Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

chandrabhargava Watching this movie with my family was pure enjoyment. The movie does full justice to van Gulik's masterful creation: fidelity to the original story, good casting, perfect dialog, taut pacing, authentic atmosphere, etc. Lord Sun Ming was particularly interesting: flawless acting and an arrogance to match his reputed past power. Judge Dee has a voice so like David Jason of Inspector Frost fame that at times, I thought I was listening to Jason!It was sheer enjoyment by immersion into another world. Urbane, entertaining, cerebral, and riveting.

James Knoppow Another person here said that, having read all of the Dee mysteries, he thought this was a bad adaptation.I very strongly disagree. I have also read them all, and love them all. The film is different because it is a film. But the warmth, the humor, and the clever detecting is the same. I give the books a 10 and I give this film a 10.This film bears the same resemblance to it's originating books as the Charley Chan film series did to Earl Derr Biggers novels. It's nearly if not actually impossible to get everything into a movie that is in a novel, and when it's a series of novels and short stories, as here, one gets a collective sense of the central characters that no single film can possibly produce. It is true that Judge Dee written doesn't match Judge Dee filmed entirely, but then, neither did Charley Chan. The only thing I ask of a film is that it be well done, and either or both informative or entertaining.I think this film more than satisfies on all counts.

writtenbymac-1 Your reaction to this movie will probably depend on how many Judge Dee novels you've read, and whether you really liked them or not. I've read every single one of them, several times each, and love them. This TV movie does them no justice at all. In the movie, Judge Dee doesn't look or act like Judge Dee. His lieutenant, Tao Gan, doesn't look or act like Tao Gan. The movie is slow and plodding, the acting is mundane, the pace is tedious; the actors speak about one word a minute, maybe to give the illusion of a foreign language. I got none of the flavor of ancient China which is so delightful in the novels. The movie's Judge Dee comes across as a fat, bald, slow-moving, slow-thinking guy -- in the novels he's big, tough, an accomplished boxer, and extremely smart and perceptive. That said, the actual plot of the movie is mostly true to the novel. But it could have been so much better. If you liked this movie even a tiny bit, do yourself a favor and read one of the wonderful Judge Dee novels by Robert van Gulik.

The_Rook This is an excellent movie. I only wish they had done a series of these and that they were available on DVD. If you like murder mysteries, the BBC Mystery Theater, or especially movies like "The Name of the Rose", you will enjoy this movie. This takes place in China and the cast, sets, music, and story are all first rate. A Chinese Judge must solve a murder mystery at a Monastery. Cast includes Khigh Dhiegh and Mako. Don't miss this one!