LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE + DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS Double Feature

Taiwanese Glove Puppet Martial Arts Double Feature!

LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE (SHENG SHI CHUAN SHUO) – 2000, Pili International Multimedia, 99 min. Dir. Chris Huang. If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing a wuxia martial arts epic filled with occult secrets and black magic spells, incredibly choreographed sword fights with spinning / flying / leaping combatants, hidden tombs, lakes of fire, the eternal battle between darkness and light – but told entirely with puppets – then your wait is over! LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE is based on the tremendously popular Taiwanese TV show “PILI” launched in 1984 that uses traditional Chinese budaixi glove puppetry to tell amazingly elaborate wuxia stories packed with nonstop action and swordplay. An equal mix of classic Shaw Brothers martial arts movies, THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, and Jim Henson’s beloved THE DARK CRYSTAL, LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE revolves around a group of warriors of Wulin led by white-maned hero Su Huan-Jen trying to prevent Mo Kuei and his spectral assassins called "The Unkind" from gaining possession of the all-powerful Sacred Stone. The Unkind in particular are a riot with their screechy Skeksis-like voices and unexpected sense of humor: “We’re the most handsome men in the world!” one chortles. Along the way you get treated to martial arts moves like Aeolian Surprise (a tornado of spinning boulders), Thunder Bars (columns of glowing energy), heroes riding a flying sword like the Silver Surfer, living corpses with melting flesh – oh, and if you’ve ever wondered how a puppet bleeds, you’ll see that too. In Taiwanese Hokkien with English subtitles.

DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS – 2022, Pili International Multimedia, 103 min. "My friend, I'm not sure if you're pulling me into the abyss or helping me," muses white-maned hero Su Huan-Jen as he confronts a spectacular mystery filled with occult manuscripts, palace betrayals, kaiju-like Qilin monsters, incredibly-choreographed wuxia sword battles – all performed by puppets – in the struggle to control the Five Mountains and obtain the Limitless Celestial Book. Twenty years after directing the epic LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE (also released by Deaf Crocodile) and building on the long-running “PILI” TV show in Taiwan, director Chris Huangreturned with this amazing fusion of traditional budaixi glove puppetry, wuxia martial arts storytelling ala CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and wildly imaginative fantasy filmmaking in the vein of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER and THE DARK CRYSTAL. The serpentine plot revolves around the M**der of the Lord of Globe Castle and Huan-Jen’s quest to prove his innocence and unmask the killer, and involves (we kid you not) secrets like the Needle of Roaring Snow, puppets perspiring and spurting blood, the Seven Words Poison, lovable con men named Shark Qin and Three Dots, and priceless dialogue like "Dumbass! You betrayed my teachings for a book!" and "Why would Evil Brink attack the Fantastic Academy??" In other words, a pure joy from start to finish for fantasy and wuxia martial arts fans! In Chinese with English subtitles.

$10 in advance, $15 at the door.

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