Hero

That woman is truely fake!
The director just wanted to make the story more fascinating and enrich the characteristics of Ying Zheng.

And i didn't mean it presented a 100% realistic Qin Emperor. What i truely meant was the movie had grabbed the realistic emperor's (He is a highly controversial man in history) personality---ambitious, hysterical, a bit insane, barbaric and for some points, great.

JB

Do you know other Chinese movies about the Qin emperor?

Zhou Xiaowen's "The Emperor's Shadow"

THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW LINK

(Ooops, sorry, I see that was addressed to JB)

Lightwizard,

What an awesome link. Thanks! I am going to try to find the movie.

I like Chinese historical movies. I like martial arts movies too, but only those with meaning, like Bruce Lee's.

NetFlix has the movie in their inventory for rental --not sure if they are servicing Canada or if you have an online rental. I would believe Blockbuster online rental would also have the movie. It's actually a love story with the backdrop of that time in history.

Great to know that you are interested in one of the most controversial historical figures i have known so far.
But sorry i am afraid i am can do little to help you

Thanks Lightwizard. I checked at Rogers Video and they don't have it. Will check with Blockbuster stores.

Yeah JB, I am much interested in him, well, I guess, because he is the only Chinese emperor I know about. Besides, the Great Wall really impresses me. Saw it during the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympics 2004, it looks great!

You genius. You know in my opnion he is only emperor that counts.

I haven't watched the closing ceremony but i am sure you will see it again 4 (more exactly 3 and a half) years later in the beginning ceremony :wink:

J.B., I'm wondering if they ever made a trilogy on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms since it's such a popular classical novel in the East, but I guess there are too many things going on in that novel and too many characters for it to be made into a set of films?

JB

I am really looking forward to Beijing 2008.

romance of three kingdoms
How do they translate?!
Haha it is too complicated.

We really have shot a set of films about that (every year i can always find at least one TV channel play it). That has been classical not of fine photography (actually they are poor of that) but of fine performance.

Hey! do not mention that.
I am still furious about why they chose that "metropolitan" of dust, dirt, uncivilized people, bureaucrats, and
damaged historical sites.

ok just a bunch of complaints :wink:
Do not mind, anyway, Beijing is still a good place

I'd think they'd decide Shanghai or Singapore, but I understand there's already some standing facilities in Beijing.

I am reading a book called "The Tiger of Ch'in" by Leonard Cottrell. The first chapter is called "The Artist-Assassin" and it is so similar to the scenes in the movie "The Emperor and the Assassin". No wonder, since the plot about the map and the dagger was recounted by the historian Ssu-Ma Ch'ien.

Looks like a good read -- I'll have to get that book.

I am reading another book called "The First Emperor of China". There is also a DVD with the same title, filmed in IMAX, produced in 1995 by the National Film Board of Canada and the China Xi'an Film Studio. The book is also from them, and has lots of nice pictures and drawings.

It is the best book I have read so far on the Qin Emperor.

I haven't watched this movie before but the books i read are overwhelming.
This is the pic of the movie I have searched on Google

Ooo, I will definitely check out the aforementioned movie and book (am a Chinese history enthusiast).

Even though this thread has veered off on a slight tangent, I cannot help but post my quick two cents worth on Hero. A hynotic visual spectacle, to be sure, but oh, how emotionally hollow! What a disappointment from an otherwise accomplished director. I just felt it lacked the complexity and intimacy of earlier works such as Raise the Red Lantern.

In terms of political implications, one can only wonder what the Taiwanese can make of it. The moral tone is so egregious that I have to wonder if it is indeed propaganda trumpetting nationalistic fervor? On the other hand, if one considers subversive readings of allegorical undertones, I'd say most would tend towards the obvious and overt message.

Yimou Zhang directed with the idea that it would be an aesthetically beautiful film knowing that most of his audience had very likely seen films containing historical dramas of that period or read about it. The IMAX documentary is yet another recent addressing of the historic material. Zhang concentrated on the kung fu action and what he could technically and artistically achieve. "House of Flying Daggers" is dramatically and emotionally closer to "Raise the Red Lantern," also an aesthetically beautiful film. One responsibility of critics and, as a matter of fact, the very best essayist on movies is to be able to examine the intent of a film and to place it within its genre when writing about it. I think "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" would be an excellent double bill. If it was a long Sunday with friends over, I might even start off with "Raise the Red Lantern.