Legend of the Mountain | Telescope Film
Legend of the Mountain

Legend of the Mountain (山中傳奇)

Critic Rating

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  • Taiwan,
  • Hong Kong,
  • South Korea
  • 1979
  • · 192m

Director King Hu
Cast Shih Chun, Hsu Feng, Sylvia Chang, Lin Tung, Rainbow Hsu, Tien Feng
Genre Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Ho, a non-religious scholar and skeptic of the spirit realm, takes on the job of translating a Buddhist sutra in a secluded mountain retreat. While traveling there, Ho finds himself lost in the mountains. And as soon as his hand touches the sutra, strange magical things begin to unravel all around him.

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What are critics saying?

100

Slant Magazine by Greg Cwik

Every pan and snap zoom and dissolve is exact, every whorl of smoke and wind-thrown swath of leaves pulled from a dream and placed methodically before our eyes.

80

Village Voice by Simon Abrams

Legends of the Mountain’s narrative fuse may be long, but Hu knows exactly when to light it and when to snuff it out.

70

The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore

Beautiful settings and eccentric effects work enliven a tale that's more than meets the eye.

50

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

All these attractions are a necessary balm given that Ho turns out to be a deeply uninvolving character (Mr. Shih mostly smiles, grimaces or looks amazed), a wan placeholder for a character in a narratively thin film that runs over three very leisurely hours.