
September 2, 2002
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

Fantastic mix of comedy, horror, and romance.

KJB
August 8, 2002
KJB, IGN Movies

One of the classics of the Chinese fantasy genre. required viewing for any fan of Chinese cinema.

Walter Goodman
August 30, 2004
Walter Goodman, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
June 6, 2007
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
July 31, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Andy Klein
June 19, 2004
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

No review available.

Nicolas Lacroix
November 16, 2002
Nicolas Lacroix, Showbizz.net

No review available.

David Poland
July 26, 2002
David Poland, Hot Button

No review available.

Jeffrey Westhoff
July 26, 2002
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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