Legend of the Sacred Stone: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Taiwan, 2000
Director: Chris Huang
Writer: Chris Huang
Cast: Vincent Huang

Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 31 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo Taiwanese Hokkien
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"a group of warriors of Wulin led by white-maned hero Su Huan-Jen trying to prevent Mo Kuei and his spectral assassins called "The Unkind" from gaining possession of the all-powerful Sacred Stone.  The Unkind in particular are a riot with their screechy Skeksis-like voices and unexpected sense of humor:  “We’re the most handsome men in the world!” one chortles.  Along the way you get treated to martial arts moves like Aeolian Surprise, Thunder Bars, heroes riding a flying sword like the Silver Surfer, living corpses with melting flesh – oh, and if you’ve ever wondered how a puppet bleeds, you’ll see that too." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Legend of the Sacred Stone comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.5 GB

Feature: 28.7 GB

The source looks excellent; colors look correct, and image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Taiwanese Hokkien with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; Diaglue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include original theatrical trailer #1 (1 minute 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Taiwanese Hokkien with non-removable English subtitles), original theatrical trailer #2 (1 minute 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Taiwanese Hokkien with non-removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Deluxe Edition Artwork Creation (44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo with music from the film playing in the background), an interview with director Chris Huang and members of the PILI puppeteering team, moderated by Dennis Bartok (41 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and Taiwanese Hokkien with removable English subtitles), Su Huan-Jen Character Spotlight – a newly-edited compilation for this release showing the evolution of the character of Su Huan-Jen over the course of nearly 40 years of PILI TV (5 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo Taiwanese Hokkien with removable English subtitles), a video essay by film historian Evan Chester titled Puppets, Wuxia, and Spirituality: The Lore and Inspirations Behind Legend of the Sacred Stone (17 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with puppeteer and filmmaker Ben Wolf Page, associate editor of The Puppetry Journal for the Puppeteers of America.

Summary:

Set 400 years in the past, the martial world is threatened by Mo Kuei, and a sage named Su Huan-jen gathers three martial warriors together to defeat him. Central to their quest is the Heavenly Question Stone, which grants those who possess it a wish.

Legend of the Sacred Stone is a Wuxia-themed adventure that employs bùdàixì, a type of gloved puppetry that uses gloved puppets and computer-generated imagery during action sequences. The first question that arises is how they could convincingly create a Wuxia film entirely populated with puppets. When one thinks of a Wuxia film, there are high-flying and fluid action set pieces that often feature intricate acrobatics. And yet, despite all of these things, Legend of the Sacred Stone somehow pulls them off extremely well.

Despite being a spin-off of a long-running Pili television series, Legend of the Sacred Stone is a self-contained film that doesn't necessitate any prior knowledge of the series. The opening setup does an excellent job fleshing out the main characters and setting the stage for what unfolds. While exposition-heavy, the narrative moves rather quickly, and it never has an issue as it builds to its big action set-piece finale.

When it comes to content, Legend of the Sacred Stone is standard fare for a Wuxia film; it hits all the essential elements one expects for the genre. While the premise and story that unfold cover familiar ground, it's never an issue since the main attraction is the puppetry. Ultimately, Legend of the Sacred Stone is a highly entertaining film that exceeds expectations.

Legend of the Sacred Stone gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Legend of the Sacred Stone that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page booklet with an essay written by Fantasia Festival programmer Rupert Bottenberg and an essay written by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central).

Written by Michael Den Boer