The Magic Crane - Romance Is In The Air

The Magic Crane  is a pretty wonderful 1994 wuxia film produced by Tsui Hark and directed by Benny Chan.  I'm sure most of you have seen it.  If not, it might still be on this Youtube link by the time you read this.

You can read a real review by Kozo at LoveHKFilm.com.  Good stuff except for insulting the physical beauty of Mr. Crane, who is my secret magical cloud-soaring friend. Fuck you Kozo, and thanks for all your wonderful reviews over the years.

Anyway, I love this movie with its lovely crane and women, and I thank Glenn at A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed for selling his movie collection before he moved to Hong Kong.  I got a bunch of great movies for cheap and the Thundermedia dvd of The Magic Crane is one of them.  This version has burned-in subtitles, and it is this that is the disaster I need to share with you.  

The final battle is as epic and magical as it should be. Weirdo Zhang Tie Lin has eaten the "scared text" so he's now a turbo powered evil genius.

Weakened heroes Norman Tsui Siu Keung, Anita Mui, Rosamund Kwan, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Damian Lau Chung Yan must band together to kill him.

A huge bell, musical instruments that emit lethal sound waves, people flying, blah blah, you know how it goes.

But suddenly during this epic final battle, a sappy Anita Mui song starts playing.  A celebrity song was (and might still be) pretty standard for Hong Kong films but for fuck's sake, it's a dreamy love song and the burned-in subtitles of the lyrics will not go away.

Please play this song while looking at the pictures.  
Skip past the first minute of the song to fully enjoy the romance. 

So here are some highlights of the final epic showdown, with lyrics.  

Gosh.  Love is really special.

Awww.  That's sweet!

This is my fucking favorite.  

Your smile lights up the sky like
a hideous monster being blown to smithereens.

I love you too, Anita.
Don't let chunks of bloody monster get in the way of true love.

Romance is in the air.