Featured Audience Ratings

• xGary X

  
  A naive young scholar is seduced by a beautiful spirit and joins forces with a retired swordsman to return her remains home and free her soul for reincarnation. Produced by prolific Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, A Chinese Ghost Story contains all of his usual crowd pleasing… More
  A naive young scholar is seduced by a beautiful spirit and joins forces with a retired swordsman to return her remains home and free her soul for reincarnation. Produced by prolific Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, A Chinese Ghost Story contains all of his usual crowd pleasing ingredients of frenetic swordplay, slapstick and songs with an added dash of romanticism to create a comic supernatural pantomime that's heavy on over the top set pieces and light on narrative. It's a deeply silly excuse for exploding zombies, pretty girls flying around on wires and flurries of martial art violence that owes obvious debts to western films such as Evil Dead 2 and Poltergeist, presented with a more Eastern flavour. The characterisation is a blend of the usual HK action stereotypes and the plot next to non-existent, but it's all done with an innocent charm and sense of fun that stops it from descending into the cheap and nasty. Subtle it most certainly is not and technically speaking it's a bit of a mess, but the heroes are very likeable, as are the amusingly slapdash effects and the surreal finale set in the ghostly realm is visually inventive and fun.

• Carlos M

  
  This is an odd movie that blends horror and slapstick humor quite efficiently, though the musical numbers are embarrassing and the ending is a bit frustrating. An entertaining and very funny supernatural romance that offers great special effects and plenty of style, especially in the… More
  This is an odd movie that blends horror and slapstick humor quite efficiently, though the musical numbers are embarrassing and the ending is a bit frustrating. An entertaining and very funny supernatural romance that offers great special effects and plenty of style, especially in the martial arts scenes.

• Steve K

  
  Crazy fun.

• Candy R

  
  Leslie is brilliant in this film. He died too young.

• Walter M

  
  [color=darkslateblue]"A Chinese Ghost Story" is about a traveling collector who wanders into a haunted temple a few miles east of town. There he encounters all manners of creatures such as vampires and ghosts, not to mention a powerful Taoist monk. There is a certain… More
  [color=darkslateblue]"A Chinese Ghost Story" is about a traveling collector who wanders into a haunted temple a few miles east of town. There he encounters all manners of creatures such as vampires and ghosts, not to mention a powerful Taoist monk. There is a certain amount of atmosphere but too much comic relief ruins the mood too often. Plus, the production is too meager to support the effects that would have been necessary to make this work well.(I felt the same about Heroic Trio. You can see the difference good special effects can make in Hero and House of Flying Daggers.)[/color]

• Panta O

  
  A Chinese Ghost Story or "The Eternal Spirit of a Beauty" is a Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung, and produced by Tsui Hark. Loosely based plot on a short story from Qing Dynasty was developed into… More
  A Chinese Ghost Story or "The Eternal Spirit of a Beauty" is a Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung, and produced by Tsui Hark. Loosely based plot on a short story from Qing Dynasty was developed into amazing screenplay. Ning Choi-san is a little bit dorky tax collector whose job requires him to travel to rural areas. Arriving at a town he is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts because he did not have money to afford lodging at the town. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nip Siu-sin and falls in love with her. However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious because a Taoist told him that the people he saw at the temple were ghosts. That night, he returns to the temple to spend his night there and confirms his theory that Nip is actually a spirit... In memory of the late Leslie Cheung, director Ching Siu-tung and producer Ng See-yuen re-released the film in theatres across mainland China on April 30, 2011. According to press release, the film was digitally remastered from the original negatives and six months were spent on the remastering. In addition, premieres took place in both Beijing and Shanghai. Ching Siu-tung, Ng See-yuen and Lau Siu-ming were present. However, Wu Ma and Joey Wong, who were invited, did not attend the premiere. Ching Siu-tung had difficulty tracking down Joey Wong and had to contact her through her family in Taiwan. He received a telephone call at the last minute from Wong's father, stating that the actress was in poor health and not in good condition to attend the premiere. Wong's father also quoted her daughter saying that acting in the film was her best memories. In Chinese cinematography this movie is a classic... even with a really bad animation of some of the scary parts, I could understand that... I enjoyed the good and some really bad acting, but that is acceptable when we understand the concept of this art work and the tradition of Chinese acting which was used in this case in its best and sometimes not its best form. Watch it as a part of a history... it's worth it... but some of you could be disappointed...

• Jojo S

  
  This is one of the most pioneer film that beautified Chinese ghost. It became the foundation as a ghost-man love affair classic thereafter. Every character--from the Taoist ghost buster's unforgetable singing, and the comely ghost lady who hides in umbrella; the 1,000 years old… More
  This is one of the most pioneer film that beautified Chinese ghost. It became the foundation as a ghost-man love affair classic thereafter. Every character--from the Taoist ghost buster's unforgetable singing, and the comely ghost lady who hides in umbrella; the 1,000 years old tree momo to the weak but kind-hearted bookworm--is simply bravo!

• Christopher B

  
  This film has everything a genre fan could ask for, and oddly enough, is a very gorgeous film too. Another inspiration to Sam Raimi (along with Spooky Encounters) this film should not be missed for anyone who enjoys horror, or a good story for that matter. An effing classic.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings