The Legend of the Condor Heroes () is a 2008 Chinese wuxia television series adapted from the novel of the same title by Jin Yong. Produced by Chinese Entertainment Shanghai, the series starred Hu Ge, Ariel Lin, Justin Yuan and Cecilia Liu in the lead roles. The series was first broadcast on KMTV-1 in China in July 2008.

Cast

Soundtrack "Lonesome Heroes" () by Ronald Cheng "Dark Clouds" () by Hu Ge "Hero's Path" () by William So "I Can Only Love You" () by Peng Qing

Production Hu Ge was involved in a car accident on 29 August 2006 while travelling from Hengdian to Shanghai on the highway, resulting in the shooting of the series being delayed due to recovery from his injuries.

During the shooting delay due to Hu Ge's recovery from the accident, the filmmakers started a new project The Fairies of Liaozhai (2007) to keep the crew members occupied while waiting to resume work on The Legend of the Condor Heroes. “奇女子”再续《聊斋》 将侧重讲述人鬼感情

Sun Xing was originally cast as Hong Qigong but was later replaced by Bryan Leung due to the delay resulting from Hu Ge's recovery, which made Sun decide to move on, causing legal conflict. Sun filmed some scenes prior to his replacement, and those scenes were reshot again later with Leung taking over Sun's role. 新《射雕英雄傳》最新片花曝光 新《射雕》剧照搜狐独家曝光：孙兴饰洪七公 孙兴放《射雕英雄传》鸽子 剧组急召梁家仁救火

Segments from The Young Warriors (2006) were reused for the flashback scene depicting Yang Zaixing's death.

The Song military costumes were originally made for The Young Warriors (2006). The Mongol military costumes were later reused in A Weaver on the Horizon (2010).

Reception The series was generally well received in China, despite courting some controversy by changing certain portions of the novel for aesthetic purposes to reach modern audiences. 新版《射雕》福建获三项大奖 成年度最有人气作品

Some antagonists, such as Yang Kang and Wanyan Honglie, also deviate from their counterparts in the novel, to the point that they are portrayed in a more positive light. Other significant deviations from the original story include: greater drama in the rivalry between Guo Jing and Yang Kang; the Yangs' troubled relationship with each other before they acknowledge themselves as family and Yang Kang's desire for vengeance after his parents' deaths; Yang Kang meeting his newborn son and raising the child with Mu Nianci months before his death; Yang Kang's final repentance before letting Ouyang Feng kill him. This resulted in criticism from the audience, who said that the series resembled a Chiung Yao drama where there are often unnecessary and exaggerated conflicts inserted into the storyline.

References

External links The Legend of the Condor Heroes on Sina.com The Legend of the Condor Heroes on Sohu The Legend of the Condor Heroes official page on Chinese Entertainment Shanghai's website The Legend of the Condor Heroes on TTV's website