Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain: Film Facts

Film Facts:
Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain
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by HK Film
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After the HK premiere of Zu, Tsui found that the script was changed without his permission and omitted some 50 shots he originally intended. Tsui was dissatisfied with the HK version and so he sought out some investors so he could film additional footage for the movie's international release, Zu: Time Warriors. The new footage comes in the forms of bookends for the film, where Yuen Biao is a modern-day fencer, with the bulk of the movie being a dream sequence after he is knocked out during a competition. The dubbed dialogue changes the story line somewhat from a "good versus evil" story to more of a romance, with Yuen pursuing Moon Lee's character. Tai Seng's VHS version of Zu is actually this version, even though it is titled Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain.

Director Tsui Hark wanted to add more footage to the film, but executives refused to spend any additional money on the film for its initial release. There are other versions of the film--ZU TIME WARRIORS and WARRIORS OF MOUNT SHOCK--that feature additional footage. The added scenes feature Yuen Biao as a college student investigating Chinese myth; he then flashes back to the events of the original version of the film.

Robert Blalack (STAR WARS), Peter Kuran (STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE), and Arnie Wong and John Scheele (TRON) were the Hollywood special effects experts Hark consulted to make his film. In one scene of the film, the protagonists wield swords that resemble light sabres from STAR WARS, and in another scene, a glowing shield looks suspicously similar to the luminescent discuses in TRON.

Nominated for Best Film at the 1983 Hong Kong Film Awards.

MOVIE QUOTES:
"We're both good men. We're just dressed in different colors." -East Zu Soldier (Sammo Hung) to Ti Ming Chi (Yuen Biao)

"You watch out for yourself. Vegetarians have no strength." -Ting Yin (Adam Cheng) to the master martial artist Abbott Hsiao Yu (Damian Lau)

"The world is in more disarray than I thought. I had originally asked you to save us mortals. Now I really can't tell who is saving who." -Ti Ming Chi to Ting Yin

"Don't just call every woman you see a witch!" -Invaluable advice from Ting Yin to Yi Chen (Mang Hoi)

"The two swords must not touch each other or destruction will occur. The swordsman may die and the world may be completely devastated. But the Twin Swords are also most powerful when they unite. This the part of the puzzle I have failed to solve." -Lady Li I Chi to the heroes

American director John Carpenter has singled this film out as one of his favorite martial arts films and strongest influences. Complimenting Zu on its creative and revolutionary use of wirework in the fight scenes, Carpenter has said that the film inspired him to create "Big Trouble In Little China".

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