Hi all, I've been meaning to share this with the board, and was reminded today by an article I read.one of the styles of puppetry I am very intrigued by is Taiwanese glove puppetry and one of the puppeteers/filmmakers I really admire - who is also virtually unknown here in North America - is Chris Huang, a member of Taiwan's Huang family puppet dynasty. He runs Pili Puppet Theatre in Taiwan, which produces incredibly popular TV shows using traditional Chinese glove puppetry. It's really pretty remarkable stuff Chris and his team have been doing for the past decade. They have even produced a feature length film using glove puppets and some pretty good CGI called 'Legend of the Sacred Stone' which is a very cool fusion of the martial arts genre with puppetry. It's hard to find this on video & DVD, but copies are out there - usually in Chinese language video shops or stores that specialize in genre or cult movies. If you like martial arts and puppets, you'll love this.

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Here's some links for those who want more info: Pili Puppet Theatre - Homepage for Chris Huang's company (english) Pili Puppet Theatre - Chinese site, but more up-to-date I believe Legend of the Sacred Stone - the official movie site (english) 'Spreading the word about puppets' - article from today's Taipei Times that discusses the appeal of Chinese glove puppets in Taiwan & abroad 'Hollywood Heroes?' - Another Taipei Times article, this from 2000 and about 'Legend of the Sacred Stone's' box-office. Geek Drives 1100 Miles to see LEGEND OF THE SACRED STONE!! - As the title might suggest, this is a review from Ain't It Cool News a few years ago. I think it was only screened at a few festivals in the U.S. The film is a couple of years old now.

It is available in North America as an import, but you won't find it at a place like Blockbuster. I'd suggest trying any Chinese or Asian video stores in your area or a place that specializes in cult/genre films. There are two versions apparently on DVD - one is Chinese and the other is dubbed or subtitled (I can't remember which). The Chinese language version is the only one that has the actual theatrical cut of the movie apparently.

More Legend Sacred Stone images. Find Legend of the Sacred Stone at Amazon.com Movies & TV, home of thousands of titles on DVD and Blu-ray. Directed by Chris Huang. With Vincent Huang. Puppet martial arts masters fight to prevent demons from controlling the sacred stone.

I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find it online. I've seen at least one copy on ebay.

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Portion of a tablet featuring a Dragon and the five Sacred Stones from the game intro. World Location(s). The entirety of. Final battle took place at Date(s) year 0. Combatants The and his army Commanders 3 other unnamed legendary heroes Outcome. victory.

Fomortiis sealed in the of Grado. Darkling Woods corrupted by Fomortiis' corpse. Contemporary events. Appearance(s). “ In an age long past. Evil flooded over the land.

Creatures awash in the dark tide ran wild, pushing mankind to the brink of annihilation. In its despair, mankind appealed to the heavens, and from a blinding light came hope.

” — The Sacred Stones prologue narration The Legend of the Sacred Stones (Japanese: 聖石の伝説, Legend of the Sacred Stones) is a legend from that recounts and summarizes the first war against the,. A carving depicting the Legend of the Sacred Stones.

Modern retellings Modern retellings of the story feature humanity crying out to the divine for the power to banish the hordes. From the heavens descended the five Sacred Stones. With the Sacred Stones the heroes, and three others whose names are not specified, drove back the monsters and Fomortiis to, in Darkling Woods, after a battle that resulted in a 'mountain of corpses' the Demon King is killed and his body is interred in the Black Temple within Darkling Woods. Fomortiis' spirit is also sealed within Grado's Sacred Stone. The Dragonkin's involvement What is left out in the modern retellings is the involvement of the tribe and its leader.

Morva fought alongside the hero Grado to drive back the monsters. According to some, humanity's victory would have been impossible without the involvement of the dragonkin. The title 'Great Dragon' is given to both Morva and Myrrh, while Myrrh is called the Great Dragon, it seems this title is somewhat erronious, as Myrrh claims to have not done anything, unlike her father, she was also likley too young to have fought in the first war with the Demon King. Aftermath After the defeat of the Demon King, the heroes of the Sacred Stones passed their artifacts through generations. The countries, and were founded around the possessors of their respective stones.

In particular, Grado was named after its original Sacred Stone wielder. The village of, perhaps due to its close proximity to and its guardians and, is the only modern settlement to know the entire legend. ' According to legend. The original possessors of the Sacred Stones defeated the Demon King in Darkling Woods.' - Chapter Narration from,. ' Our ancestors paid dearly for their victory. A mountain of corpsesIt’s written the Demon King was surrounded by the dead before he finally fell.'

- telling of the final fight with Fomortiis,. ' Uh-huh I get to see Father again. I'm so happy.

My foster father leads the dragon tribe. In the last great war. Both of my true parents were killed.'

-,. ' No, no, that's not right at all. Ah, how quickly did mankind forget its debt to the Great Dragon. To hear the story now, one would think humans alone brought about victory.

That is a gross mistelling of the tale. Only through the Great Dragon’s strength could the Demon King be sealed away!' -,. ' But if you’ve seen the noble Myrrh, perhaps I can proceed more quickly.

You see, our Great Dragon took the form of Mistress Myrrh in her travels. And you tell me that you have seen the Great Dragon yourself, lass?' -,. ' Great Dragon? Please, there's no need to call me that. My is the great one. I’ve done nothing.'

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- to,. ' And I am 1,200 years old. to, this would make her age during the first war with the Demon King approximately 400,. ' The Sacred Stones have been passed from generation to generation. Nations have been built around their power and their legacy.'