"Jin Yong(aka Louis Cha) wrote Return of Condor Heroes in 1959. Many changes were made
throughout the years with the novel. ROCH '83/95/98 was based on the 1st and 2nd
The 3rd edition was used on lastest version ROCH 2006. In the orginal story, Xiao Long Nu
died in the Passionless Valley. People didn't like that ending so they wanted Jin Yong to
revised that part. Jin Yong listened and revised the ending by adding a few more scenes. I
don't want to get into the storyline/summary since most of you already know.
Return of Condor Heroes '83 with Andy Lau/Idy Chan was actually the first wuxia series I've
watched. As a kid, I didn't understand the concept/complexity of the series. I was amazed
by acrobatic moves/fight scenes. But enough about me and this introduction. I'll get to the
reviews. Everything here will be base on my opinion alone. If you don't agree, tell me why
and maybe write a review yourself. I love to see everyone opinions.
Storyline: 4/5 stars ****
Many people say that ROCH '95's storyline was closest to the novel. However, 95 was based on
the 1st/2nd edition. Some scenes that was in 1st/2nd edition were revised/taken out in the
3rd edition. Some viewers were quite confused with the changes in ROCH '06. In other forums,
I tend to see: "How come they cut so much of the storyline? In '83/95 version, Yang Guo went
to Peach Blossom Island. In this version, he doesn't." People didn't realized that there
were different editions to the story. I thought ROCH '06 followed the novel very well. The
only problems were some of the dialogues that were used in this series. We'll blame that on
the script writers. Zhang Ji Zhong(Executive Producer) style in doing flashbacks...I don't
think some people liked that idea. Previous adaptation followed the novel naturally
without any flashbacks. This might confused some newcomers to the series but I still thought
it helped the flow of the story. A few cut scenes that were edited out. (Dragon Girl was
injured in one of the fight scene. She was fighting with a group of people without anyone
touching her. All of a sudden in the next scene, she was hurt and carried away by Yang Guo.)
That made the story looked incomplete. 52 episodes version? I highly doubt there would be
one. The 41 episodes release covered almost everything from the novel. Unless they have a
lot of long fights scenes added, 41 episodes should be the complete version. Who knows...if
they had the budget/none of the government stupid regulation, then maybe we would have seen
more episodes.
Here are the changes made to the 3rd edition:
http://wuxiapedia.com/novels/jin_yong/divi.../3rd_ed_changesScenary (Costumes/Special FX included): 5/5 stars *****
International film such as: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/House of Flying Daggers/Hero
didn't just have a good storyline but also great scenaries. In the movie 'Hero' starring Jet
Li/Donnie Yen/etc., each scene was really beautiful and artistic. Even though ROCH '06
can't be compare to hollywood, the series itself had its own beautiful scenes. No
Chinese series can't be compare to ROCH '06 as of now. Previous adaptation had poor/fake
props due to low budget. However, this production went all out. Passionless Valley was
wonderfully propped up well.
Gong Sun Lu E had an elagent green outfit on. Some people dislike that dress but I thought it
worked well with the Passionless' scenary. She looked like a girl in a green leaf costume.
Xiao Long Nu dressed in a white outfit = pure/innocent/kind/cold...but almost all the XLNs
dressed in white. Jacqueline's XLN was in black. Well, that production was banned by JY
afterward.
Li Mo Chou's outfit was different from the previous ones. 83/95/98 had either white/yellow
outfits. In the novel, LMC wore a yellow color outfit. Some people complain about the color
of '06 LMC's hair as well. I actually like the new hair style/color. Previous LMC's outfit
was so bland. The new version had a black one = evil/hatred/dark/loneliness...Plus, in my
opinion, this LMC was the best looking one.
Anyhow, I dont want to go through all the characters and their clothing. I thought every one
of their outfits fit their characteristics.
The battle at Xiang Yang was almost like Lord of the Ring...well, maybe a small portion of
it. JY himself was impressed with those scenes. Past version couldn't come up with what he
pictured in his head. This version brought life to that battle scene. I thought some special
FX such as characters showing 'internal energy' really help determined their strength. The
CG werent close to hollywood but it was pretty good with the budget the production received.
No other series comes close to the special FX in this series. I say give them a couple of
more years, we'll probably see some that could be compared to hollywood.
Soundtracks: 3/5 stars ***
I could still remember the 83' soundtracks in my head. I could never forget the soundtracks.
I dont remember the name of the songs but I could still recall the tunes. I cant remember 95
or 98.
Soundtracks for the new version were 'just okay' for me. The opening/ending theme did matched
the series well. However, having to hear other theme songs from movies such as 'Batman Begins'
or 'Harry Potter' really killed this series. It wasn't orginal like the '83 version.
Acting: 4/5 stars ****
Yang Guo - Huang Xiao Ming was the only one that disappoint me a little bit. The first
couple of episodes, HXM overreacted quite a bit. Cant really blame him though. A 28 years old
guy playing an immature adolescence, it just didn't look right. Plus, it might be total his
fault. The director probably asked him to react that way. Some people complained that his
dubbed voice was horrible. I agree...I hated his laughs. The series would have been better
if someone dubbed his voice. **Note: HXM was the one who dubbed his own voice. Other actors
had their voice dubbed by professionals. HXM wanted to do on his own because he said that the
role of YG was special to him. He wanted to go all out with the series. He dubbed his own
voice plus he sang some of the soundtracks for the series too. The 2nd half of the series,
HXM took the title belt from the previous YGs. He made me feel that he deserved to be the
legendary 'Condor Hero'. His acting was surperb.
Xiao Long Nu - Liu Yi Fei... I had so many debates/arguments over this little lady in other
forums. People say I'm just baised towards her. Maybe I am. Before the series even release,
many people didnt like the fact that Zhang Ji Zhong(executive producer) and crew chose her to
star in the series. The director(forgot his name) was a little skeptical as well. They worked
with her in Tian Long Ba Bu and didnt like her as much. However, Jin Yong had a different of
opinion towards LYF. When JY saw her, he wanted her to audition right away. After the series
was finished, both the director/ZJZ were very pleased with her performance. They said that
she improved immensely. JY was totally satisfied with his female lead actress. Many viewers
criticized LYF because of her past performance. After the finished watching the series, they
were dumbfounded and couldnt say anything bad about her. Most would bring up the past XLNs
and compare to LYF. Well, here's my opinion. I'm not saying this because I'm biased. Just from
the description of XLN from the novel, LYF was the closest. XLN was suppose to have a youthful
look(15/17) years of age through most of the episodes. However, many viewers were so used to
the previous XLNs and always thought that XLN suppose to be a little old(maybe in her 20s).
The 1st/2nd editions, XLN didnt have that much emotions. Jin Yong wanted his favorite character
to have more life. 3rd edition, XLN was more emotional. She wasn't the one dimensional cold
robot that some people thought to be. Just on LYF's looks alone, she brought out the innocence/
youthful/naive characteristics. LYF did improved on her acting after TLBB and Chinese Paladin.
If you look into her eyes, you could see a lot of emotions out of them. Nonetheless, LYF still
needs improvement in her acting. There were some scenes that she couldnt master. She's still
young and she'll improve. I know there will other great XLNs in the future. However, I could say
that LYF is the best XLN so far.
I dont want to go through a lot of details. You guys are probably bored stiff with this review.
I'll make it quick with the minor role characters.
Huang Rong/Guo Jing(names unknown) - I thought the actor who played GJ did a good job. He showed
that he did really care for YG. HR didnt look the part. I like the 83' version of HR. She looked
cunning/intelligent.
Li Mo Chou - Well, she's the best looking one so far. However, I couldnt get that evil aura from
her. She just didnt show that fierce/hatred look. But overall, she played her role well.
Gong Sun Zhi/Golden Wheel/Huo Du/Da'er Ba/all the villians did a great job.
Guo Fu/Guo Xiang - The best Guo's daughters so far. I told myself if I wanted to ripped GF's head
off while watching ROCH's 06, then that actress portrayed her character well. Well, I did actually
wanted to ripped her head off so she did a great job. Hopefully, we'll still see Chen Sa Sa around.
She's getting old. She was great in HSDS and ROCH. Guo Xiang(Yang Mi), she came out from the book.
She was adorable/cunning/clever/naive...the best GX so far.
Overall review: 4/5 stars ****
ROCH'06 could have been the best adaptation ever. However, a few minor mistake really killed his
series to be a classic but it might be still one day. There were some cut scenes that should have
been fixed. They shouldn't shown us clips with scenes that were removed from the series. People
thought they cut too much and killed the storyline. Musics were mediocre. It was nothing original
about it. They should've invest more time on the soundtracks. Maybe if the production had more
money and government's rules/regulations weren't that strict...we probably would have a perfect
ROCH. Despite all the minor flaws, I really enjoy this series. Beautiful sceneries/actors...I had
fun watching the fight scenes. Will I watch this series again in the future? Definitely...
Jin Yong gave a rating of 85/100 for ROCH '06. He said he'll add 7 points more if he like the
soundtracks. However, JY still kept rating the at 85/100 after the soundtracks. I guess he didn't like
it that well. "
