Wildly colorful and extravagantly emotional, curse of the golden flower has sumptuous sets, splendiferous royal costumes, and roiling familial emotions. The music of the wuxia revival has proven an important part of each films\ success, mining that evergreen market of western music lovers who like nothing more than a blend of a western approach to melody with oriental instrumentation and harmony. The beautiful empress phoenix is depressed by her isolation and her husbands obvious disdain for her. A cruel man, he is secretly having his wife gong li poisoned with a. It will disappoint viewers hoping for chow yunfat to take them on a highkicking martial arts thrill ride, but if you go into the movie expecting more of a shakespearian tragedy than a wushu adventure, this epic tale is sure to impress while its true that golden flower can feel stilted and murky.
Janice middleton, headteacher, edlington victoria school, derbyshire. The mandarin chinese title of the movie is taken from. Upon its release in 2006, the curse of the golden flower was the most expensive chinese film. Chow yun fat, gong li, jay chou, liu ye, ni dahong, qin junjie, li man, chen jin, zhang yimou. Apr 16, 2007 that film was the highestgrossing in china of alltime. The film is worthless as a serious work of art, but it may offer the jaded viewer a surplus source of mst3kinspired wisecracks. Curse of the golden flower follows the disintegration of a chinese emperors family during the 10th century. Chinese action adventure movie chinese movie with english subtitles new martial arts movie 720p. Z hang yimou and chen kaige were the two dominant figures of the socalled chinese fifth generation of film. Curse of the golden flower aka man cheng jim dai huang jin jia. That film was the highestgrossing in china of alltime. Curse of the golden flower medicine for empress youtube. The fact that she looks amazing as the empress surely doesnt.
Jan 23, 2012 vatos locos full movie, hd, crime, thriller, english, gangster mafia film full free movies duration. Z hang yimou and chen kaige were the two dominant figures of the socalled chinese fifth generation of film makers who revitalised the. At its essence this film is a horror story, and it carries the fascination that a good horror story. For many years, the empress and crown prince wan, her stepson, had an illicit sexual affair. Despite its grandeur, this film is in many ways the least rewarding of the three. The curse of the golden flower posted by jeff meyers on wed, jan 17, 2007 at 12. Curse of the golden flower 2007, action adventure drama romantic released in english language in theatre near you in. Production design, the curse of the golden flower production designer huo tingxiao art director zhao bin costume design yee chung man. During chinas tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She spends her time planning the chrysanthemum festival, which is always a grand celebration but this year, no one feels like celebrating. Curse of the golden flower was a 2006 chinese epic drama film based on cao yus 1934 play thunderstorm they are fictional stories, not historical whatsoever.
Starring chow yun fat of crouching tiger, hidden dragon as the embattled emperor and gong li of memoirs of a geisha as his poisoned empress, curse of the golden flower grants you entry into a dazzling and spectacular world of betrayal, vengeance and passion that will change the way you think of martial arts forever. The palace in the capital city is huge, with long hallways, vast windows, and hundreds of rooms and servants. Curse of the golden flower official trailer 2006 youtube. Curse of the golden flower continues the epic wuxia cycle upon which fifth generation leading light zhang yimou unexpectedly embarked with 2003s hero and its followup, house of. From the director of hero and house of flying daggers comes the martial arts epic masterpiece whose savage beauty and exquisite elegance has mesmerized and captivated audiences around the world. On the eve of the chong yang festival, golden flowers fill the imperial palace. While curse of the golden flower is stylistically similar in its martial arts blend to the more recent hero end of the spectrum, the 2006. Behind the scenes look at the making of zhang yimous curse of the golden flower. Family turmoil, treachery, and treason threaten to destroy a 10th century royal chinese monarchy. Zhang yimous series of stylised swordplay epics comes to an end in the curse of the golden flower, a characteristically stunning portrait of.
Why did the emperor poison the empress in curse of the golden. Curse of the golden flower dvd, 2007 for sale online ebay. A pageantry of pageantry that would put bertolucci or lean to shame, zhang yimous the curse of the golden flower piles spectacle upon spectacle, and tragedy on top of tragedy, until the whole contraption fairly disintegrates under the fervid weight of it all. Hot on the heals of the wonderful crouching tiger, hidden dragon 2000, hero 2002, house of flying daggers 2004 and fearless 2006 comes curse of the golden flower from director yimou zhang, which by the looks of things is another sumptuous period epic providing a glimpse into semifaux chinese history currently in post production. It should please both sides of moviegoers divided by the two phases of yimous career, appealing to fans of raise the. Yunfat chow in curse of the golden flower 2006 michael nouri at an. Jul 09, 2011 curse of the golden flower was a 2006 chinese epic drama film based on cao yus 1934 play thunderstorm they are fictional stories, not historical whatsoever. Despite its flaws, curse of the golden flower is a diverting enough film, just somewhat flat compared to zhangs previous epicsa little too willing, perhaps, to let story and action cede the. Director yimou transposed the setting to premodern china.
Curse of the golden flower has its work cut out for it in terms of audience expectations. So, of course, his followup film turns out to be an epic. Curse of the golden flower is martial arts melodrama with amazing sets, costumes, cleavages, fight scenes and the best action star chow yun fat. Curse of the golden flower bluray disc, 2007 for sale. Released december 21st, 2006, curse of the golden flower stars chow yunfat, gong li, jay chou, ye liu the r movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 54 min, and received a score of 70 out of 100 on. Curse of the golden flower 2006 yi mou zhang, zhang. The film got a warm reception from fans of eastern cinema, although not quite as rapturous as for the previous two films. Curse of the golden flower zhang yimou 2006 film sufi. Set in chinas tenth century tang dynasty, the story sees chow yun fats emperor. This is one of those films that needs to be seen to be understood. Curse of the golden flower is a 2006 chinese epic wuxia drama film written and directed by zhang yimou. Era cathar rhythm i dont own the right to the film or the music.
Curse of the golden flower on dvd march 27, 2007 starring chow yunfat, gong li, liu ye, chen jin. Vatos locos full movie, hd, crime, thriller, english, gangster mafia film full free movies duration. Curse of the golden flower 2007, directed by zhang yimou. Normally this wouldnt really be an issue, as late period yimou films like house of flying daggers and hero have been perfectly. Besides starring in the film, jay chou has also recorded two songs to accompany the film, one titled chrysanthemum terrace chinese. Curse of the golden flower is a shakespearian drama told by a master combatant and shot like a dream. With curse of the golden flower, as in ju dou 1990, raise the red lantern 1991 and shanghai triad 1995, even survival is denied. Shigeru umebayashi director zhang yimou has proven through the years that he is capable of both high melodrama and extreme action, ranging from raise the red lantern to house of flying daggers in his mandarinlanguage efforts.
The entire film revolves around empress phoenix played by gong li in a truly great performance. The screenplay was cowritten by zhang yimou, wu nan and bian zhihong, and coproduced by bill kong and zhang weiping. It will disappoint viewers hoping for chow yunfat to take them on a highkicking martial arts thrill ride, but if you go into the movie expecting more of a shakespearian tragedy than a wushu adventure, this epic tale is sure to impress. In the curse of the golden flower, chinas official 2007 oscar entry, highly acclaimed director zhang yimou carries us into the world of the tang dynasty, a period known for its flamboyance, beauty, and glamour. Calling again upon the talents of the striking gong li, yimou tells an epic tale of lust and power set in the opulent world of the later tang dynasty. The curse of the golden flower is based on one of the most famous and most commonly performed plays in china, thunderstorm, written in 1933 by cao yu. The art of discussion has improved and the breadth of language used has been enhanced by the variety of films watched, all of which we order free from the into film website. Zhang yimous series of stylised swordplay epics comes to an end in the curse of the golden flower, a characteristically stunning portrait of family plotting. Though the trailer for curse of the golden flower makes it look like another highspeed martial arts picture from the director of house of flying daggers, the movie is actually an exquisite melding of zhang yimous two signature styles, the historical drama and arthouse wuxia. Its amazing visual spectacle and will satisfy wuxia film fans. Starring chow yun fat and gong li, curse of the golden flower reveals a dazzling.
Whats striking about curse of the golden flower, however, is that it successfully avoids the trap of both hero and house of flying daggers, being lovely to look at and dramatically inert. This film was wonderful to watch if you enjoy magnificent costumes and sets. The hardest scene in curse of the golden flower for chow yunfat duration. Set in the lavish and breathtakingly colorful world hidden from the eyes of mere mortals behind the walls of the forbidden city, a tale of a royal family divided against itself builds to a mythic.
Zhang yimou is seriously off his game with the utterly ridiculous curse of the golden flower, a new epic that feels like hero meets the lion in winter meets peyton place. Why did the emperor poison the empress in curse of the. In 2004, zhang yimou caused a sensation with his astonishing house of flying daggers, and his curse of the golden flower is yet another dazzling, visually stunning film. The story is a truly unique tragedy that never becomes dour or mopey, the blade and wirework is second to none, and the setcostume design sears the eyes and stirs the soul. Zhang yimou made his first feature twenty years ago, and as a creative force, he continues to adapt and find new ways to tell a story, keeping his work fresh. Drama promo curse of the golden flower film trailer 30. Juhua tai, released on his 2006 album still fantasy and one included in his curse of the golden flower ep. Jan 17, 2007 the curse of the golden flower posted by jeff meyers on wed, jan 17, 2007 at 12. Curse of the golden flower on dvd 043396167261 from sony pictures home entertainment. Curse of the golden flower 2006 alternate ending movie.