You can buy the Chinese version on EBay if you can't wait, with the added bonus that you don't have to watched dubbed English as I believe the Mirimax version will be. They have bonus features but they're all in Chinese. The feature is in Chinese with various subtitles, including English. I bought one last month. Also bought the Chinese version of Hero, nominated for an Academy Award for foreign films IIRC.
I already saw it last year!!!! Very old movie! I saw it in Cantonese with English subtitles. It was pretty good actually...not too bad. Not too great. Pretty good. But Matrix is way better lol.
when i saw this trailer, i thought it was a joke or something like a sprite commercial.....i was wrong.....yikes
Actually I prefered Shaoline soccer to Matrix. SS was hilarious,while I was expecting more from Matrix2. ALA
No, there's a big difference between choosing a book by its cover and choosing a movie by its trailer. Book covers are just usually pretty artwork filling in an area that needs something. Trailers are actual parts of the movie that are spliced together in order to entice viewers to go see the movie. A more applicable comparison would be a trailer to passages from a book... And you know what? This may be the greatest movie ever, for all I know. But in my opinion, the trailer made it look extremely dumb...
There are a couple of movies I've seen recently that I would have been better served by just watching the trailer and skipping the movie: Notting Hill Human Nature
Shaolin soccer is an ok movie but in no way is it better than the Matrix. I mean come on I really enjoy Hongkong films, their wacky and nuts comedy usually have me really interested through out the movie. But there are just too many thing things that will keep me from taking most of these movies seriously (i.e. bad acting, bad plot, bad dialogue, etc). Of all the Chinese/HK movies I've seen, there are maybe 4 that I think I have actual quality and substance. Hero (ying xiong) Being with You (he ni zai yi qi) Sword man II (xiao ao Jiang hu 2: dong fang bu bai) Infernal Affairs (Wu Jian dao)
Hehe. Nah I'm just giving my opionion on the movie. IMO the four movies I named are either as good or comes close to Matrix. While not as deep philosophical wise, still some very sophisticatd films.
saw shaolin soccer last year as well. it is very good. a comedy critique of commercialism, modernity, and Chinese tradition's place in both. much of the movie is Chow's slap-stick and situational humor, but he manages to deliver the action (martial arts and soccer) as well. it won the top award in Hong Kong last year, not to mention breaking all the box office records there. despite all that, it's just a pretty light-hearted movie. wasn't meant to be philosophically or aesthetically impressive in any case. so i guess for the average western viewer: 1) people who like deep art house quality stuff go see stuff like "In the Mood for Love" (or any Wong Kar-Wai movie) , "A One and a Two", "Ordinary Heroes", or any Fruit Chan movie. 2) people who like martial arts action pics like matrix, go see "Hero", "Crouching Tiger", "Bride with the White Hair", etc. 3) people who like big gun fights, go rent Chow Yun Fat's movies. 4) people who like hollywood style dramas with a HK twist, go see "Comrades, Almost a Love Story", or any of the late Leslie Cheung's romances. 5) people who just want to enjoy a good laugh in a feel-good movie, with plenty of action, then this is the movie for you. Personally I think it is more comparable to Jackie Chan's style of movies, with a bit of a deeper social commentary and a stronger contemporary HK flavor. If anyone is Indian or has seen the movie "Lagaan" this movie is similar, except without the saris or spontaneous song/dance, and that the Indians didn't use their "Chi" when playing cricket... The closest western equivalent that comes to my mind is probably "The Blues Brothers"... instead of putting the band back together again with divine assistance, they're bringing the Shaolin brothers back together again to play soccer with supernatural kung-fu assistance...
for those who like Stephen Chow's stuff, you've really got to see his classic "The God of Cookery". That was simply a masterpiece. Though it will be good if you understand Chinese. Speaking of which, I wonder how Miramax is going to translate all the Shaolin moves? "The Foot of The Chamber of the Earth", "The Palm of the Iron Sands", "The Armor of Gold and Steel"???
