Mr. Vampire IV, also known as Mr. Vampire Saga Four (Chinese: 殭屍叔叔) is a 1988 Hong Kong comedy horror film directed by Ricky Lau and produced by Sammo Hung and Jessica Chan. The film is the fourth of a series of five films directed by Ricky Lau in the Mr. Vampire franchise. Mr. Vampire and its sequels were released as part of the jiangshi cinematic boom in Hong Kong during the 1980s.[1] The Chinese title of the film literally translates to Uncle Vampire.
| Mr. Vampire IV | |||||||||||
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 Original Hong Kong film poster | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 殭屍叔叔 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 僵尸叔叔 | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | Ricky Lau | ||||||||||
| Screenplay by | Lo Wing-keung | ||||||||||
| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |||||||||||
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | Stephen Shing | ||||||||||
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Golden Harvest | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes | ||||||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Language | Cantonese | ||||||||||
| Box office | HK$14,038,901 | ||||||||||
Plot
editIn the rural countryside, a bespectacled Taoist priest (called Four-eyed Taoist) is always at odds with his neighbour, a Buddhist monk called Master Yat-yau. Their respective students, Kar-lok and Ching-ching, are friendly towards each other. The Taoist and Buddhist play pranks on each other.
One day, a convoy of soldiers escorting a coffin passes by their houses. Inside the convoy is Four-eyed's junior, Taoist Crane, and Crane's four disciples, as well as a young prince and his bodyguards. Four-eyed and Yat-yau learn from Crane that there is a jiangshi (Chinese "hopping" vampire) in the coffin, and the convoy is on its way to the capital to let the emperor inspect the jiangshi.
During a thunderstorm that night, rainwater washes away the magical charms on the coffin and the vampire breaks out, becoming more powerful after being struck by a bolt of lightning. The vampire starts attacking everyone in the convoy and infecting them with the "vampire virus", causing them to transform into vampires as well after a short time. Taoist Crane remains behind to hold off the vampire while the prince and his attendant flee towards the houses.
At this critical moment, Four-eyed and Yat-yau both decide to put aside their differences and focus on destroying the vampires.
Cast
edit- Anthony Chan as Four-eyed Taoist (四目道長), a Taoist priest
- Wu Ma as Master Yat-yau (一休大師), a Buddhist monk
- Chin Kar-lok as Kar-lok (家樂), Four-eyed's student
- Loletta Lee as JīngJīng (菁菁), Yat-yau's student
- Yuen Wah as Attendant Wu (烏侍長), the prince's feminine personal attendant
- Pauline Wong as the Vixen Spirit, a demoness who tries to seduce Four-eyed
- Chung Fat as Taoist Crane (千鶴道長), Four-eyed's junior
- Hoh Kin-wai as the 71st Prince
- Cheung Wing-cheung as the Vampire
- Chun Kwai-bo as one of the prince's guards
- Chu Tau as one of the prince's guards
- Pang Yun-cheung as one of the prince's guards
- Ka Lee as one of Taoist Crane's students
- Chow Gam-kong as one of Taoist Crane's students
- Kwan Yung as one of Taoist Crane's students
- Lung Ying as a soldier
Home media
editVHS
edit| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | United States | Unknown | Rainbow Audio and Video Incorporation | NTSC | Cantonese | English | [2] |
Laserdisc
edit| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Catalog No | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Japan | N/A | Pioneer LDC | CLV / NTSC | Cantonese | Japanese | Audio Mono | [3] | |
| 1989 | Hong Kong | N/A | Unknown | SEL0133H89 | CLV / NTSC | Cantonese | None | Audio: Stereo, 2 Sides | [4] |
VCD
edit| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Hong Kong | N/A | Deltamac (HK) | NTSC | Cantonese, Mandarin | English, Chinese | 2 VCDs | [5] |
| 1 April 2000 | Hong Kong | N/A | Joy Sales (HK) | NTSC | Cantonese, Mandarin | English, Traditional Chinese | 2 VCDs | [6] |
DVD
edit| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Region | Language | Sound | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Japan | N/A | Universal Pictures Japan | NTSC | 2 | Cantonese, Japanese | Dolby Digital Mono | Japanese | Digitally Re-mastered Box-set | [7] |
| 19 December 2002 | Hong Kong | N/A | Deltamac (HK) | NTSC | ALL | Cantonese, Mandarin | Dolby Digital | English, Chinese | [8] | |
| 19 February 2004 | France | N/A | HK Video | PAL | 2 | Cantonese | Dolby Digital | French | Box-set | [9] |
| 15 March 2008 | Hong Kong | N/A | Joy Sales (HK) | NTSC | ALL | Cantonese, Mandarin | Dolby Digital 2.0 | English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese | [10] |
Blu Ray
edit| Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd May 2023 | United Kingdom | 18 | Eureka Entertainment | N/A | Cantonese | English | Part of the Hopping Mad box set | [11] |
References
edit- ^ Lam, Stephanie (2009). "Hop on Pop: Jiangshi Films in a Transnational Context". CineAction (78): 46–51.
- ^ "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (Jiang shi shu shu) (1988) - 1988 Golden Harvest Ltd./Rainbow Audio VHS". ghoulbasement.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Mr. Vampire [IT94]". urabanchou.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "Mr. Vampire Saga: vol.4 Rare LaserDisc". dadons-laserdiscs.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- ^ "VCD Mr Vampire 4 Deltamac". cinemasie.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (VCD) (Hong Kong Version) VCD". yesasia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Mr.Vampire DVD Box [Limited Release]". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Mr Vampire Saga 4 Deltamac CO. LTD". play-asia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Mister Vampire : L'intégrale - Coffret 4 DVD". amazon.fr. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Mr. Vampire Saga 4 (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All". yesasia.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Hopping Mad: The Mr Vampire Sequels (Blu-ray)".