The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣) is a 2006 Chinese wuxia television series adapted from the novel of the same title by Jin Yong. It is the second instalment of a trilogy produced by Zhang Jizhong, preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003), and followed by The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (2009). It was first broadcast on 17 March 2006 in mainland China and subsequently broadcast in other regions such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore.
Contents
Synopsis
The story follows the adventures of Yang Guo, an orphaned boy. From his humble beginnings, the streetwise Yang Guo gets passed around from one prestigious master to another but none of them will teach him any martial arts. While escaping from the Quanzhen School's Zhao Zhijing, he meets Xiaolongnü, the woman who will become his martial arts master and eventually the love of his life.
Production
Shooting began in October 2004 and ended in May 2005. Locations included Zhejiang, Chongqing, Shandong, Guangdong, Liaoning, Beijing and Sichuan's Jiuzhaigou Valley.
Scenes from The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003) were featured as flashbacks including the scene depicting Yang Kang's death. Zhou Jie makes a cameo appearance as Yang Kang.
Soundtrack
The music for the series was taken from motion picture scores of films such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Van Helsing, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Harry Potter and Batman Begins.
The chorus from Iwasaki Taku's "Shades of Revolution", a Rurouni Kenshin OVA musical score, was used in a minor fight scene between Yang Guo and Li Mochou in episode 30.
The melody of the song "Dearest" by Ayumi Hamasaki, famous for being in InuYasha, can be heard in the background in episode 15 during the scene where Gongsun Zhi is talking to Xiaolongnü at the Passionless Valley.
The melody used for condor appearances was taken from Hans Zimmer's "All of Them", notable for being part of the OST of the 2004 film King Arthur.
Track listing
The original soundtrack was released on 13 May 2006 from Rock Records (滚石国际音乐股份有限公司). There are two versions of the soundtrack. The mainland Chinese release contains a total of 15 tracks while the Taiwanese release includes two bonus tracks. The original score was composed by Johnny Chen.