Ying xiong (2002)

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li (writer)
Bin Wang (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Kono kuni wa mada, hontô no hero wo shiranai [Japan] ("This land doesn't know a real hero. Yet.)

Plot:

A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.

Plot Keywords:

China | Asia | Visual Poetry | Christ Allegory | Wuxia Fiction

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 21 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	Nameless
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Broken Sword
Maggie Cheung	...	Flying Snow (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk)
Ziyi Zhang	...	Moon (as Zhang Ziyi)
Daoming Chen	...	King of Qin
Donnie Yen	...	Sky
Liu Zhong Yuan	...	Scholar
Zheng Tia Yong	...	Old Servant
Yan Qin	...	Prime Minister
Chang Xiao Yang	...	General
Zhang Ya Kun	...	Commander
Ma Wen Hua	...	Head Eunuch
Jin Ming	...	Eunuch
Xu Kuang Hua	...	Pianist
Wang Shou Xin	...	Musician

Also Known As:

Hero (USA)
Jet Li's Hero (USA)
Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero (USA) (promotional title)
Ying hung (China: Cantonese title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

99 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version) | China:107 min (extended version) | China:93 min

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | France:U | Malaysia:18SG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39290)

Filming Locations:

Dunhuang, Gansu, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

Quentin Tarantino, being an avid fan of Eastern cinema, was one of the people who enabled the US release of this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where everyone is in white (the white calligraphy brush demonstration scene) there are positioning errors. Snow is on the right, Broken Sword is on the left. While Nameless faces them talking, he looks in the opposite directions.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nameless: [voiceover] I was orphaned at a young age and was never given a name. People simply called me Nameless. With no family name to live up to, I devoted myself to the sword. I spent ten years perfecting unique skills as a swordsman. The King of Qin has summoned me to court, for what I have accomplished has astonished the kingdom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Glazen huis, Het: Eigen agenda (#1.52)" (2005)

The best martial arts film ever made

Rarely have I been so astounded by such a magnificent, awe-inspiring film. If you have not yet placed your eyes on this masterpiece of Chinese cinema then I cannot recommend this film highly enough. 'Hero' is by far the best Chinese film I have ever seen, and already a firm favourite of all time.

The imagery is unparallelled, simply draw-droppingly near perfect scenes, with bold and vibrant use of colour, symbolism and scenery. The fluent flow of the storyline, the delicate direction of the sword slicing action, the Chinese cultural concepts and the emotionally charged scenes between characters combine to produce a simply remarkable achievement.

This film has a few elements from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but is far, far superior in every way. The sleek direction from Yimou Zhang is so perfectly done, just imagine two martial arts experts ensuing in battle against each other, defying the laws of physics as we know it, and yet following them in 360 degrees in slow motion as one deflects a droplet of rain from one sword to the other, at the same time spinning and leaping over water... simply beautiful. The attack sequences are also superbly set, with hundreds of thousands of the King's warriors in formation, simultaneously firing enough arrows into the city which literally cover the sky, in addition to the viewer being able to watch the journey of a single arrowhead aimed during this event. The build up to the attack along with the unnerving tune of a Chinese stringed instrument help you, as the audience, to become firmly engrossed in your seat.

The individual martial arts is also second to none, for myself particularly to see the distant shots of the whole battle sequence showing the true skills involved with fighting, such as footwork, perfect timing,aggression, counter attacks and defence. Jet Li shows he is truly the grand daddy of martial arts. I cannot stress enough how much you need this film in your life.

The colourful imagery imposed by the director will take your breath away with luscious, vivid, bright, wind-blown,draped backgrounds as the setting for the important progression of the story. Even the story itself is brought to the audience in such a way which ensures your undivided attention, as there are twists in the tales and hidden plots which do not develop until the end of the film.Even short individual scenes are memorable due to their sheer awesome display of skill and speed.

This film even holds a political message which is relevant to all times, especially in today's American-lead world dominance. This film has absolutely everything - including an extremely sexy young Ziyi Zhang who simply is the biggest hype to come out of china since SARS.

This film was released in 2002, but this is certainly one of my all time favourites and will probably be the best film I see all year. I have never been more enthusiastic to pursue films in this genre in my life. For more action type enthusiasts who like more gore and violence check out 'Ong Bak', but for people who appreciate a fuller, visionary piece of martial arts filming, this will leave you speechless.