Am being a bad student, but am resigned… Thanks Idabi, for pointing them out!
I want to know.. who is that crazy girl in the flower hanbok (according to dramawiki her name is Bong Soon)?
Also, it looks like the director/writers are going to take advantage of Lee Junki’s tendency to overact and still look pretty to do the usual angst routine. Plus, flying on the roof! (And it gets bloody. As long as Iljimae/Ryung and Eun Chae don’t pull a GD/YN on us, I’ll be fine.)
Trailers are so dramatic though. Flashing light and fiery tendrils of fire lighting up Lee Junki’s somewhat wrapped face - doom impends! All we need is Gollum, a ring, and we’re set for LotR II.
Meh. Must go back and slave away at Gauss’s Law, among other things.
Here’s a more detailed preview of Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008 in Chinese.
It looks like they’re going to try some interesting diverging from the original novel. I hope they work. (Never mind that Guo Jing looks like a Rastafarian wannabe from the 1500s, dude, where is Mei Chaofeng?)
Something tells me that they’re going to break out the black silk, angst the size of the Korean Peninsula, love triangles, and a lot more flying (than HGD, at any rate).
Anyway, Legend of the Condor Heroes is actually the first in a trilogy of books by Jin Yong - the second being Return of the Condor Heroes and the third being Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre. The first one is the best of the three (and the newest version of HSDS totally sucked, sorry to the Alec Su fans, but it’s true).
The opening and closing themes are also very well done.
So, while I was off nursing my wounds from Hong Gil Dong and various real life stuff, I’d realized that it’s time to dive back into the spirit of full-scale drama obsession once more!
Hence this post.
Stuff that look interesting:
Legend of the Condor Heroes (2007 version, as opposed to the 1795613878 other versions)
Trailer below:
Guo Jin - Hu Ge
Yang Kang - Yuan Hong
Huang Rong - Ariel Lin
Mu Nianci - Lu Sisi
Ariel Lin strikes me as a particularly impish Huang Rong, which will make a welcome change to Zhou Xun’s rather more OOC performance. Don’t get me wrong - I like Zhou Xun, but the job description calls for a scintillatingly lively and cheeky girl, which she wasn’t.
Not too stuck on the other characters, especially as they’re probably going to play up Ouyang dude’s role. And try to redeem Yang Kang. Geurkness. I liked them evil and one dimensional, plskthx. The last one was awesome for side roles (and main roles if you disregard the source material on the girl’s side…).
Filming and release has been delayed due to Hu Ge’s back injury - a bad thing for martial arts epics, we know.
I hope they won’t mess the original novel too much… I have had it up to here with creatively ‘fusion’ historical dramas.
(Just noticed - there’s one actor who’s been in both versions, though in different roles. See if you can spot him! Will do a Legend 03 version post ASAP.)
Il Ji Mae
Yet another Robin Hood-esque do-gooder story. This time starring Lee Junki. I keep telling myself I’m interested because I want to cure my HGD melancholy, but the real reason is that I’m watching it just for the eyecandy.
It’s supposed to start broadcasting sometime in May, but there’s been delays and pushbacks, so keep your ears open.
Hana Yori Dango the movie
Trailer/teaser below:
Okaaaaay. The English sub got moved… so here’s the rough translation.
Domyouji: Marry me, Tsukushi!
“Presenting the drama that was such a hit, they made it into a movie!” [Pan of main characters, tralalala, look at the pretty lights.]
Voiceover: We ran all over the world for love.
Domyouji: What the heck is this?!
Tsukushi: Wha… that guy!
It’s not much, but dudes, it’s Hanadan. What else do I need to say? Comes out June 28.
Ahaha. The Gil Dong fans are going to hate me. Enjoy anyway!
Ending #3
In Which I Run Out of Ideas (CHxYN)
Gom ran away at the look on Enok’s face. (Much like Chisu, Yong Jin and various other guards had, earlier in the day.)
She slammed into the meeting room without much regard for the much battered and stained wood. Its occupants scattered for cover, having that admirable instinct which cautioned them to hide, despite never experiencing a tsunami. Enok stalked over to the table and leaned into it, trying to get as close to Gil Dong as possible without actually crossing to the other side.
“Yah! Didn’t you promise?! And I had to find out from gongja, of all people!”
Trapped by the table, Gil Dong had no choice but to look her in the eyes. He had nothing to say, as she very well knew. But some things had to be out in the open.
“I can’t take you.”
Enok sat down on the bench, legs giving out from pure shock.
Well, today marks the first week without Hong Gil Dong. Am obviously not able to fill the hole it has left in my life, as you can see…
In case I didn’t explain it properly last time, these endings are separate and possibly conflicting replacements, written for purely recreational purposes.
Ending #2
Proving That There is a Thing Called Karma (GDxCH)
The nobles bowed in unison. There was nothing like peer pressure, after all, and they were sure their newly appointed king would send soldiers after that annoyinginsolent insidious seditionist once he heard their new reports.
“Your majesty, we present to you this book, in hopes that you will see Hong Gil Dong for the aspiring usurper he is. Please grant us the power to rid this world of his unworthy shadow!” Lord Ryu, as always, led the chorus of complaints.
Chang Hui envisioned putting all his nobles in a boat and untying the rope that held it to harbour, then watching it drift away, gently, with these quarrelsome men on board. He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts and glared at the object of his wrathful displeasure. Today, it was the plain-looking, slim volume of The Tales of Hong Gil Dong, Hero.
He’d read it. And while the writing was mediocre, the plotline clichéd and prone to embellishment (worst of all, he thought, the lack of romantic developments proved to turn the book into another mindless martial arts epic), it wasn’t a terrible attempt, as far as first books went. Neither he nor Enok showed up in the book, but honestly. It. Was. Just. A. Book.
It made the king wonder if the nobles weren’t secretly in love with Gil Dong, to wax so outraged at what was so obviously a piece of fanservice.
(Im)Possible alternate endings, for the heartbroken and discerning fan… (I may have overdone the lighthearted feel in some places, so most of our beloveds are probably out of character.)
Not being especially talented in writing, I’m always looking for concrit. Do give me your opinions.
Ending #1
Because the Universe has a Causality Law (GDxYN)
“You don’t want to be a minister anymore.”
Gil Dong had that stubborn look in his eyes. “I tried to change things around, but look where that got me.”
Chang Hui wanted to bang his head against the nearest pillar. All that effort convincing the nobles and the man quits. Honestly, it was enough to give anyone a case of acute tendonitis, migraine and wrinkles. (Not that Chang Hui admits to being concerned about wrinkles. Not at all.)
“So,” The young king said, with considerable effort, “What are you thinking of doing? Rallying your people to fight the evil, ravenous nobles?”
Gil Dong gave him a strange look.
“Have you been eating those weird cookies again? You know, the ones with the cute red berries in them.”
So, I did a bit more footling around, because the song that played during the last episode is so beautiful.
The video I watched on youtube (ever the master of information transmission) explains that the song is a traditional Norwegian song about a fisherman who returns home to find it all burnt down and his family killed. Instead of indulging in paralysing grief, he composes this song about his fate.
I think understanding the lyrics really make it that much more relevant to episode 24.
Download link, posted here again, for your edification: MegaUpload.
Lær meg å kjenne
(Traditional)
Arranger: Jørn Dahl
Singer: Sissel
Lær meg å kjenne dine veie
og gå dem trøstig skritt for skritt
Jeg vet at hva jeg fikk i eie,
er borget godt gods, og alt er ditt.
Men vil din sterke hånd meg lede,
jeg aldri feil på målet ser,
og for hvert håp som dør her nede,
får jeg et håp i himlen mer
English translation:
Teach me to know your ways
and to walk them trustingly step by step
I know that what I own,
are borrowed goods, and everything is yours.
But if your strong hand guides me,
I will never see the wrong goal,
and for every hope that dies down here,
I will receive a greater hope in heaven
so I can totally recap and squeal with you.
