Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia - (Original title)
"Curse of the Golden Flower" - (English title)
Unspeakable secrets are hidden within the Forbidden City. During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself. One King. One Queen. His Power. Her Rebellion. A Queen's revenge will threaten an empire."The knives are out at the palace, and Gong Li is staring daggers. Chinese cinema's haughtiest diva plays a 10th century Empress who is having an affair with her stepson while, she suspects, her husband (Chow Yun Fat) is slowly poisoning her. That's just for appetizers in a menu of long-lost parents, eloping lovers and the minor distraction of a civil war out in the grand courtyard.
Director Zhang Yimou's (Hero, House of Flying Dagers) and his screenwriting collaborators seem to have swiped bits from Shakespeare's four main tragedies: the conniving wife from MacBeth, the jealous husband from Othello, the raging father and three skirmishing children from King Lear and a pileup of dead royals from Hamlet. There's swordplay and a supporting cast of warriors inthe CGI thousands, but the most thrilling spectacle is the clash of ids and egos.
Fans of epics in the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon tradition may be confused or annoyed by the intensely lurid tone of this movie. Well, all that means is that it's different -- gorgeously garish, both in colour scheme (bold tints against the chrysanthemums of the film's title) and in the splash of wild emotion." --Richard Corliss, Time MagazineIn the spirit of such landmark Asian films as Akira Kurosawa's RAN from Japan and Zhang Yimou's own
HERO and
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, ...
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER promises to be Zhang Yimou's most colorful and biggest production to date, fusing high drama and romantic intrigue with the best of contemporary martial arts. The plot concerns the volatile balance of power between the King (Chow Yun Fat) and the Queen (Gong Li) and his three sons, which entails betrayal, deceit and passion, pitting the King against Queen and father against sons. The glorious canvas includes many of the creative team behind
HERO and
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS: cinematographer Zhao Xiading (Oscar nominated for
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS), production designer Huo Tingxiao, action director Tony Ching Siu-Tung, sound designer Tao Jing and producers Bill Kong and Zhang Wei Ping. The music is composed by Shigeru Umebayashi (
HERO 2046, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) and the costume designer is YEE CHUNG MAN
Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 18 nominations
"Curse of the Golden Flower"
