Chris Huang & Legend of the Sacred Stone

[Buck-Beaver]

Hi all,

I've been meaning to share this with the board, and was reminded today by an article I read....one of the styles of puppetry I am very intrigued by is Taiwanese glove puppetry and one of the puppeteers/filmmakers I really admire - who is also virtually unknown here in North America - is Chris Huang, a member of Taiwan's Huang family puppet dynasty. He runs Pili Puppet Theatre in Taiwan, which produces incredibly popular TV shows using traditional Chinese glove puppetry. It's really pretty remarkable stuff Chris and his team have been doing for the past decade.

They have even produced a feature length film using glove puppets and some pretty good CGI called "Legend of the Sacred Stone" which is a very cool fusion of the martial arts genre with puppetry. It's hard to find this on video & DVD, but copies are out there - usually in Chinese language video shops or stores that specialize in genre or cult movies. If you like martial arts and puppets, you'll love this.

Here's some links for those who want more info:

Pili Puppet Theatre - Homepage for Chris Huang's company (english)
http://www.pili.com.tw/en/?PHPSESSID=7ee67181bae59ce7abe6cafcd573407c

Pili Puppet Theatre - Chinese site, but more up-to-date I believe
http://www.pili.com.tw

Legend of the Sacred Stone - the official movie site (english)
http://www.pilimovie.com.tw/en/index.htm

"Spreading the word about puppets" - article from today's Taipei Times that discusses the appeal of Chinese glove puppets in Taiwan & abroad
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/01/10/2003087109

"Hollywood Heroes?" - Another Taipei Times article, this from 2000 and about "Legend of the Sacred Stone's" box-office.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2000/03/12/0000027607

Geek Drives 1100 Miles to see LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE!! - As the title might suggest, this is a review from Ain't It Cool News a few years ago...
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=6565

 

[Dagger Claws]

I stumbled upon website for The Sacred Stone months ago and was blown away by the puppets. Just the LOOK of them was awesome and I'd love to see them move and the movie itself. Buck, do you know if The Sacred Stone is out on DVD in America, or out in theatres in the states?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I think it was only screened at a few festivals in the U.S. The film is a couple of years old now. It is available in North America as an import, but you won't find it at a place like Blockbuster. I'd suggest trying any Chinese or Asian video stores in your area or a place that specializes in cult/genre films. There are two versions apparently on DVD - one is Chinese and the other is dubbed or subtitled (I can't remember which). The Chinese language version is the only one that has the actual theatrical cut of the movie apparently.

I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find it online. I've seen at least one copy on ebay.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I stumbled upon website for The Sacred Stone months ago and was blown away by the puppets. Just the LOOK of them was awesome and I'd love to see them move and the movie itself. Buck, do you know if The Sacred Stone is out on DVD in America, or out in theatres in the states?

Found out the film is available online from HKflix.com - but the supply is limited. Check it out at http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.527381/vcd./qx/details.htm

There are also a few screenshots from the DVD available here.