Legend Of The Black Scorpion DVD Review

William Shakespeare has a collection of plays that have been adapted to film so many times it is a wonder that there are still more being made. Hamlet is one of the most popular, with dozens of adaptations, some accurate and some set in unique areas, while others in a unique time period. Even Kurosawa had his own Shakespeare adaptation with Ran, which set King Lear in sixteenth-century Japan. Legend of the Scorpion is essentially another adaptation of Hamlet, although it is described as “inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet” and this distinction makes all of the difference. Having seen the tale of Hamlet so many times I know the story well and find few surprises in the story, but Legend of the Black Scorpion keeps all of the key plot twists, while skillfully able to change the meaning behind these action in miniscule ways that change the story drastically.

Choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping (The Matrix and Kill Bill) Legend of the Black Scorpion, the fighting becomes the main focus of the Shakespearean melodrama. The action is sparse for most of the film, in order to stay relatively true to the source material, but this only guarantees that whenever fighting does happen, it is remarkably impressive. The rest of the film might not be bad, but it just pales in comparison to the beauty of Wo-ping’s choreography. Starring Ziyi Zhang (Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as the wife of the king, as well as the brother of the king once the first is killed. When the son returns home there is plenty of tension, as well as many failed assassination attempts.

Legend of the Black Scorpion is known internationally as The Banquet, and it has received several film nominations in the Hong Kong Film Awards, but some might find the slight changes somewhat annoying. After all, this is a story we have seen enough times to spot each change. This is a slight hindrance, whereas the variations also often seem the most engaging part of the film, allowing for an unexpected turn. Particularly effective is the climactic end sequence, which is not as civilized as the betrayals in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The DVD contains a commentary by Hong Kong Cinema expert Bey Logan, who seems to give commentary on a large percentage of Dragon Dynasty releases. That is on the first disc with the film, but there are enough special features for a second disc. On the second disc there is a making-of featurette, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and several interviews with the director and actors. There is also a trailer gallery.