Jing Ke ci Qin Wang (1998)

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen (writer)
Peigong Wang (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 1998 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.

Plot Keywords:

King | Concubine | Coup D'état | Battle | Massacre

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Li Gong	...	Lady Zhao
Fengyi Zhang	...	Jing Ke
Zhou Sun	...	Dan, Prince of Yan
Xiaohe Lü	...	General Fan Yuqi
Zhiwen Wang	...	Marquis Changxin
Kaige Chen	...	Lu Buwei
Yongfei Gu	...	Queen Mother
Benshan Zhao	...	Gao Jianli
Haifeng Ding	...	Qin Wuyang
Changjiang Pan	...	Prison Official
Xun Zhou	...	Blind Girl
Xuejian Li	...	Ying Zheng

Also Known As:

L'empereur et l'assassin (France)
Shikôtei ansatsu (Japan)
The Assassin
The Emperor and the Assassin (Europe: English title)
The First Emperor (Singapore: English title)

Runtime:

162 min

Country:

France | Japan | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | DTS-Stereo | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:R

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

Trivia:

The staging of the battle sequences between the forces of Qin and its enemies, Han and Zhao, also proved to be a major logistical feat. Shot on the Bashan plateau, bordering Inner Mongolia, these dramatic scenes involved the coordination of thousands of horses, chariots, stunt people and extras. Huilui was chosen as the site for the exterior shots of the Zhao countryside, while Shidu, southwest of Beijing, served as the location of Jing Ke's fateful farewell at the Yishui river.

Movie Connections:

References Kumonosu-jou (1957)

A compelling epic

This three-hour Chinese epic, set in 220 B.C., may ultimately amount to a familiar theme of an Emperor's idealistic dream of peace through unification mutating into corrupted isolation, and there's nothing inherently challenging about the film, but it's a compelling narrative, crammed with intrigue and passion and betrayal and epic events told in vivid strokes. Even for those not drawn to such historical spectacles for their own sake, it's an astonishing feast for the eyes: the scene depicting the coup attempt of the Marquis is one of the most staggering evocations of physical space and grandeur in memory, and the battle scenes are memorable both in their scope and their immediacy. The title sums up the film's use of compelling contrasts - huge plainland vistas set against intimate horrors; the noblest of motives set against the most degraded; hope turning to dust. If you've never seen a three-hour Chinese epic, this wouldn't be a bad place to start.