Hero Special Edition
by Zhang Yimou
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chen Daoming, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-WaiDirector: Zhang Yimou
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Cantonese (Original Language); English (Dubbed); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-15
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Miramax Films
Movie Reviews of Hero Special Edition
Movie Review: Fight of a hero
Summary: 5 Stars
In recent years, Zhang Yimou has been creating some truly epic movies -- expansive, lushly opulent action films with a heavy dose of tragedy and romance. And before he even created "House of Flying Daggers," Yimou created "Hero" -- visually rich, stunningly action-packed, and beautifully made, "Hero" is a unique film that takes the soul and senses on a rollercoaster ride.
Ancient China (third century B.C.) was divided into seven kingdoms, and the most powerful lord was the King of Qin (Chen Dao Ming). He wants to unite China under his own rule. But he lives in fear of his life, most particularly from a trio of deadly assassins: "Broken Sword", "Flying Snow" and "Long Sky" (Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen respectively). And lest they get close to him, everyone is kept at a far distance and the King is surrounded by armed guards.
Then a man called Nameless (Jet Li) arrives, announcing that he has somehow killed them, and is actually permitted to sit within a certain distance of the King. How could he have killed three incredibly powerful warriors? Not just by his impressive martial arts skills, but through his cunning as well. He uses sexual divisions and jealousy, calligraphy (yes, calligraphy), and his wits to defeat all three assassins in turn.
But the king is not convinced that Nameless is telling the whole truth, and concocts a version of his own that also explains Nameless' actions and choices. A game of wits starts to form between the mysterious warrior and the wily king. What is the truth behind the hero's story?
Despite having been released much later, "Hero" was apparently the first of Yimou's wuxia action movies -- and while it doesn't cover much new ground in the fantasy martial arts area, it's a magnificent and awe-inspiring film. And perhaps most uniquely, it draws heavily on Akira Kurosawa's classic "Rashomon," by having the King and Nameless provide wildly different versions of the same story. What is the truth? It turns out to be far more complex than even those involved would have thought.
And Yimou's wire-fu creates a film where style and fantasy overcomes the realistic, full of lush color and swirling action scenes. People slash off hundreds of oncoming arrows and leap through walls of droplets -- just try doing that in the real world. And the fight scenes are, simply put, balletic -- they fight while suspended over a lake as their swords dip through the water, fight to music, battle in a swirl of fallen autumn leaves.
As exquisite as the action seems, it would be empty without a suitable plot to go with it -- and while deceptively simple, Yimou's storyline is actually rather complex emotionally. There's a passionate romance that is splintering apart, personal rivalry, and the whole question of what the titular character's plans are, and what he ultimately chooses to do. The one flaw is that I'm not sure why he makes the decision he does -- it seems rather out of left field.
Jet Li and Chen Dao Ming give the best performances of this film -- they both portray intelligent, suspicious men who are playing a strange game of truth and deception. Their back-and-forth conversations are entrancing. The three assassin actors -- as well as the wonderful Zhang Ziyi, as the mistress of one of the men -- are given secondary roles, but do an excellent job of imbuing them with little hints of humanity, tragic romance and briliant skills.
Summary of Hero Special Edition
Master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino presents HERO -- starring martial arts legend Jet Li. This standout Special Edition, remastered and including an exciting new bonus feature, is a visually stunning epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation. With supernatural skill -- and no fear -- a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire's most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat. Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, HERO was an Oscar(R) (Best Foreign Language Film, 2002) and Golden Globe nomineeDirector Zhang Yimou brings the sumptuous visual style of his previous films (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to the high-kicking kung fu genre. A nameless warrior (Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Once Upon a Time in China) arrives at an emperor's palace with three weapons, each belonging to a famous assassin who had sworn to kill the emperor. As the nameless man spins out his story--and the emperor presents his own interpretation of what might really have happened--each episode is drenched in red, blue, white or another dominant color. Hero combines sweeping cinematography and superb performances from the cream of the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, Irma Vep, Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, In the Mood for Love, Hard Boiled; and Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The result is stunning, a dazzling action movie with an emotional richness that deepens with every step. --Bret Fetzer
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