Admission $4.00

“There is a formal perfection and utter self-assurance about Legend of the Mountain.... This partly stems from the fact that Legend is not geared to a succession of martial arts displays (combat only takes place near the end, as a resolution of the pent-up tension); instead, Hu is free to explore at leisure his underlying interest--the mystical world of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy--through the simple story of a young scholar's attraction to two wandering female spirits, each bent upon gaining redemption by being included in the Tantric sutra he has been commissioned to copy. The script, by Hu's wife Ling Chung, is based on an Eleventh-century Sung dynasty short story and sets the action in a remote no-man's-land on China's western frontier. Hu's opening evocation of locale, as the young scholar (Shih Chün) makes his way through the mist-laden, sylvan landscape to his destination, forms a seductive introduction to the mystical plane on which much of the story functions.... Hu's ability to maintain this hypnotic atmosphere--of time out of joint, of spiritual suspension--bears tribute as much to the experience of his repertory cast as to the expertise of his production team (especially cameraman Ch'en Chün-chieh).” Derek Elley, International Film Guide