Movie Review: Hero

[achtungbaby]

by Iris

More subtle than [Iron Monkey], and deeper than [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon], Hero is a cherished treasure for the soul and a feast for the eyes. The story is set in the period of the Warring States when six kingdoms formed China instead of one. It is the legend of the assassination attempts on the Qin King , the most powerful king of the six kingdoms.

full review (http://yellowworld.org/comments.php?id=10613_0_1_5_C0)

[VV o n g B a]

when is it coming out in the US?

[iris]

November of 2003, supposedly.

[VV o n g B a]

oich. thats a long wait.

[lethal]

I read somewhere that they were holding the film back so it could make an Oscar push, similar to what happened to Gangs of New York, which was held back a full year.

[iris]

The movie was 99 minutes. Not long in light of recent movies - Harry Potter II, Lord of the Rings II, but still fantastic. :dance:

[iris]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 21 2002, 03:47 AM
Just watch the DVD. 2/2003
I think they are holding back official DVD sales until after the world release unless you're talking about the ripped versions that's probably going to show up in China in two weeks... :lol:

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by iris@Dec 20 2002, 02:53 PM
I think they are holding back official DVD sales until after the world release unless you're talking about the ripped versions that's probably going to show up in China in two weeks... :lol:
It's already out. I watched a poor quality version of it last night.

Two thumbs up..movie is hot....I'm definitely buying the real thing when it comes out on DVD.


Oh yeah and fuck Miramax.

[iris]

Yeah, after seeing the movie, it's best to watch it on the big screen for the first time and if you can't, then watch it on the official DVD. But you'd have a long wait coming. Yimou said in an interview that because of fights with Miramax, they're going to hold off the release date on the DVDs until "some time" after the American premiere. Bad Miramax! :pissed:

CSB: We talking about the official version dah-ling! Where in the world did you get a ripped copy so fast? Queens? hehe

I'm glad it got nominated but industry insiders are saying the Spanish film "Talk to Her" is going to win. Booo!!

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by iris@Dec 20 2002, 04:04 PM


CSB: We talking about the official version dah-ling! Where in the world did you get a ripped copy so fast? Queens? hehe

Friend got it not me. I'm still waiting for my copy should be here a couple of weeks after x-mas. The same friend got a ripped copy of Harry Potter 2 a couple of days before the theatrical release.

[iris]

Resourceful friends...heheh.... :lol:

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 21 2002, 12:11 PM
I'll wait for the Director's Cut version.
Me too. The movie is a keeper.

[MellowDrama]

I'd like to give a big fat "fuck you" to Miramax.

That is all.

[iris]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 22 2002, 01:11 AM
http://www.the-trades.com/column.php?columnid=1546

Firstly I get the negatives out of the way first. What “Hero” could have done more was to develop the story. The first half of the movie was too simplistic and only in the second half did the plot started to become intriguing. The same was with the dialogue, which started off very mundane but picked up more during the end when the plot started to unravel. Zhang Yimou should have developed the character of Nameless more – why did he, a humble civil servant, pursue and topple the three most deadly killers in the whole of China? Why did Sky, Broken Sword and Flying Snow want to kill the king in the first place? Too many questions and too few answers.

I think the problem might be the reported 120+ minutes originally planned cutted back to 99 minutes requested by Miramax. So, we have lost 20 minutes of character and story development. Thanks, Miramax. I'll wait for the Director's Cut version.
In the version I saw, which seems to be the same version the reviewer from http://www.the-trades.com/column.php?columnid=1546 saw, Yimou explained why "Nameless" was the one to pursue the three assassins. I'm not sure why this reviewer didn't know that unless he saw the Miramax version (unlikely since he states he saw it in Hong Kong). However, I definitely agree with him on his statement below:

The roles of Sky and Moon (Zhang Ziyi), the disciple of Broken Sword had a little time in the story itself, which was disappointing as there were potential in this area. Donnie Yen had little to go on since he comes and goes before you started to sit down and chow on your popcorn. I think Zhang Ziyi did admirably with such little time to play the loyal disciple of Broken Sword, to stick with him until the end. Much of the focus was on the lovers Broken Sword and Flying Snow, performed brilliantly by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. They conveyed the essence of lovers both united and separated in different ways. Chen Dao Ming was great as the king, belting out dialogue as a Chinese emperor would. Jet Li showed he can act as well as do all the martial arts…

I was also disappointed that Donnie Yen didn't have a bigger role and Zhang Ziyi's role seemed almost superfluous. Her acting was better in CTHD probably due to the fact that she had a bigger role and was able to demonstrate a more varied range of emotions, rather than the constant despair in Hero.

Well if it's the best film there then I don't find any cause for complaint.

Great, another martial arts movie with the sterotypical kung fu masters fighting and flying through the air ala CTHD. I guess I'm gonna give this film the same treatment that I gave CTHD and Jet Li's films: I won't bother to watch them. Until an Asian film comes out with characters more akin to Asian people then I'm not gonna bother with any of these movies.

Morientes, don't judge it until you've seen it! I thought the martial arts enhanced the story of Hero. As in the review I wrote, I actually think Westerners might have a problem with the movie and find it a bit slow because they might not understand Asian concepts in the movie such as the power of tradition, family, and saving face. As an ABC, I was already disturbed by the ending until a discussion with my Hong Kong friends cleared up points for me. This is one of the reason why it probably won't win the Golden Globes because most of the judges are of Western thought and will have a problem with some of the concepts displayed in the film.

[iris]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 22 2002, 11:58 PM


iris,

It's not a big disappointment for me. I only care about the Donnie versus Jet fight. I love them in Once Upon a Time in China II.

Make more wuxia films.
:lol: Hey Taz! I'm disappointed Donnie didn't get to fight more! :lol: I haven't seen Once Upon a Time in China II yet, but now I have to!

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by iris@Dec 22 2002, 12:24 PM
Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 22 2002, 11:58 PM


iris,

It's not a big disappointment for me. I only care about the Donnie versus Jet fight. I love them in Once Upon a Time in China II.

Make more wuxia films.
:lol: Hey Taz! I'm disappointed Donnie didn't get to fight more! :lol: I haven't seen Once Upon a Time in China II yet, but now I have to!
eh... i never really liked those jet li movies. his flying action is so unrealistic. especially since he's supposed to be wong fei hung. i mean he's a folk hero. please don't make him fly. i can understand flying characters and completely want to see that with stories that are pre-qing dynasty. but wong fei hung lived at the end of the qing dynasty which wasn't so long ago. it needs more realism than myth.

[Shuriken]

Just so everyone knows: Zhang Yimou's and Zhang Ziyi's names are in traditional Chinese order, with the surname first and the given ("first") name last. So, if you refer to them as "Yimou" or "Ziyi," you're referring to them in a familiar fashion by their first names.

Also, Hero was shot by the gifted Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Based in Asia, Doyle also shot Chen Kaige's Temptress Moon and virtually all of Wong Kar-Wai's movies (Wong hates to work with other cinematographers). Hero's visual excellence can probably be attributed as much to Doyle as to Zhang.

[kimpossible]

I think Iris understands how Chinese names work. I'll just give her the benefit of the doubt she didn't want to type out Zhang as much. :)

[iris]

Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 23 2002, 07:23 PM

Morientes, don't judge it until you've seen it! I thought the martial arts enhanced the story of Hero. As in the review I wrote, I actually think Westerners might have a problem with the movie and find it a bit slow because they might not understand Asian concepts in the movie such as the power of tradition, family, and saving face. As an ABC, I was already disturbed by the ending until a discussion with my Hong Kong friends cleared up points for me. This is one of the reason why it probably won't win the Golden Globes because most of the judges are of Western thought and will have a problem with some of the concepts displayed in the film.
Iris - I believe you are right, but I still think that there should be a greater variety of movies as well as martial arts movies. I firmly believe that martial arts movies portray a highly unrealistic view of many Asians. Can a movie come out from Asia w/o someone kicking within the first twenty minutes? Alot of my friends, both fop and non-fop, really don't like martial arts movies anyway. I may be in the minority but there are quite alot of people with my view in Asia.[/quote]
lol Hapa! Yeah, both Zhangs so I used the familiar address =X Anyhow, Morientes, you should watch In the Mood for Love, a films starring two characters from Hero: Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. No martial arts and won critical acclaim at the Sundance Festival last year. It's quite wonderful.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 21 2002, 07:51 PM
Great, another martial arts movie with the sterotypical kung fu masters fighting and flying through the air ala CTHD. I guess I'm gonna give this film the same treatment that I gave CTHD and Jet Li's films: I won't bother to watch them. Until an Asian film comes out with characters more akin to Asian people then I'm not gonna bother with any of these movies.
i get the sense that you really haven't watched many asian films.

here: www.yesasia.com (http://www.yesasia.com)
enjoy


(psst - check out the korean melodramas)

[DaBestSpooner]

Yall know this is a remake of the emperor and the assasin right?

[iris]

Yes we do. There are actually several versions of "Hero" or "Ying Xiong" out. This one just has the biggest budget and the most famous stars.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by DaBestSpooner@Dec 24 2002, 08:19 AM
Yall know this is a remake of the emperor and the assasin right?
not exactly a remake. more like yet another film/tv adaptation of a chinese classic.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 24 2002, 11:24 AM
They should follow the English format with the romanize Chinese names. Get confusing. I don't know who started this format, [English given name] [surname] [romanize Chinese given name], such as Jet Li Lian-Jie.
yeah i see some people doing that in HK.

i like the [romanised surname][romanised given name] format. and if you're going to use your english name then do [english name][romanised surname]. i don't really like the combination thing.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 24 2002, 01:13 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Dec 24 2002, 03:20 AM
i get the sense that you really haven't watched many asian films.

here:  www.yesasia.com (http://www.yesasia.com)
enjoy


(psst - check out the korean melodramas)
SWK - You're right man; I just don't get the opportunity to watch Asian movies. As well as time constraints I also cannot watch Asian movies because I simply can't understand the films that I'm watching. It's always watching through subtitles which really puts me off watching in the first place. However, thanks for the information there man, I've heard alot about Korean love films and it seems quite a change from your steretypical kung fu films. I'll try it out sometime.
actually none of my favorite films are kungfu movies, and most of them are either HK films or mainland china films.

it's never been a problem of non-kungfu films being produced in asia, it's always been a problem of when north american distribution companies are going to carry non-kungfu asian films.

[iris]

Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 25 2002, 02:13 AM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Dec 24 2002, 03:20 AM
i get the sense that you really haven't watched many asian films.

here:  www.yesasia.com (http://www.yesasia.com)
enjoy


(psst - check out the korean melodramas)
SWK - You're right man; I just don't get the opportunity to watch Asian movies. As well as time constraints I also cannot watch Asian movies because I simply can't understand the films that I'm watching. It's always watching through subtitles which really puts me off watching in the first place. However, thanks for the information there man, I've heard alot about Korean love films and it seems quite a change from your steretypical kung fu films. I'll try it out sometime.
right, you don't get a sense of the beautiful word play most of the time when subtitles are added. It can detract from the movie, especially if the translation is off.

[MellowDrama]

Yeah, I've heard good things about those films, as well as "Friend" (I think that's what it's called. It's about childhood friends who meet again. One is on the path of the straight and narrow and the other is living the life of a gangster... I think this is how it goes).

Someone said "My Sassy Girl" was being re-done by a US studio [shudder]. Let's all pray for as little a hatchet job as possible.

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 23 2002, 06:40 AM


if you think that martial arts movies (especially ones today) gives Asians some sense of 'badness' then i think you are seriously mistaken. most asians i know don't know any martial arts and i seriously doubt a movie will make them badasses. if movies were such a deterent then why did that not stop black youths from beating the hell out of fop students?
It makes it worse in my opinion.

I can't count the number of times, growing up in NYC, I threw down with punk arses (all colors, but mostly blacks from my experience) cuz they wanted a piece of me and wanted to "test my kung fu knowledge"

Ignant mo'fukkahs.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Dec 26 2002, 12:01 PM
Originally posted by Morientes@Dec 23 2002, 06:40 AM


if you think that martial arts movies (especially ones today) gives Asians some sense of 'badness' then i think you are seriously mistaken. most asians i know don't know any martial arts and i seriously doubt a movie will make them badasses. if movies were such a deterent then why did that not stop black youths from beating the hell out of fop students?
It makes it worse in my opinion.

I can't count the number of times, growing up in NYC, I threw down with punk arses (all colors, but mostly blacks from my experience) cuz they wanted a piece of me and wanted to "test my kung fu knowledge"

Ignant mo'fukkahs.
can't speak for anywhere else, but some black kids in NYC are really ignorant. but the older black folks are cooler.

[DaBestSpooner]

one time this black kid tried to pull some shit on me, and he started doing kung fu sounds. I just kicked him in the nuts, he fell, and I started stomping on him and kicking him in the head repeatedly. He didnt know I was a master of "Irish Martial Arts"

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by DaBestSpooner@Dec 27 2002, 08:43 AM
He didnt know I was a master of "Irish Martial Arts"
Irish Martial Arts. :D

[mrazntre]

is that anything like drunken kung fool?

[DaBestSpooner]

Originally posted by mrazntre@Dec 29 2002, 10:42 PM
is that anything like drunken kung fool?
sorta cept all the kicks are toward the head but when they're on the ground

[VV o n g B a]

finally saw it. my roommate brought a copy back from malaysia. the artistry in the movie was fantastic. but the politics in the movie make me wonder. from what i know of the first emperor, he didn't seem like the great guy the movie made him out to be. did the director develop a case a nationalism? i wonder what his views are on taiwan...?

[achtungbaby]

I think I need to watch the movie again. I saw it over the weekend and thought it was interesting, some of it even compelling. Definitely better than Iron Monkey, which my friend and I laughed hysterically through. And it definitely seems to want to be more colorful, stimulating and "deep" along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by achtungbaby@Apr 27 2003, 08:19 PM
I think I need to watch the movie again.  I saw it over the weekend and thought it was interesting, some of it even compelling.  Definitely better than Iron Monkey, which my friend and I laughed hysterically through.  And it definitely seems to want to be more colorful, stimulating and "deep" along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
the use of colours is very signature of Zhang Yimou, he's arguably the best director in mainland China right now, and the camera techniques are very Christopher Doyle, who usually acts as director of photography for Wong Kar Wai. you can really see that its their work in this film. i think if you're a fan of one of them, or if you're a fan of the Tony Leung + Maggie Cheung combo (they've acted together in many films), then you'd really like this film. otherwise, you may not like it, and might even fall asleep to it. :D :P :D

but yeah, i never really understood what the big deal was with Iron Monkey. i never thought it was that great. i mean the fighting was cool, but there are plenty of other kungfu movies with cool fighting like that one.

[achtungbaby]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 28 2003, 08:16 AM
the use of colours is very signature of Zhang Yimou, he's arguably the best director in mainland China right now, and the camera techniques are very Christopher Doyle, who usually acts as director of photography for Wong Kar Wai. you can really see that its their work in this film. i think if you're a fan of one of them, or if you're a fan of the Tony Leung + Maggie Cheung combo (they've acted together in many films), then you'd really like this film. otherwise, you may not like it, and might even fall asleep to it. :D :P :D

but yeah, i never really understood what the big deal was with Iron Monkey. i never thought it was that great. i mean the fighting was cool, but there are plenty of other kungfu movies with cool fighting like that one.
I didn't even recognize Tony Leung at first. He looked like he'd lost a lotta weight and/or been doing drugs. Zhang Ziyi -- overacting just a tad, especially that fight scene with Maggie Cheung. And Jet Li was...well...Jet Li.

[Fireblade]

Saw it yesterday night. Though it is a fabulous film, I didn't think there was enough of a plot or character development to flesh out the film. I mean, it was visually a really impressive film. Great colors, great films shots, but I needed to be able to connect to the characters more. Zhang Zi-Yi, wasn't all that great in my opinion. I think they used her for star power.

Oh well... whatever. Great film, I'm just a bit picky.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by achtungbaby@Apr 28 2003, 03:55 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 28 2003, 08:16 AM
the use of colours is very signature of Zhang Yimou, he's arguably the best director in mainland China right now, and the camera techniques are very Christopher Doyle, who usually acts as director of photography for Wong Kar Wai.?you can really see that its their work in this film.?i think if you're a fan of one of them, or if you're a fan of the Tony Leung + Maggie Cheung combo (they've acted together in many films), then you'd really like this film.?otherwise, you may not like it, and might even fall asleep to it.?nbsp; :D?:P?:D

but yeah, i never really understood what the big deal was with Iron Monkey.?i never thought it was that great.?i mean the fighting was cool, but there are plenty of other kungfu movies with cool fighting like that one.
I didn't even recognize Tony Leung at first. He looked like he'd lost a lotta weight and/or been doing drugs. Zhang Ziyi -- overacting just a tad, especially that fight scene with Maggie Cheung. And Jet Li was...well...Jet Li.
yeah, i never thought Zhang Ziyi was especially all that great of an actress. although she was good in her first film The Road Home, also directed by Zhang Yimou. she's still small potatoes with Chinese people in Asia. i have a feeling she's in there at all because they wanted to attract the American audience.

i thought Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung were very cool though. especially when Tony was writing his calligraphy and his stick got knocked away by an arrow, and then he just grabbed an arrow that was flying by and kept going. hahah! and of course, the death scene where she did the thing with the sword at the last scenario.

[achtungbaby]

Originally posted by Fireblade@Apr 28 2003, 12:06 PM
Saw it yesterday night. Though it is a fabulous film, I didn't think there was enough of a plot or character development to flesh out the film. I mean, it was visually a really impressive film. Great colors, great films shots, but I needed to be able to connect to the characters more. Zhang Zi-Yi, wasn't all that great in my opinion. I think they used her for star power.

Oh well... whatever. Great film, I'm just a bit picky.
This is pretty much how I felt, although because of this, it's hard for me to call the film great. I thought it got bogged down a little unnecessarily with the different scenarios as told by Jet Li to the king.

[achtungbaby]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 28 2003, 12:14 PM
she's still small potatoes with Chinese people in Asia.
But I bet they love her potatoes, nonetheless.

[Nightworlder]

They made it too artsy fartsy. What they should've done is have Jet Li kill a thousand soldiers and then meet some hot ass Asian chick with big boobs who knows some obscure style that hasn't been invented yet who kicks his ass in the first few minutes then they fall in love or something and kill the bad King. Or they should have just made it like a Chinese Braveheart where Jet Li kills the King and shouts 'Freedom' yet says it in Mandarin. Brilliant! thats a wrap.

[Fireblade]

Originally posted by achtungbaby@Apr 28 2003, 02:41 PM
This is pretty much how I felt, although because of this, it's hard for me to call the film great. I thought it got bogged down a little unnecessarily with the different scenarios as told by Jet Li to the king.
Yea... the different senarios that happen don't mesh well together, because all of them seem kind of rushed.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Nightworlder@Apr 30 2003, 04:33 AM
They made it too artsy fartsy. What they should've done is have Jet Li kill a thousand soldiers and then meet some hot ass Asian chick with big boobs who knows some obscure style that hasn't been invented yet who kicks his ass in the first few minutes then they fall in love or something and kill the bad King. Or they should have just made it like a Chinese Braveheart where Jet Li kills the King and shouts 'Freedom' yet says it in Mandarin. Brilliant! thats a wrap.
nah man. that's not zhang yimou or christopher doyle at all.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by tazadar@Apr 30 2003, 12:19 PM
You have got to be kidding. Zhang Ziyi is a phenomenal actor. In "The Road Home", she is the whole attraction. I've watched that movie 3 times and her appearance onscreen is captivating with the intensity and concentration that's rarely seen on most actors and the fact she was 20 years old at that time (I think) with little acting experience. With CTHD, she showed just how much more talented she is.
eh. she over-acts. but i did like her in The Road Home.
she wasn't even the first choice for CTHD. Shu Qi was. but she didn't want to do such a physically grueling film so she recommended Ziyi to Ang Lee. most Chinese people still don't understand what the big deal is about her. there are a ton of better actresses out there. she's only famous because CTHD became famous in the US and all the asiaphiles went "wow... asian chick...". same thing they did with Michelle Yeoh in the Bond movie and other various movies the American audience has seen her in.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by tazadar@Apr 30 2003, 05:34 PM
I agree that CTHD made Zhang Ziyi famous. Z is much better than Shu Qi acting wise.
see, i think that's arguable. Shu Qi has done some excellent low-budget films that hardly anybody knows about, and she was very good in them. whereas in mainstream movies, she just gets type-casted as the sex-vixen or something.

and really now, Ziyi was great in The Road Home, but she was directed by a guy that was able to make a film with a cast that has never acted before, and won the Golden Lion for Best Picture at the Venice International Film Festival. (Not One Less, all characters played by amateur actors who have never acted before.) i really think that her performance in that film was good because of Zhang Yimou's directing.

[kasia]

Originally posted by tazadar@Apr 30 2003, 01:34 PM
I agree that CTHD made Zhang Ziyi famous. Z is much better than Shu Qi acting wise.
no way! z just knows how to act angry all the time. have you seen beijing rocks? i love shu qi. plus, she's super hot.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Apr 30 2003, 09:11 PM
no way! z just knows how to act angry all the time. have you seen beijing rocks? i love shu qi. plus, she's super hot.
HAHAHAHAH!!! that's exactly what my friends say about her!!!
she's definitely got the angry look down. :P

[AngryABCGirl]

Ziyi seems to always be playing a screaming psycho.

[kasia]

Originally posted by tazadar@May 1 2003, 06:50 AM
Z has intense eyes.
screaming psychos usually do. :lol:

i actually liked zhang ziyi in cthd. i just don't think she's the greatest actress. i thought she was lame in rush hour 2.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

I just saw the first 15 min of Hero tonight for like the first time. Damnit man, any film that kills off Donnie Yen in the first fight scene can't be that great!!! *sniff*

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by tazadar@Apr 30 2003, 05:27 PM
Beijing Rocks? The one with your boytoy, Daniel Wu. No, but I'll try it this weekend. Shu Qi is prettier than Z, but Zhao Wei is the prettiest.
Zhang Ziyi beats the tobacco juice out of Shu Qi (maybe not in terms of body) or Zhao Wei in the looks department, but she's no Michelle Reis or Han Chaeyoung.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by FrozenPizza@Jun 1 2003, 05:19 AM
Zhang Ziyi beats the tobacco juice out of Shu Qi (maybe not in terms of body) or Zhao Wei in the looks department, but she's no Michelle Reis or Han Chaeyoung.

are you shitting me? Shu Qi and definitely Zhao Wei are better than Zhang Ziyi.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 07:34 AM

are you shitting me? Shu Qi and definitely Zhao Wei are better than Zhang Ziyi.
I dunno...Shu Qi's body is nice but I think her face is butt ugly. Zhao Wei is okay but nothing great compared to other supposedly beautiful Asian stars.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by FrozenPizza@Jun 1 2003, 01:58 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 07:34 AM

are you shitting me?  Shu Qi and definitely Zhao Wei are better than Zhang Ziyi.
I dunno...Shu Qi's body is nice but I think her face is butt ugly. Zhao Wei is okay but nothing great compared to other supposedly beautiful Asian stars.
Shu Qi definitely has a better face than Zhang Ziyi.

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 02:33 PM
Originally posted by FrozenPizza@Jun 1 2003, 01:58 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 07:34 AM

are you shitting me? Shu Qi and definitely Zhao Wei are better than Zhang Ziyi.
I dunno...Shu Qi's body is nice but I think her face is butt ugly. Zhao Wei is okay but nothing great compared to other supposedly beautiful Asian stars.
Shu Qi definitely has a better face than Zhang Ziyi.
i disagree.

shu qi to me looks like the chinese version of brandy (the singer). her eyes are set too far apart.

a better body than zhang zi yi, definitely.

zhao wei just annoys me. makes me wanna smack her around.

i think all three are overrated pieces of ass.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Jun 1 2003, 01:47 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 02:33 PM
Originally posted by FrozenPizza@Jun 1 2003, 01:58 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jun 1 2003, 07:34 AM

are you shitting me? Shu Qi and definitely Zhao Wei are better than Zhang Ziyi.
I dunno...Shu Qi's body is nice but I think her face is butt ugly. Zhao Wei is okay but nothing great compared to other supposedly beautiful Asian stars.
Shu Qi definitely has a better face than Zhang Ziyi.
i disagree.

shu qi to me looks like the chinese version of brandy (the singer). her eyes are set too far apart.

a better body than zhang zi yi, definitely.

zhao wei just annoys me. makes me wanna smack her around.

i think all three are overrated pieces of ass.
most famous people are overrated, at least in terms of physical beauty anyway...easy to look good when you have professional camera crews, make-up crews, the right lighting, airbrushing, facelifts & surgery, etc.

IMHO a great majority of my friends are more attractive than many female pop stars or movie stars. Fionest people are always the ones you notice in real life i.e. the ones you try to initiate convo with at the local ritzy coffee shop ^^

[mr. x]

i loved it too but i wonder about its accessibility in america

[kboy75]

i found the movie to be quite boring, actually.

i think it is because of my lack of knowledge re: chinese folk stories...

but it seriously was like: cool fighting... ZZZZzzzzzz... cool fighting.... Zzzzzz... cool fighting (hmmm have I seen this scene already?)... Zzzzzzzzzzz............


beautifully filmed, though. Still, I almost fell asleep more than a few times there.

[Chris]

I already got the DVD and lent it to most of my friends here. A lot of them love it and hopes that it comes out in the big screen. Though the odds of that happening now is as as good as hell freezing over. <_<

[angelwiththesword]

i just got the DVD and saw the movie about two weeks ago.

very very good flick. i love the historical value of the movie, and the "mystery" of how things really happened.

though i don't understand much Mandarin, i was able to understand about half of what they were saying and figure out another quarter of it.

historically, Ching was practically immortal, as no one was ever able to assassinate him, though there were so many hundreds that wanted it done.
and Ching having united the chinese kingdoms and building the great wall was great.

the fight scenes were very dragonballzesqe with the crazy winds and bullet time.

jet li had a very kenshin feel to him.

[mr. x]

for those historically savy, did any of the real life assasins ever actually get that close to getting him?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by angelwiththesword@Jun 5 2003, 05:25 PM
historically, Ching was practically immortal, as no one was ever able to assassinate him, though there were so many hundreds that wanted it done.
and Ching having united the chinese kingdoms and building the great wall was great.

the Great Wall was only started by Qin's emperor, and he started it by connecting the fortifications that the various warring states built to ward off barbarians. the Great Wall construction was actually not "finished" until hundreds of years later. after the unification of the different warring states, Qin only lasted 14 years until it collapsed and the Han dynasty emerged.

[angelwiththesword]

Originally posted by mr. x@Jun 5 2003, 05:30 PM
for those historically savy, did any of the real life assasins ever actually get that close to getting him?
maybe. you can never really know though.

also, it was historically correct that if a king or emporer feared assassination, they would have the person start out 100 (or was it 200?) steps away, and have them move closer as they tell their tales of valor for the king.

in this flick, jet li got within 20 steps, and the emporer had his table removed, which would be like having jet li within 10 steps, which is what he asked for to kill qin.

i also liked how the candles flickered with the "breath of the will to kill" from jet li.

[Uncle Tat]

Shu qi and Zhang Ziyi aren't very good looking.

Zhao wei is cute but WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYy overrated. she's not that cute.

[pinkskyes]

i liked the cinematography, but this movie just didn't do it for me

i thought the emperor was known to be ruthless...

[yoMAMA]

Originally posted by mr. x@Jun 5 2003, 05:30 PM
for those historically savy, did any of the real life assasins ever actually get that close to getting him?
Well, Jin Ke got pretty close:

ever seen 'the emperor and the assasin?'

Jin Ke almost nailed Qin Shihuang when he pretended to offer the Qin King (his title before he annilated the six kingdoms) a map of the Yan Kingdom (present day Beijing area).

However, there's a catch:

Jin Ke hided a knive inside the last pages of the map. As he rolls up towards the end of map for the Qin king to see, he got the knive out and tried to nail him. However, his knive is no match for the Qin king's long sword.

they fought for a while in the court, however, in the end, Jin Ke got killed, and the Yan kingdom was easily crushed by Qin's military might.

[mr. x]

Originally posted by yoMAMA@Jun 20 2003, 05:23 PM
Well, Jin Ke got pretty close:

ever seen 'the emperor and the assasin?'

Jin Ke almost nailed Qin Shihuang when he pretended to offer the Qin King (his title before he annilated the six kingdoms) a map of the Yan Kingdom (present day Beijing area).

However, there's a catch:

Jin Ke hided a knive inside the last pages of the map. As he rolls up towards the end of map for the Qin king to see, he got the knive out and tried to nail him. However, his knive is no match for the Qin king's long sword.

in the end, Jin Ke got killed, and the Yan kingdom was no match for the military might of Qin.
wow this was based on real events? man why cant present day chinese be so clever....

[yoMAMA]

Yes, it is based on real events way back in the days :P

The source?

Shi Ji, or the chronocles of history, by Sima Qian, who was China's first great historian, and the first detailed book about history in China.

An interesting background on Sima Qian:

He was a young scholar who did alot of reserach back in the dayz-western han dynasty, when he offended the government by criticizing it.

His punishment:

He got castrated :gross:

So after he could not do 'that thing' anymore, he dedicated his life to the preservation and recording of Chinese history from way back in the dayz of Xia and the yellow emperor to the early days of the western han dynasty.

Therefore, ShiJi was born.

I would definitely recommand this book to read, very interesting, espeically if you are a Chinese history Buff ( which I am :D )