THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS
Hong Kong, 1979, 88 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Tsui Hark.
A martial arts murder mystery. It is bright and colourful, elaborate in its presentation. It is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds with its mysterious, deadly butterflies. It is also reminiscent of the many films about killer bees. It also uses many of the devices of the lurid colour horror films of the sixties and seventies. The plot is very complex and is set in a martial era in the history of China. It has comments on the ruling of the feudal factions and their controls of ordinary people. The special effects are drawn on considerably for a lot of spectacular martial arts sequences. The film is an interesting example of the styles of the Hong Kong film industry in the late seventies.
1. An entertaining adventure thriller? The Hong Kong film industry The history of China, customs? The martial arts? The horror menace thriller and its American counterparts? The influence on this film? How well did the film combine the various strands of its style?
2. The presentation of Chinese history? specific references, re-creation of the period? The conventions of martial arts and the way these were incorporated into the plot? The mystery of the killer butterflies? The horror conventions, action conventions? A satisfying blend?
3. Colour photography, use of the wide screen? Special effects especially for the fighting sequences? The butterflies? The décor of the castle? The countryside? Interiors? The musical score?
4. The plausibility of the plot: the threat and menace of the butterfly killings, the poisonous butterflies and their cultivation within the castle? The savagery of their killing? The revelation that they were being used for power purposes? The background of the uprisings in China? The feudal factions? The storyteller, the murder in the printing works, the death of the grave robbers and other mysterious happenings? The scholar and his observations? The war leaders? The adventurous? The revelation of the truth? The mysterious warriors and their selfishness? The build-up to the climax? Audience participation in this kind of high adventure? The background of legends and mythology?
5. The scholar and his memoirs at beginning and end? His participation in the story itself? Observing, caring? His reaction at the end?
6. The presentation of the lord of the castle? The kind host? His villainy? His wife? Their manipulating of their guests, their betrayal of their friends? The ultimate violence and cruelty?
7. The people within the castle - the war leaders, the adventurers, their participation and the adventures? How well delineated their characters ? the reliance on types and general characteristics? The maid?
8. The warlike group and their arrival. their particular skills and the exercise of their skills? The confrontation with the lord of the castle?
9. The parallels with Hollywood films of menace like The Birds? Audience response to the menace of killer animals?
10. The plausibility of these high adventures and legends within the atmosphere of China and its history?
11. The presentation of the warriors - their greed, their clashes, their particular skills? The excitement of these sequences?
12. How interesting an example of the cinema industry in Hong Kong in the seventies?
