![]() ![]() It is no less lavish, no less gorgeous, and no less emotionally powerful. Yimou’s third film in his masterful wuxia trilogy was CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (2006), set in the Later Tang Dynasty. Yimou never forgets the supernatural grace of his subjects the violence here is driven at first by political stakes, then by sheer survival, and at last by embittered hearts desperate for love and freedom. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau engage in a deadly game of espionage during the Tang Dynasty, and their culminating sword battle is one of the greatest fight sequences ever filmed. Once again Yimou relies on the stark beauty of natural sets and his powerful sense of color-staging to create a unique action film without peer. The daggers, lies, and swords fly fast as wasps here, and the heart of the tale is a heartbreaking love triangle. The plot concerns a band of rebels (The House of Flying Daggers) and the capture of their leader’s blind daughter. The story brings the sheer scale of HERO down to a more personal size, but amps the action factor to an even higher plane. Once again the beautiful Ziyi Zhang returned, this time playing a central role. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (2004) was Yimou’s breathtaking follow-up to HERO. Instead, he filmed a trilogy of amazing, lavish, films that take the kung fu flick to weird and wonderful heights. Yimou (unlike Lee) was not content to “remaster” the martial arts genre and move on. Zhang Yimou’s films will steal your breath, make your pulse rate, and bring a tear to your eye, all while leaving you gasping for more. At his best, he achieves a dreamlike quality that rivals - perhaps even supercedes - Ang Lee’s singular accomplishment in the same arena. The oldest themes of Love and Death play themselves out with the martial arts conflicts mirroring or enhancing his characters’ internal conflicts. Yimou’s films are slo-mo visual poetry, punctuated by bursts of supernatural combat and the sublime skills of mythical masters. All of these elements are set against the magnificent backdrop of Ancient China, where the director’s eye for natural beauty and skill with color themes brings legends to life on the screen. Solid characters, deeply felt emotions, tragic love stories, and bitter betrayal are the hall marks of Yimou’s wuxia films. Yet what Yimou has done (inspired by Lee) is take this type of action-based movie to a whole new level of excellence. Some of my favorite films are from the tradition of clumsily-translated, low-budget masterpieces such as THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. Now there’s nothing wrong with the “grindhouse” style of kung fu movie. Ziyi Zhang starred in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and her very presence in HERO is a testament to the inspiration that Lee’s work had on Yimou’s ambitious endeavor. It is arguably the greatest role of Jet Li’s career, as he stars alongside well-known Chinese actors such as Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, and the wonderful Ziyi Zhang–who is the link between what Ang Lee started and Yimou has embraced. It tells the story of Nameless, a warrior embroiled in the struggle to unify China through bloody conquest. HERO is one of the most visually arresting movies ever made - Yimou turns cinematic martial arts into a ballet of savage grace and mystical power. continue exploring the fertile ground of his CROUCHING TIGER universe), Yimou did with style, finesse, and sheer visual bravura. Two years later, HERO hit American cinemas (thanks to Quentin Tarantino championing the film) and established Yimou as the new reigning king of the kung fu flick. non-action) films such as RAISE THE RED LANTERN and TO LIVE. In 2002 a film called HERO was released in China by well-established director Zhang Yimou, who was acclaimed for such “serious” (i.e. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON was his single entry into the martial arts film genre–he quickly moved on to other types of films. ![]() Yet for Lee this was not the first installment of a new series, or a new direction for his creativity. The film set a new bar for kung fu flicks, where over-the-top action and supernatural elements blended seamlessly with high drama and solid scripting. Inspired by the great tradition of Chinese martial arts films, Lee brought solid storytelling, deft acting, and superb special effects to bring a new originality to the genre. The desire to kill no longer exists.īack in 2000 director Ang Lee reinvented the kung fu film (or “wuxia film”) with his Oscar-winning CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. “Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. Ziyi Zhang as Mei in the masterful HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. ![]()
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