Well Go U.S.A.'s The Great Magician Arrives On Mar. 19

The mysteries and intricacies of a Chinese puzzle box are woven into the fabric of director Derek Yee’s (aka: Tung-Shing Yee) film adaptation of the Zhang Haifan novel, The Great Magician.

Well Go U.S.A. has tabbed Mar. 19 as the street day for Blu-ray and DVD editions of this beautiful-mounted film production that is part mystery and part thriller … blended together nicely with a deft touch of both comedy and romance.

The streets of Peking (Beijing) are filled with intrigue as the remnants of the 300-year old Qing Dynasty are replaced by the “concept” of the Republic of China, which has become nothing more than competing warlords trying to fill the vacuum of power.   Throw in contentious foreign interests (especially the emerging imperial power of Japan) and you end up with some truly dangerous times.

It is against this backdrop that Yee’s film is set.  The center of the power in Peking is the local warlord Bully Lei (Lau Ching Wan — The Victim, Life Without Principle, My Name is Fame, etc.), a master manipulator with a zealous interest in magic and an equally keen eye towards making Liu Yin (Zhou Xun — The Equation of Love and Death, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, etc.) his symbolic “seventh bride.”  Power and the illusion of power go hand in hand.

Returning to this quagmire of double-dealers from his European schooling is Zhang Xian (Tony Leung — Red Cliff, Infernal Affairs, In the Mood for Love, Happy Together, etc.), who has become quite the magician — which is the first tipoff that things are going to get very complicated when a “local boy” returns with a gift for the one thing that is at the center of Bully Lei’s interests.   A fortuitous happenstance? 

Tony Leung and Zhou Xun star in The Great Magician

The expression, “more than meets the eye,” would be an understatement.   Liu Yin, is no wallflower in this mix … she has a history with Xian that seems to suggest one thing, but she too could be adept at the powers of illusion and manipulation to serve her own ends!  The Great Magician is truly a Chinese puzzle box, where nothing is really as it seems.

As to bonus goodies, Well Go U.S.A. will be providing two viewing options — one with the original Mandarin language track, complete with English subtitles, and a separate English-dubbed audio track for those so inclined.   There is also a 40-minute featurette titled “Making the Magic.” 

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report