Year:
20022
Distributor:
Columbia TriStar Home Video
Feature:
4/5
DVD:
2/5
Hero is the
American title for Ying xiong,
a Chinese epic movie made by Yimou Zhang who also directed the film. It
is a fictional story set 2000 years ago during China's warring states
period. Jet Li plays Nameless, a swordsman who is given an audience
with the King of Qin (Daoming Cheng) for killing three top Zhao
assassins: Broken Sword (Tony Leung), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and
Sky (Donnie Yen).
The movie is mostly Nameless relating to the King how he defeated the
three assassins in flashbacks. Halfway through the movie the tone
changes as Nameless' true intentions are revealed. Ziyi Zhang is the
last major role in the movie, playing Broken Sword's apprentice Moon.
This movie is a visual feast. Colors are used throughout to convey
moods and atmosphere. The fighting scenes are in different predominant
colors: grey for Nameless and Sky, red for Flying Snow and Moon, blue
for Broken Sword and Nameless, and so forth. Everything is vivid and
more real than life: from the hailstorms of arrows to the blowing
leaves of a forest to the stillness of a lake.
The theme music is also excellent. It's very Chinese though original.
Lots of violin and slow drums. Stately violin music adding to the
dramatic scenes. Energetic drums during the fight scenes. Especially
since there's not a huge amount of dialog even in the dramatic scenes,
the theme music really brings out the mood of each scene.
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I really liked
this movie. It's reminiscent of Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon but that's because in the US we don't see
many Wuxia movies. Unlike that movie I thought Hero had a good and appropriate
ending. I've heard mixed reviews from my friends but I definitely liked
the whole film.
Extras
Hero Defined - a 25-minute behind the scenes, mostly talking to
director Zhang though the other actors get their say too.
Storyboards - four of the action scenes shown along with the
storyboards.
Inside the Action: A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li - a
13-minute interview of Li conducted by Tarantino. It's mostly about
filming martial arts action scenes, Li's life, and a bit about Hero.
Soundtrack Spot: a commercial for the soundtrack.
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