| The Happy Ghost (1984) | |
| Mega Star | Deltamac |
| MS/DVD/302/JP | DVD78184 |
SYNOPSIS
A group of schoolgirls (Loletta Lee, Sandy Lamb, and Bonnie Law) go to the beach for fun and relaxation but their idyllic afternoon is soon spoiled by the arrival of a group of boys from a local school. Soon it begins raining and they are forced to take cover in an abandoned temple located nearby.
After the weather clears up, they leave the temple and head back to school. As one of the schoolgirls (Bonnie Law) leaves the temple, she pulls at a tattered rope hanging from the ceiling of the temple and takes it back with her to school. Unbeknownst to her, the rope was used by a scholar from the Ching dynasty to hang himself at the abandoned temple. After bringing the rope back home, it starts behaving strangely and a ghost (Raymond Wong) soon emerges from the rope. Initially, she thinks he is a pervert who has broken into her bedroom but the ghost displays some of his supernatural powers to convince her that he is indeed a ghost.
She soon introduces the ghost to her friends (Sandy Lamb and Loletta Lee). Once again the ghost is forced to display his supernatural powers to convince her friends that he is indeed a ghost. They then take advantage of the ghost's supernatural powers: he helps Bonnie win at a track meet and he helps the girls get back at the strict headmistress of the school (Teresa Carpio).
The school's janitor (Lot Sze) observes some of these otherworldly events and rushes to tell his girlfriend (Brenda Lo) about what he has observed. His girlfriend, however, doesn't believe him and tells him he's crazy.
The school's headmistress begins to suspect that the strange and unexplainable occurrences at the school are due to the presence of a ghost...
REVIEW
The film that started the Happy Girls phenomenon: 6 films (5 Happy Ghost films plus Isle Of Fantasy) and 4 albums (3 Happy Girls albums plus Beyond's Happy Ghost 4 EP).
The Happy Ghost formula was deceptively simple but incredibly infectious: mix lightweight supernatural comedy geared towards teenagers with plenty of Cantonese pop music. The first film added an additional ingredient to the mixture (various social problems affecting teenagers) but Raymond Wong wisely dropped it after the first film. To Raymond's credit, he doesn't get too heavy handed when the social issues come up during the film. Despite dealing with some serious issues in the first film, it (and the films that followed) can be accurately summed up in two words: happy and fun.
The first generation of Happy Girls (Loletta Lee, Sandy Lamb, and Bonnie Law) would be replaced with the second generation of Happy Girls (Fennie Yuen, May Lo, Victoria Suen, and Charine Chan) for the sequel, Happy Ghost 2.
Raymond Wong remade the film in 2002 as Nine Girls And A Ghost starring the Cookies, an uninspired and less talented knockoff of Japan's Morning Musume, and Edison Chan. Lousy acting, lousy script, lousy computer animation, and some of the most overt product placement you will ever see in a film. It's hard to say whose acting is worse in the film: the Cookies or Edison Chan. The only plus about the film is that it is so awful that it reminds the viewer how great the original is.
CAST
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Raymond Wong No introduction needed. In the film he displays some breakdancing moves that would make Donnie Yen jealous. | ||||
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Loletta Lee No introduction needed. | ||||
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Sandy Lamb Singer/actor/DJ. In addition to acting in the film, she sings two of the songs featured in the film. She is the older sister of Jan Lamb and Jerry Lamb. She is often confused with Sandy Lam who was also a singer/actor/DJ in the 80s. They have the same Chinese last name and English first name but they spell their Chinese last name differently (Lam vs Lamb). She is the only member of the first generation of Happy Girls that would not appear again in a Happy Girls film. Her very short statue was almost always made fun of in her comedies and Happy Ghost is no exception. After a long hiatus, she started appearing in films again including Fly Me To Polaris (playing a role she knows very well - a DJ) and My Wife Is 18 (playing a nun who is the headmistress of a school - the type of person she was rebelling against twenty years earlier in Happy Ghost). Links A wet dream for fans of 80s HK entertainment: both Sandys together. The clip is from a 2002 episode of TVB's Jade Solid Gold hosted by Sandy Lamb's younger brother, Jerry Lamb. As one would expect, Sandy Lamb talks about getting mistaken for Sandy Lam due to the similarity of their names. Stay tuned until the end of the clip for a special appearance from a well-known singer/actor. http://app.tvb.com/music/jsg/live/e20020415_4937.htm Direct links for the clip: http://app.tvb.com/music/jsg/live/video/e20020415_video6_4937_n.asx (56k) http://app.tvb.com/music/jsg/live/video/e20020415_video7_4937_b.asx (300k) In the 80s she was also part of a radio team known as the Three Little Angles (along with Lawrence Cheng and Susanne Ho) who had several popular radio shows. Several of those classic radio shows (in Cantonese) can be listened to at RTHK's Classics Channel website (an archive of classic radio shows): http://www.rthk.org.hk/classicschannel/main_radio_varietytalkshows.htm Photos of the Three Little Angles gang (Susanne Ho, Sandy Lamb, Lawrence Cheng): http://www.rthk.org.hk/classicschannel/80s_radio_0033_149.htm Last but not least, discographies for her at the two main Cantonese pop vinyl databases: http://www.vinylparadise.com/4pop_can/1/061LSS0A.htm http://robokon1234567.hp.infoseek.co.jp/5080_SandyLamb.htm | ||||
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Bonnie Law Actor. She would return to the Happy Girls franchise for the film Isle Of Fantasy and would appear with fellow Happy Girl Loletta Lee in the Cinema City comedy/drama For Your Heart Only. Like Sandy Lamb, she stopped making films but she eventually started appearing in films again after a long hiatus. | ||||
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Teresa Carpio Singer/actor. In addition to acting in the film, she sings the Happy Ghost theme song. Teresa gained fame in the mid 70s for her covers of English pop songs. As the Cantonese pop industry was exploding in the early 80s, she and the other singers that sung predominantly in English switched to Cantonese. She would return to the Happy Girls franchise for the film Isle Of Fantasy. Discography (Cantonese Albums) http://robokon1234567.hp.infoseek.co.jp/5080_TeresaCarpio.htm http://www.vinylparadise.com/4pop_can/1/117TLS0A.htm The covers of her English albums from the mid 70s on the EMI label (scroll down to the bottom of the page) http://www.vinylparadise.com/5pop_eng/1/popengfr.htm A nice biography of her: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:tPquWKLRNOwJ:parcca.com/artists/teresacarpio/ | ||||
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Brenda Lo Singer/actor/DJ. During the early-to-mid 80s Cinema City liked using her and she appeared in other Cinema City films including All The Wrong Spies, The Perfect Wife, and Heaven Can Help. She also appeared in non-Cinema City films like Shaw Brothers' Teenage Dreamers and D&B's An Autumn's Tale. Her page at Fairchild Radio: http://www.am1470.com/am1470/djs/dj.php?id=21 Discographies for her at the two main Cantonese pop vinyl databases: http://robokon1234567.hp.infoseek.co.jp/5080_BrendaLo.htm http://www.vinylparadise.com/4pop_can/1/079LYM0A.htm | ||||
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Boy George Popular 80s pop singer. | ||||
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Lot Sze The man, the myth, the legend. He is the only person who can claim to be in almost all of the early-to-mid 80s Cinema City films (excluding the non-comedies). He was even part of the Cinema City all-stars that appear at the end of It Takes Two. In addition to appearing in many of Cinema City's films, he also appeared in numerous films from the likes of Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers, and other smaller production companies. He still occasionally appears films but they are usually very low budget films. He is an avid Bruce Lee fan and has made two Bruce Lee documentaries in recent years (Century Hero and Dragon Since 1973). Visit his profile at RTHK and check out the wallpaper section for pictures of him with some famous friends: http://www.rthk.org.hk/channel/radio5/r5/r5_120_profile.htm | ||||
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Yeung Yau Cheung Another of the top comedic bit players of 80s HK cinema, often playing jerks, perverts, or any other undesirables. Like Lot Sze, he had insane amount of credits. He appeared in numerous Cinema City, Golden Harvest, and Shaw Brothers films. His most high profile appearance would be opposite Leslie Cheung during the opening of A Chinese Ghost Story. Much to my surprise, he turned up in several of the skits on Modern's Best Of Hui Brothers VCD that contained highlights from the Hui Brothers' 70s TVB TV show. | ||||
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| These comedic bit players (Lot Sze and Yeung Yau Cheung) were great and it is no coincidence that they appear in the two greatest Happy Ghost films (Happy Ghost and Happy Ghost 3): | |
| Lot Sze | |
| Happy Ghost (janitor) | Happy Ghost 3 (police officer) |
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| Yeung Yau Cheung | |
| Happy Ghost (waiter) | Happy Ghost 3 (patron of hostess club) |
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MUSIC
What would a Happy Ghost film be without Cantonese pop songs? Not much since it is a vital part of the Happy Ghost formula. Like the other Happy Ghost films, the songs are sung by the cast. In the case of the first film, Teresa Carpio and Sandy Lamb were legitimate singers so the songs are great. The opening song is sung by all three Happy Girls (Sandy Lamb, Loletta Lee, Bonnie Law), the song Preview Of Love is sung by Sandy Lamb (this song is heard when the boy climbs up to Loletta's window), and the great and very memorable Happy Ghost theme song is sung by Teresa Carpio (this song is heard during the school dance and throughout the film).
Unlike Happy Ghost 2-4 and Isle Of Fantasy, no soundtrack album was released. This is probably because Cinema City didn't expect the film to be a great success or because Teresa Carpio and Sandy Lamb were signed to different record labels.
The opening song and Preview Of Love can be found on Sandy's self-titled debut album for Warner Music released in 1984 (vinyl only). It's the third album listed on this page (the one with the close-up of Sandy's face). Warner Music also put both songs on the b-side of the soundtrack for Shanghai Blues (vinyl only).
The Happy Ghost theme song can be found on Teresa's Why Give Up album released in 1985 (vinyl only). It's the fourth album listed on this page (the one with Teresa looking into the mirror). This album is also noteworthy because it has the great songs she sang for the film Mismatched Couples.
The only song you will be able to find on CD is Preview Of Love which is available on two Sandy Lamb compilations:
Sandy Lamb - Soul Kiss (Warner Music) - It's track #2.Both albums also feature Goodbye Puppy Love, her duet with Danny Chan that was used as the theme song for the Shaw Brothers film Puppy Love (starring Sandy and Dicky Cheung).
This is a remastered DSD CD of a mid-80s compilation. DSD CDs will play on regular CD players.
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002871603/aid-433/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1002871603/aid-433/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?...
Best Of The Best: Sandy Lamb/Teresa Carpio (Warner Music) - It's track #6.
1 CD for Sandy Lamb and 1 CD for Teresa Carpio. Although the CD contains Sandy's Preview Of Love song from the film, it doesn't contain Teresa's Happy Ghost theme song because Teresa recorded it for a different record label.
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-2896/aid-433/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-2896/aid-433/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?...
For Cantonese pop fans there is some music related humor in the film. After the Happy Ghost forcibly removes Teresa's character from the school dance, he plays a Teresa album to get the party started.
It's also worth mentioning that the three Happy Girls albums have recently been released on CD for the first time:
Happy Girls - Happy Ghost 2 (Songs from Happy Ghost 2)I wrote a short review of the CDs several months ago:
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003882268/code-c/section-music/
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003882268/code-c/section-music/
http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?...
Happy Girls - Isle Of Fantasy (Songs from Isle Of Fantasy)
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003789582/code-c/section-music/
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003789582/code-c/section-music/
http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?...
Happy Girls - Happy Games (Songs from Happy Ghost 3 + Abracadabra)
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003789544/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003789544/section-music/code-c/version-all/
http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?...
http://p088.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvdsgeneral.showMessage?topicID=7149.topic
DVD
The Mega Star Happy Ghost DVD was originally made for Spike to repackage for the Japanese market. Mega Star would eventually get around to releasing it at a much cheaper price in Hong Kong. After Star TV ended their relationship with Media Asia, the Mega Star DVD went out of print. Deltamac eventually signed a deal with Star TV subsidiary Fortune Star and released a new Happy Ghost DVD.
Running Time
Mega Star: 91.52 mins
Deltamac: 92.07 mins
The running times above don't include anything unrelated to the film (the Media Asia opening logo, Star TV copyright information, etc).
The Deltamac DVD runs 15 seconds longer because Mega Star cut the Cinema City opening logo. If Mega Star didn't cut the Cinema City opening logo, the running times would have been identical.
Transfer
Both are letterboxed around 1.85:1 and not 16x9 enhanced. The difference between the two is marginal (see screenshot comparison below). Not on par with the recent IVL/Fortune Star DVDs but an improvement over previous releases on other video formats (laserdisc and VCD).
Audio
Mega Star - Cantonese (DD 5.1), Mandarin (DD 5.1), English (DD 5.1)
Deltamac - Cantonese (DD 2.0), Mandarin (DD 2.0)
The Deltamac DVD preserves the original mono soundtrack. The Mega Star DVD provides an unnecessary 5.1 remix. The only obvious change in the soundtrack on the Mega Star DVD that I noticed was the sound of thunder and wind is routed to the rear speakers.
The English dub on the Mega Star DVD isn't that great. The jokes involving the misuse of English phrases (Scholar Pik doesn't quite understand the English phrase "making love") don't make sense because everyone is speaking English. The songs are not re-recorded in English and the English dub uses the Mandarin versions of the songs. There was not too much effort put into it and its doubtful that the English dub ever saw the light of day prior to Mega Star's DVD.
Subtitles
Mega Star - The English subtitles are based on the English subtitles on the theatrical print. Mega Star added English subtitles for all of the songs that were not subtitled on the theatrical print.
Deltamac - The English subtitles are based on the English subtitles on the theatrical print. Like the theatrical print, only Teresa Carpio's theme song is subtitled. The other songs are not subtitled.
On the Deltamac DVD, the person doing the subtitles got really lazy during the beginning of the film and translated some dialogue as "***" (asterisks). No, I am not kidding. See for yourself...
For those that require English subtitles, the inclusion of English subtitles for all of the songs on the Mega Star DVD make it the obvious choice. The songs are a big part of this film (and the other Happy Girls films) so it is essential that all the songs be subtitled. The lack of subtitles for the opening song on the Deltamac DVD hurts the film because the song is used to establish the mood of the film.
Menus
Mega Star - Since the DVD was originally created for the Japanese market, Mega Star put two different menus on the DVD. When the DVD is initially loaded, the viewer chooses either the Chinese/English menu or the Japanese menu.
Deltamac - Chinese/English menu.
Extras
Mega Star - Synopsis, credits, Loletta Lee biography/filmography, and the original theatrical trailers for Happy Ghost, Happy Ghost 2, and Happy Ghost 3.
Deltamac - The original theatrical trailer for Happy Ghost. The background song for the menu is Teresa Carpio's theme song.
Cuts
As was Media Asia's usual practice, the Cinema City opening logo is cut from the beginning of the film (and the trailer) on the Mega Star DVD. It is intact, as it should be, on the Fortune Star DVD.
The only other difference is during the end credits. On both DVDs, the end credits are almost entirely textless. On the original theatrical print, there were Chinese credits for the cast/crew, songs, etc, during the end credits. This is missing from both DVDs. Deltamac's VCD probably has the original end credits.
Beginning with Happy Ghost 2, Cinema City included outtakes during the end credits. It's too bad they didn't start this practice with the first film.
CONCLUSION
In deciding which Happy Ghost DVD to get, you need to decide what is most important. Do you want decent subtitles (i.e. all of the songs subtitled)? Do you want the original mono soundtrack? Do you want the Cinema City opening logo? Do you want an English dub track?
If you are looking to buy the Mega Star DVD, it would be a good idea to confirm with the seller that they are actually selling the Mega Star DVD because it has been out of print for a while.
muldoon
