OT: "Hero"

Just got back from seeing it and I want to see it again. The cinematography is great . If you are looking for just your typical Kung Fu flik don't bother with this one because it is a lot more than that.
 
Saw it on DVD a while back, very cool show. I'll probably see it again on the big screen.
 
i expected it to be an epic kung fu love story of some kind similar to crouching tiger, but it is instead a political statement.


since i have only seen it in d/l'ed form, can anyone who's seen it in theaters tell me,

is there a qoute at the end of the film during the credits from machiavielli? (there was in mine, and it was exellent, giving perspective on the whole film, i just dont know if it was put there by the subtitler, or was actually in the original film)
 
The duel between Maggie Cheung Man Yuk and Zhang Ziyi amid swirling leaves was worth the price of admission. Real over-the-top martial arts action but done with such style, it never seems silly. I liked it a lot better than director's Tiger/Dragon one.

I grew up watching Chinese kung fu movies which was probably what got me into martial arts. If you like this style, there are a couple more movies you can check out which I never get tired of watching.

- The Iron Monkey
- Swordsman I & II (Part II has Jet Li)
- New Legend of Shaolin (catch Jet Li's truly masterful spearplay)
- Once Upon A Time in China I & II (Jet Li as the legendary kungfu master Wong Fei Hung)

I'd recommend getting the ones with subtitles only as the voice dubbing on Chinese language movies generally suck. Anyway, the storylines in Chinese action movies are generally so simple, you dont really need to know the exact words they are saying while kicking butt :)

Andrew Lim
 
DannyinJapan said:
... Her abdomen gives me shivers.
Click to expand...
I have known "butt men", "leg men", "thigh men", and I even knew a guy who got turned on looking at the back of women's necks, but Dan, you're the first "belly man" I have ever met.
 
I must be crazy!!!
Who could love a belly like this one???
080.jpg


or this:
078.jpg
 
redvenom said:
I grew up watching Chinese kung fu movies which was probably what got me into martial arts. If you like this style, there are a couple more movies you can check out which I never get tired of watching.

- The Iron Monkey
- Swordsman I & II (Part II has Jet Li)
- New Legend of Shaolin (catch Jet Li's truly masterful spearplay)
- Once Upon A Time in China I & II (Jet Li as the legendary kungfu master Wong Fei Hung)
Click to expand...


:(

i'll take gordon liu over jet li any day.

master of the flying giuluitiene
shaolin vs. lama
return of the 5 deadly venoms
born invincible
fist of the white lotus
legendary weapons of china

and ten tigers of kwangtung, not because its good, because really its a terrible movie, but because no one ever gets more then 1/10th of a second death scene (the split second someone is killed, they move on, to the point where they dont even get a death scream), and because the last fight has the guy pull out his personal weapon - a bronze statue. wich is handed to him by his man, wraped in clothe. "ah, you are a worthy aponent. i will use my special weapon to defeat you, MY MERMAID STATUE!!"

Jet li has some amazing moments, but ive always enjoyed the shaw brothers endeavors more then the jet li films.

theres still a ton of shaw brothers style films i want to see, but dont have the money to get
 
My sister-in-law brought this dvd over to us from China in January. It's a great movie.

Pay attention to the director's use of color.

The emperor in this movie was one of the key figures in Chinese history. He unified the numerous written character sets into pretty much the character set that exists today. He consolidated the walls in northern China into the famous great wall. (He was also a tyrant who buried scholars and philosophers alive if he didn't like their thinking.)

Note the variations on the "unified by the sword" theme, on both personal and national levels.

Great calligraphy scenes. You will find references to the emperor’s unification of the character set.

I highly recommend this one.
 
Hardly 60 seconds go by without seeing sword or spear.
but this is not a movie about swordplay

Combatants fly thru the air & perform 'magics',
but this is not a movie about 'magic'

This is a story about a story about stories.............
sword
no-sword
external
internal
reality
eating '100-year old eggs'
the nature of war
legends
love
enlightenment

There are no 'bad guys' or 'good guys'
There is death at every turn
but blood is so rare that every glimse is riveting.


The cinamatography is wonderful.
As is the imagery
This is art
Details & details of life in a period---
which my not be "True",
but flavor the meal to the highest quality.
Nothing 'new' in the meal,
but extremely well prepared.

Comments from others leaving the movie
tells me a lot of people didn't 'get' it.
But everyone can enjoy the movie on some level,
if they can be patient occassionally.

Exceptional
Extra-ordinary

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links--A--T--H--D
 
I was gonna see this tomorrow. Thanks for the reviews. :)

I'll come back and ruin it for everyone else.
 
there is no quote from machiavelli at the end of the film - at least when I saw it Friday night.

Yes, it is wonderful and just reading what someone wrote about the battle in the leaves immediately took me back....

Just like my wife said - there are some movies that just need to be seen twice (or more)....and this is one of them.

There were a few translation issues that could have been solved with better proof-reading and a more creative translator. Also, I've never been able to fully appreciate the higher-pitched "fighting yell"...."uurrrraaaaaahhhhhhhhiiiieeeeeeeeee" - used mostly in the last major battle. But other than that, I really enjoyed the film.

Yes, it's more political. But still epic.


And sorry, Danny, there is no glimpse of lil' Moon's belly in this one....:(

:p
 
kamkazmoto said:
Just got back from seeing it and I want to see it again. The cinematography is great . If you are looking for just your typical Kung Fu flik don't bother with this one because it is a lot more than that.
Click to expand...

Christopher Doyle (the cinematographer for Hero) what the guest at a Q&A session during the Seattle International Film Festival. My wife and I were fortunate? enough to attend. He may be a brilliant cinematographer... but he's one wierd dude.

Erin
 
and really enjoyed it, Even NPR gave it a high mark( rare).
go see it , but don't sit too close to the big screen ,
the subtitles are a little hard to pick up.

I will watch this movie again, many times, reminds me of "the
unforgiven" with it's impact. It is complex and stimulating....
 
Not a bad movie. Though I think the political message is false when you look at the history of any country.

Sorta has a Rashomon like feel to the movie.
 
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