MovieChat Forums > Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) Discussion > quick question on the book and similar f...

quick question on the book and similar films to this?

posted 12 years ago by midi_1234
16 replies | jump to latest

Hi folks, I just got round to watching this film recently! I'm tempted to read the book now..

Anyway i was just wondering if in the book Sayuri/ Chiyo also has blue eyes like in the film? Just a random question I had in my mind. I'm guessing she does as it is quite a unique aspect of hers.

Also any other recommendations like this film/Hero/Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon/ House of Flying Daggers/ Flowers of War (i.e. in the romantic tragedy/ martial arts genre set in China/ Japan/ the Orient in general, preferably set in the past?).

Many thanks!

[–] yblehsspot 12 years ago

Yes, Chiyo has blue eyes in the book. It's part of what adds to her beauty and attracts people to her. I can't help with the other part of your question though.

[–] midi_1234 12 years ago

thanks for your reply and for confirming my suspicions!

[–] unknown_soul278 11 years ago

Is there more than one version of the book? Mine describes her eyes as a light silvery gray, not blue. One person compared them to the color of a mirror.

[–] RedQueen21 12 years ago

Do read the book! It's a great, quick read.

As for other movies, there's Curse of the Golden Flower, which also stars Li Gong.

[–] midi_1234 12 years ago

excellent! thanks for the recommendations!

[–] littlekaren 12 years ago

Unless my memory is incorrect, not a quick read. That book was close to 1,000 pages. Never wanted it to end.

[–] LoveKeena23 12 years ago

I got got the hard back large print and I agree the book just kept on and on.

To the OP...read it now! Once you've read it the movie will never be the same. I enjoyed it. It was a different unique kinda love story. I loved it.

[–] hodie 12 years ago

I agree with okay43 that it was a long book, but the prose was such a pleasure to read that I read it slowly and luxuriously. I loved it and also didn't want it to end. A true reading pleasure.

Get me a bromide! And put some gin in it!

[–] persnip 11 years ago

The books is half that at 450 pages. I agree though, I didn't want it to end.

[–] Maurene 12 years ago

For other movie recommendations (China, histsorical -- but not martial arts), I really like The Last Emperor. Like Memoirs of a Geisha - it deals with old customs but a changing world. I also like the Joy Luck Club. Although a lot of it takes place in modern America, we flashback (long sequences) to several of the women's lives in China -and those are my favorite parts.

Oh...and how can I forget "Raise the Red Lantern" with Gong Li. It is very good.

[–] angelosdaughter 12 years ago

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" based on the book by Lisa See (worth a read and even better than the movie) about the changing lives and fortunes of two Chinese girls, matched in childhood by contract as 'old sames' (lifelong friends/sisters) is a really good story. Although separated by social status and distance, they communicate by means of a fan exchanged back and forth on which they communicate their life events written in a language understood only by women.
"Shogun", based on the book by James Clavell, originally broadcast as a TV series. It is an epic story of an English ship pilot who is captured and immersed in the Samurai culture of 17th Century Japan. The story of Japanese culture caught between its ancient traditions and the new world represented by John Blackthorne, the pilot, and the alliance between the Christian religion and commerce represented by the Jesuits and their allies, the Portuguese.

"..sure you won't change your mind? Why, is there something wrong with the one I have?"

[–] astromuse24 11 years ago

not set far in the past (1970s), and no martial arts, but definitely worth seeing is Xiu-Xiu the Sent-Down Girl. don't know if you don't mind sad movies, but this one is a major weeper.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] japanesesoul081291 11 years ago

READ THE BOOK! Haha I read the book when I was about 13 and it has stuck with me ever since (I've re-read it a few times since then). What a unique experience; the story/characters/author/lessons.

This is another instance where the book is so much better.

[–] PlummyJo 11 years ago

Someone above suggested Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and I second the suggestion - along with Lisa See 's other books, like Peony in Love - which is a stupid title for an amazing book. I didn't like Shanghai Girls as much as the others, though.

.... And they're set in China, not Japan, but are still good reads.

Speaking of, check out goodreads.com - they're great for suggestions on any topic.