An action-packed epic Asian war title with an outstanding ensemble cast...Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 the Communist Party started to rule in the mainland and Kuomingtang was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan. The new power along with other parties came together to organize the very first People's Republic of China.
Last Train Home follows a Chinese Family as they leave their daughter and family to look for work in more industrialized areas. They leave the country side and begin working in a cheap clothing factory. The film spans over two years observing the family's struggles for money as they attempt to keep their relationships intact.
In The Mood For Love (2 Disc Edition Within The Set): Hong Kong 1962. Chow (Tony Leung) is a junior newspaper editor with an elusive wife. His new neighbour Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) is a secretary whose husband seems to spend all his time on business trips. They become friends making the lonely evenings more bearable. As their relationship develops they make a discovery that changes their lives forever... In this sumptuous exploration of desire internationally acclaimed director Wong Kar-Wai creates a world of sensuality and longing that will leave you breathless. 'In the Mood for Love' has seduced audiences and critics alike winning awards at Cannes 2000 for best actor cinematography and editing. As Tears Go By: Low-level triad ""big brother"" Wah (Andy Lau) has a hot-tempered ""little brother"" Fly (Jacky Cheung) who can't keep out of trouble and consequently is in constant need of being bailed out by his protector. Wah is super cool but lacks the ambition to rise in the ranks of the triad societies and once he meets his cousin (Maggie Cheung) and falls in love with her he decides he wants to leave ""the life"". But it turns out that he has to bail out Fly one more time. And this time Fly may have gone too far.... Days Of Being Wild: Hong Kong 1960. In a sweltering hot summer York (Leslie Cheung) an amoral disillusioned and cruel young man is kept in luxury by his foster mother a retired courtesan who gives him everything but the one thing he needs to know; the identity of his natural mother. A self-obsessed man desperately seeking his true identity York plays carelessly with his lovers a lonely submissive bargirl (Maggie Cheung) and a beautiful club hostess/dancer (Carina Lau) and his friends before leaving them all for Taiwan in search of the truth that has been denied and may ultimately destroy him...
No one uses colour like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honour. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendour and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
In 14th century China shortly after the Ming Dynasty seized power a Ming envoy to Korea was murdered leading to soured relations between the two countries. In efforts to mend ties Korea sent numerous envoys to China: one such group are arrested and sent into exile. Off in the wilderness they manage to rescue a Ming princess and hope that if they can return her to the Ming safely their honour and good relations between the two countries will be restored... Five years of planning and pre-production and a dedicated production staff of over 300 men and women The Warrior is possibly the biggest motion-picture event in Korean Cinema history. Featuring leading-roles for current `it girl' Zhang Ziyi and Iron Monkey's Yu Rong-kwong The Warrior is a compelling and often evocative tale of courage love and sacrifice.
Set during the mid '90s Mountain Patrol tells the tale of the deadly battles waged between the poachers - who have their sights set on Kekexili's endangered antelopes - and the group of mountain patrolmen who'll stop at nothing to punish them. A hotshot journalist is employed from Beijing to join the latter group and see what makes them tick. Thus begins a tireless pursuit for justice; in the process lives are sacrificed sandstorms are braved and the boundaries of inv
Based on a true story Assembly follows one man's journey in search of truth and honour. The Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War broke out in the winter of 1948 and became one of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. Thousands from The People's Liberation Army and the KMT Army fought in a bloodbath in between Xuzhou and Bengbu. Captain Guzidi commanding the Ninth Company led the infantry unit which consisted of a mere 46 men on a sniping mission to defend the south bank of the Wen River. His orders were to fight until the retreat assembly call was charged. After long hours of defence ammunition was running out and the number of men standing in the Ninth Company was quickly decreasing. Everyone began to wonder if they had missed the retreat bugle call. But Guzidi insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue to battle at all costs. It was not until later when he found that all the neighbouring troops had already left the field that he realised he might have made a mistake and contributed to his men's deaths. Guzidi woke up in the hospital and discovered that due to a military re-organisation he and the 46 men who sacrificed themselves during the deadly engagement had last their identities and ranks and were deemed missing. Determined to prove the existence of the 46 men and honour their glorious deaths Guzidi embarks on his journey to search for his troops...
Like its predecessor, Once Upon a Time in China 2 stars Jet Li as Wong Fei Hung, this time pitched against the xenophobic White Lotus cult, which is violently trying to rid China of foreigners (the period is the early 20th century). To complicate matters, he also finds himself fighting against the reactionary Chinese government. The martial arts battles, in particular one against co-star Donnie Yen as the government's strongman, are everything connoisseurs could wish for. Jet Li is not only acrobatic; he has a powerful screen presence that makes him a convincing hero. Production values, including sets and costumes, are excellent. The only flaw, at least to Western eyes, is the comedy, which has corny jokes about eating dog meat and so forth. On the DVD: the DVD is in widescreen format, with high-quality picture and sound and well-produced subtitles. The extras are well worth having, and include a lengthy scroll-down text biography of Jet Li, interviews with the star and with Donnie Yen, and a very informative audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. --Ed Buscombe
Based on a true story Assembly follows one man's journey in search of truth and honour. The Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War broke out in the winter of 1948 and became one of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. Thousands from The People's Liberation Army and the KMT Army fought in a bloodbath in between Xuzhou and Bengbu. Captain Guzidi commanding the Ninth Company led the infantry unit which consisted of a mere 46 men on a sniping mission to defend the south bank of the Wen River. His orders were to fight until the retreat assembly call was charged. After long hours of defence ammunition was running out and the number of men standing in the Ninth Company was quickly decreasing. Everyone began to wonder if they had missed the retreat bugle call. But Guzidi insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue to battle at all costs. It was not until later when he found that all the neighbouring troops had already left the field that he realised he might have made a mistake and contributed to his men's deaths. Guzidi woke up in the hospital and discovered that due to a military re-organisation he and the 46 men who sacrificed themselves during the deadly engagement had lost their identities and ranks and were deemed missing. Determined to prove the existence of the 46 men and honour their glorious deaths Guzidi embarks on his journey to search for his troops...
Hero director Zhang Yimou throws scene after stunning scene at you in House of Flying Daggers a dazzling epic of true heart-breaking action passionate romance OSCAR -nominated cinematography and serene beauty. Hoping she will lead them to her fellow assassins two captains (Takeshi Kaneshiro Andy Lau) hatch a plan to capture and trick Mei (Ziyi Zhang - Hero; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) a beautiful dancer suspected of having ties to the House of Flying Daggers a powerful revolutionary faction. From there begins a lone trail of dangerous encounters impossible love triangles and plot twists in which people are rarely as they seem... With some of the most beautiful martial arts scenes ever filmed this is a visual masterpiece and a feast for the senses.
Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs Of A Geisha) stars in the latest film from master film maker Seijun Suzuki; a magical musical adaptation of a well known Japanese folktale. Ziyi stars as Tanuki-hime a raccoon spirit princess who falls in love with Amechiyo (Jo Odagiri) a human prince banished from his father's kingdom. With numbers ranging in style from Kabuki to operetta to rock 'n' roll and designs to set the imagination on fire Suzuki's dream project is one of the year's most vibrant entertainments. An extravaganza of sight sound music and romance that will amaze the senses and delight the heart.
2046: Opening in the year 2046 in which a man named Tak (Takuya Kimura) attempts to persuade wjw1967 (Faye Wong) to travel back in time with him the film soon shifts to the year 1966 in which Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) a struggling author asks the woman he loves Su Li-Zhen (Gong Li) to sail with him from Singapore to Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. She declines and over the next three years we return to Chow Mo-Wan on December 24 as he finds himself with another woman
The images of Asif Kapadia's first feature film, The Warrior, sear themselves in the mind: the warrior practising with his sword in front of a half-alive tree, or a close-up of a scorpion scuttling across the desert as a camel cart goes by. Restrained beauty pervades the film in the choice of locations, costumes and the framing of each shot, but those unaccustomed to art cinema will feel the absence of story in this visual, mystical odyssey which uses few words, as looks and images carry the film. Irfan Khan brings a quiet, powerful presence of haunting intensity to the role an Indian "samurai", seemingly a homage to Kurosawa. The warrior has an epiphany after a bloodthirsty encounter that leads him to abandon his life in the desert and head for the pure snows of the Himalayas. This film (that repays repeat viewing and introduces major new talent) is likely to become a landmark. On the DVD: The Warrior's picture quality on disc does justice to the film and the extras are rewarding. The young director is sincere and reflective, as shown in his scene-by-scene commentary and on the deleted material, the latter lasting over an hour. The making of documentary is absorbing. --Rachel Dwyer
Set in the era when China was just beginning to establish relations with Europe, Once upon a Time in China 3 is a mixture of politics, intrigue, broad comedy, and kung fu action. Charismatic Jet Li stars once again as Wong Fei-hung, a legendary Chinese hero who is a doctor, a pacifist, and an amazingly skilled martial artist. Like many Hong Kong films, this movie has a woefully complicated plot: in summary, a kung fu competition not only sparks a bitter rivalry between different martial-arts associations, it also becomes the linchpin in an assassination plot. But this leaves out Wong Fei-hung's increasingly romantic relationship with his aunt (played by Rosamund Kwan), the rehabilitation of one of the villain's henchmen, and the introduction of a steam engine to a Chinese factory, among other subplots. Once upon a Time in China 3 is not the strongest in the series--the subtitling is unusually clumsy, the editing is rough, the plot is confusing, and the melodrama is more crudely played than in the other films--but there's still a clear, raw authority to the storytelling that is a hallmark of director-producer Hark Tsui (Peking Opera Blues, Green Snake). Though it seems to have been made in a rush, Once upon a Time in China 3 will still reward devotees of Hong Kong films, and the frequent and wild fight scenes will appeal to action fans. --Bret Fetzer --This text refers to the DVD edition of this video.
Pulse-pounding, intense and compelling, "Beast Stalker" is a razor-edge crime-thriller featuring explosive action and some of the most visually stunning car chase sequences of recent years.
"Protege" is a stimulating exploration of the complex relationships within the multilayered, international drug manufacturing and distribution syndicates of today.
House Of Flying Daggers (Dir. Zhang Yimou 2004) It is 859AD; the Tang Dynasty at its height one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history is in decline. The Emperor is incompetent and the government is corrupt. Unrest is spreading throughout the land and many rebel armies are forming in protest. The largest and most prestigious is an underground alliance called the House of Flying Daggers. The House of Flying Daggers operates mysteriously stealing from the rich
Thousands of years ago in ancient China a love struck sword hero fights against his destiny. He wants another chance to be reunited with his loved one and he gets that chance in a far away place and a far away time in the cold north in modern Finland. Jade Warrior is set in ancient China early iron age and present day Finland.
The latest film by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, The Road Home (1999) is a story of past and present. In black and white we see a young businessman return to a rural village where his father has died. His mother wants a traditional funeral, which involves carrying the coffin several miles in the depths of winter. Then, in flashback and brilliant colour, we are told the story of his parents' courtship. His father had come as the local schoolteacher and had fallen in love with his mother, a local girl. Political complications ensue and they are separated for two years, but at last reunited. This apparently simply tale is told with great insight and dazzlingly beautiful camerawork, in a style which echoes the Italian neo-realist films of the 1940s. Perhaps it doesn't have the complexity of the director's earlier film, Raise the Red Lantern (1991), which starred the luminous Gong Li, but The Road Home has her match in Zhang Ziyi, who also starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). On the DVD: The quality of the sound and picture (in 2.35:1 ratio) are excellent. There are no additional features except for subtitles in English and 15 other languages. --Ed Buscombe
A spectacular martial arts epic featuring career-topping action from the legendary Yuen Wo Ping ('Kill Bill', 'The Matrix' and 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') and starring Zhang Ziyi ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon").
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy