Tai Pan Reviews

• Hong Kong early 1800's

  
  By A1TMAVN4CEM8U8 on 2008-02-09
  Tai-Pan DVD
  
  
  Tai-Pan is based on James Clavell's novel. It is a saga of 19th century Hong Kong and a noble hero (Bryan Brown), a dastardly villain (John Stanton) and a woman, of course
  
  Recommended for James Cavell's fans (but the book TaiPan is better IMHO) and fans of early Hong Kong.
  
  Gunner February, 2008
  
  
  

• Short Changed

  
  By A2AAHVC9E2Y7JL on 2007-10-06
  I just saw the movie for the first time from HBO. I figured this had to be like the cut down version they sold of Shogun for a while. But what I'm reading here it apparently isn't. I agree completely that they really short changed this movie by cutting it up like this. You can tell there had to be more because the movie jumped from place to place without much flow. I would really like to see a version that I believe was originally a mini series. I'm pretty sure I give it a 5 star rating then. It had so much going for it much like Shogun. I hope someone decides to restore the original as part of a set from Shogun to King Rat.
  
  I'm amazed that Joan Chen didn't make it bigger. She's really damn good, and very pretty to boot...
  
  

• "CLAVELL'S SHREDDED TAPESTRY"

  
  By A1ORZ2ZH5MIZCG on 2007-08-29
  
  ***** stars for Clavell's novel, but only * star for the abridged movie version.
  
  
  As NEWSWEEK stated in its movie section, November 17, 1986, as this film had previously released on October 3rd, 1986, "Clavell's shredded tapestry". Why would anyone want to reduce this film down to only two hours??? Well, easy to figure, it was released to the general public in movie theatres by the De Laurentis Entertainment Group who no doubt was interested in profit only. No sense whatever of historical time or value, just bottom line.
  
  Fortunately, both SHOGUN and NOBLE HOUSE were directed to TV mini series with a several night's viewing in mind. I have SHOGUN both in book and DVD and though I have all Clavell's works in book form, yet await NOBLE HOUSE in DVD release. What on earth is holding up the DVD release??????
  
  This magnificent epic novel of Hong Kong was only equaled or bettered by NOBLE HOUSE which carried the TAI-PAN story forward to a contemporary ending. With the action taking place on both land and sea, TAI-PAN is a dazzling read as well as breathtaking motion picture. Only problem: it is too short and doesn't offer the entire story as Clavell told it.
  
  So it's a bit of good and bad. Good that is available, but bad because of its brevity.
  
  Semper Fi.
  
  

• The birth of Hong Kong

  
  By A2XRMQA6PJ5ZJ8 on 2008-03-21
  This film is a greatly condensed telling of Clavell's novel Tai Pan. As such, it necessarily leaves out a great deal of the detail and many of the sub-plots contained in the excellent novel. This was unavoidable because the novel is intricate and complex. I am not sure that even a mini-series would have successfully encompassed the scope of the novel.
  
  With that caveat, I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. The acting is generally quite good, and the story, while truncated, is coherent and interesting. This is the story of the birth of Hong Kong as an improbable British colony and outpost on Chinese soil. It is further the story of the rivalry between two great British trading houses: Noble House, and Brock & Sons. The latter conflict, which is more or less a bitter clan feud between two Scottish families, is well-told and interesting, and not too far off-track from the story told in the novel.
  
  Within its necessary limitations, I thought that this was a pretty good film, well worth watching.
  
  

• Better Second Time Around. Keep Trying...

  
  By A3JFYR9XFQQPTQ on 2007-08-15
  Okay, so I'm a James Clavell fan and a fan of Bryan Brown since his "Alice Springs" days, and granted this remake is far better a screen adaption than the typhoon with Patrick McGoohan of some years back. Production quality and finer drawn characters of Struan, and his "Supreme Lady," MaiMai, and Brock do flesh out the film on the origins of Hong Kong, yet it still lacks the complexity that even the most minor characters, the intrique and convoluted plot of perhaps Clavell's best novel, the first in his series of Noble House. Try again, folks. This novel deserves the full treatment of "Shogun" and "King Rat". (Nice to see Kyra Sedgwick, even if she has too few lines.)
  
  
• Disappointed
  By A2ZHG97UGXXXYC on 2007-10-17
  After reading the book, and viewing the other movies created from James Clavell's asain series (Shogun, King Rat), I was disappointed with the quality of this movie. Many key events were skimmed over or totally left out.
  
  
• What Might Have Been
  By A3GD9BKIUT3I89 on 2008-02-20
  When this project was originally conceived in the late 1970's it would have starred Steve McQueen and Sean Connery and would have been two films long. McQueen's death put an end to all that. This is what they got instead. Unless you must have everything James Clavell is connected with, pass.
  
  
• A great sequel to Shogun
  By A3OCK7UEMUXFWM on 2007-07-12
  This was a great sequel to the original Shogun. A must have for real movie lovers.
  
  
• Tai Pan
  By AHRJH5FUWV7PR on 2008-03-29
  The quality fo the DVD is excellant and it is all that I had expected it to be.
  
  
  
• A Bit Confusing
  By A3EPO72CSDFRWS on 2008-04-16
  Much is missing from Clavel's novel which make "Tai Pan" the movie a bit confusing unless you have read the novel. The movie has many characters that are difficult to sort out and determine where they fit. Parts of the movie are slow and ponderous.
  
  

• James Clavell's Noble House
• James Clavell's Shogun
• King Rat
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