The Holy Maiden of Hell, Ashura, possesses immense power capable of destroying humanity. Buddhist monks trap her in a deep cave to keep her from falling into evil hands. Kindhearted Abbot Jiku grants her wish to enjoy the human world for 7 days.
“Saga of the Phoenix” from 1989 is a sequel to “The Peacock King,” a film that is frustratingly unavailable in the US. As a result, I went into this follow-up blind. That absence is felt early on: “Saga of the Phoenix” has an abrupt start, offering little in the way of character introductions before jumping into the story. Its three main characters — Ashura (Gloria Yip), Lucky Fruit (Abe Hiroshi), and Peacock (Yuen Biao) — are simply there, the film assuming familiarity from the outset. While that makes it slightly challenging to get your bearings, I don’t think prior knowledge of “The Peacock King” is necessary to follow or understand this sequel.
Ashura is the Hell Virgin, a being tied with the demon realm and prophesied to bring about the destruction of mankind. Instead of being eliminated, she’s granted permission to live on Earth for seven days, given that she doesn’t cause Armageddon. The granters of this permission believe the sun will kill her within that time period. Lucky Fruit and Peacock, along with three nuns, are assigned to accompany her to make sure she doesn’t cause trouble. Complicating matters is the Hell Concubine (Ngai Suet), ruler of the demon realm, who seeks to steal Ashura’s powers and cause Armageddon herself.
Despite ominous terminology and apocalyptic stakes, the film is played surprisingly juvenile. If it wasn’t for names like “Hell Virgin” and “Hell Concubine,” this could pass for a children’s fantasy movie. This is enforced by Ashura’s impish sidekick, a character performed by an openly wire-operated puppet whose antics are played for broad laughs. Director Lam Nai-Choi doesn’t seem interested in grounding the material emotionally or thematically. The music is goofy, and the cinematography is flat, further discouraging taking the movie seriously. Creature designs are easily the strongest aspect of the film, although even these evoke the look and feel of a “Power Rangers” episode.
The transfer for this Blu-ray release, however, is excellent. It has been sourced from a “Brand new 2K restoration from the Original Negative,” the image looks fantastic — clean, film-like, and vibrant colors. The audio is generally clear and intelligible, though there are intermittent issues in the upper frequencies. Notably, in the opening minutes, the soundtrack introduces an unwelcome hiss when the upper frequencies are introduced, a problem that recurs intermittently throughout the movie.
Extras included are an audio commentary by Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto, alternate footage used in the Japanese version of the film, an interview with Albert Lee, an image gallery, and the original trailer. While bonus features do not particularly drive me, and nothing here changed my opinion of the film, it does sound like the first movie is quite a bit different in tone — enough to leave me curious, and sufficient to track it down. The limited-edition packaging is nice, featuring an o-ring, a rigid slipcase, and a 40-page book with new essays.
“Saga of the Phoenix” is not a film that ultimately clicked with me and is not one I’d broadly recommend. Still, for curious viewers or fans of Hong Kong fantasy films, 88 Films’ Blu-ray release offers a high-quality, thoughtfully assembled way to experience this movie.
Now available on Limited Edition Blu-ray™ from 88 FILMS
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