Beautiful movie, both the imagery and the symbolism in it is exceptionally executed... such a shame that all this in the name of propaganda (not that it doesnt happen in western cinema, just... still.)
A melancholic romantic Chinese Rashpmon with gorgeous cinematography. As far as the plot structure goes, it is quite typical of most Chinese films, loose and faded. Zhang Yimou however diverts us from that with dynamic camerawork, action and color. Like a great cultural director, he chooses to immerse the viewer in his country.
Like watching a beautiful painting for two hours. Visually stunning with special effects that hold their own 2 decades after its release. Definitely worth a watch.
A Rashomon-style story in which we see various versions of the same tale, this hardly takes away from the emotional heart of the story. And as can be expected, the martial arts are beautiful.
The beautiful, partially even stunning cinematography are not enough to make up for its lifeless characters, ridiculous dialogue and overall pretentiousness.
Probably my favorite Jet Li film all said and done. Definitely the best entry-point if you're tryna put someone onto his movies.
The cinematography / fight choreography are tremendously beautiful. A must-see for sure.
Also Donnie Yen's role in this is hype and a good lead-in to his movies if you're tryna put your friends onto martial arts movies in general (his are essential for modern stuff)
Extremely beautiful and I actually like how they play with different versions of the same story, just like with old folk stories or legends. But it is too pretentious. If you want to mindfuck the spectators, first rule is not to underestimate them.
I don't mind the propaganda, it's super obvious and quite open (I don't think we are meant to blindly like the emperor, we question his justifications and his answers are not satisfying. I think the script intentionally plays on that). And after all it proposes a perspective uncommon in western cinema, a confrontation of different forms of political correctness. Individualistic causes, where one hero is above justice, are allowed to kill at will and deserve everything they get are really not better (seriously, when will they make a western (super)hero movie where the main character gets homicide charges and has to go to jail or something?)
I hated the lake scenes, I love cheesy fights, but even for me this was too much.
The people, the mass remain uncharacteristic compared to the heroes throughout the movie, but in the end they should matter the most, it's a missed opportunity, I would have liked to see more work on the crowd (what do they work on? what are the general ideals shared? what worries them?...).
This is one of my favorite movies. It's quite gorgeous and a worthy "response" to Crouching Tiger (another one of my favorite films). Zhang Yimou is a great director--"Raise the Red Lantern" is incredible.
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Timso23
Beautiful movie, love the colorplay in the different scenes!MattJRumble
This film was a bitch to search for.csarnoella
Beautiful movie, both the imagery and the symbolism in it is exceptionally executed... such a shame that all this in the name of propaganda (not that it doesnt happen in western cinema, just... still.)DynatiaCydonia
beautiful but stupidV012
A melancholic romantic Chinese Rashpmon with gorgeous cinematography. As far as the plot structure goes, it is quite typical of most Chinese films, loose and faded. Zhang Yimou however diverts us from that with dynamic camerawork, action and color. Like a great cultural director, he chooses to immerse the viewer in his country.swiz
add "Hero" as an alternate titlegoellnerd
Like watching a beautiful painting for two hours. Visually stunning with special effects that hold their own 2 decades after its release. Definitely worth a watch.Siskoid
A Rashomon-style story in which we see various versions of the same tale, this hardly takes away from the emotional heart of the story. And as can be expected, the martial arts are beautiful.MonsieurBlutbad
The beautiful, partially even stunning cinematography are not enough to make up for its lifeless characters, ridiculous dialogue and overall pretentiousness.yungbigturk
Probably my favorite Jet Li film all said and done. Definitely the best entry-point if you're tryna put someone onto his movies.The cinematography / fight choreography are tremendously beautiful. A must-see for sure.
Also Donnie Yen's role in this is hype and a good lead-in to his movies if you're tryna put your friends onto martial arts movies in general (his are essential for modern stuff)
Lumen
Extremely beautiful and I actually like how they play with different versions of the same story, just like with old folk stories or legends. But it is too pretentious. If you want to mindfuck the spectators, first rule is not to underestimate them.I don't mind the propaganda, it's super obvious and quite open (I don't think we are meant to blindly like the emperor, we question his justifications and his answers are not satisfying. I think the script intentionally plays on that). And after all it proposes a perspective uncommon in western cinema, a confrontation of different forms of political correctness. Individualistic causes, where one hero is above justice, are allowed to kill at will and deserve everything they get are really not better (seriously, when will they make a western (super)hero movie where the main character gets homicide charges and has to go to jail or something?)
I hated the lake scenes, I love cheesy fights, but even for me this was too much.
The people, the mass remain uncharacteristic compared to the heroes throughout the movie, but in the end they should matter the most, it's a missed opportunity, I would have liked to see more work on the crowd (what do they work on? what are the general ideals shared? what worries them?...).
IamZlatan
awesomenessScream1008
This is one of my favorite movies. It's quite gorgeous and a worthy "response" to Crouching Tiger (another one of my favorite films). Zhang Yimou is a great director--"Raise the Red Lantern" is incredible.Carota
Rashomonnicolaskrizan
magnificent but dubioushttps://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/backtrack-%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-hero-2002/