The Legend Of The Shadowless Sword (2006/New Line DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C+
In yet
another excuse for massive martial arts set in a previous century with
elaborate sets, colorful clothes and a war long ago, Kim Young Jun’s The Legend Of The Shadowless Sword (2006)
is yet another feature film with all the trappings of this cycle of the genre
that never exceeds that genre, but has the money and some good action on screen
in parts. It may be the same old story,
but at least the makers are ambitious enough to try and make it fresh.
This one
is set in 927 A.D. (!) in Ancient Korea (before it was split) and a royal
dynasty and power struggle is involved.
The female lead (Yoon Soy) may be a fighter and warrior, but she is
still propping up the male lead (Lee Soo Jin) as a Prince who needs to find his
greater destiny. I wish the Kim Tae
Gwan/Shin Jun Lee script found more to do with this, but fans will not be too
disappointed. Others may feel they have
seen most of this before. At least the
disc performs well.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is sharp, clear and has the color, depth
and detail for the DVD format to make this look good. The DTS 5.1 is not perfect, but a little
better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 and the soundfield in both cases is nice and
lively. I wonder why this was not out on
Blu-ray at the same time? Extras include
stills, character introductions, free digital copy for PCs and portable PC
devices, a Music Video (?) and behind-the-scenes featurette that is interesting
enough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
