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Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't Believe the Hype

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.

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.

Not only have I read all 16 of van Gulik's Judge Dee books, but also his translation of "Dee Goong An", which was the Chinese literary source for the Judge, and also a number of van Gulik's other works and source materials (including a very tedious novel in a contemporary setting). Khigh Dhiegh made an acceptable Judge, but I felt that Mako as Tao Gan was a bad piece of casting - he played the character as too fawning and not quite clever enough. Motai (Mo Mo-te in the book) was a bit overplayed. Probably the best bit of casting was Keye Luke as the arrogant Sun Ming.On the other hand, it was refreshing to see and not a complete disappointment. I have a fairly decent tape I made from a rebroadcast of the movie in the mid-'80s with fairly good picture and sound quality.The A&E Nero Wolfe series set a gold standard for faithfulness to sources that the '70s just weren't up to. I can only hope that someone will turn up to be for Robert H. van Gulik what Timothy Hutton was to Rex Stout.

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.

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!