Shi mian mai fu (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li (writer)
Bin Wang (writer)

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Plot Keywords:

China | Police | Dancer | Warrior | Blind

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 36 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Jin
Andy Lau	...	Leo
Ziyi Zhang	...	Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi)
Dandan Song	...	Yee
Hongfei Zhao	...	Performer
Jun Guo	...	Performer
Shu Zhang	...	Performer
Jiusheng Wang	...	Performer
Zhengyong Zhang	...	Performer
Yongxin Wang	...	Performer
Dong Liu	...	Performer
Qi Zi	...	Performer
Xuedong Qu	...	Performer
Liping Tian	...	Performer
Hongwei Zhao	...	Performer

Also Known As:

Attack from Ten Directions (International: English title) (literal title)
House of Flying Daggers (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of stylized martial arts violence, and some sexuality.

Runtime:

119 min | Australia:118 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:14 | France:U | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15A (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

The literal English translation of the Chinese title is "Ambushed From Ten Directions".

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Most of the trees are silver birch which is not native to China, but is from Europe (this movie was made in Ukraine).

Quotes:

Leo: [referring to Jin] I sacrificed three years for you. How could you love him after only three days?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Beauty Song (Jia Ren Qu)

Without a doubt, Hollywood is going down...

I have never, ever seen a film that the West has ever created that can top Chinese cinema in this form, with the exception possibly being Lord of the Rings. I truly applaud Oriental taste. I can't count the number of times I have completely forgotten that I've actually got my own physical form while watching films like House of Flying Daggers, but I can count how many times that's happened during Western films: zero.

For those of you who have no taste I beg you: but aside your views on gravity-defying fight scenes and subtitles. Just remember that this is something called FANTASY. It isn't real, no matter how much you wish it to be. It's called cinema: you can do whatever the hell you like in film. I don't complain when you've got aliens that spurt out your chest. I don't complain when the dead rise from their graves. I don't complain about the lack of reason behind the ideas that aliens would have less intelligence than humans or that the living dead would harbour grudges against the really living. I complain when it just looks simply uninspiring and frankly visually boring.

So, Zhang Yimou, please bring on more heroes and flying daggers