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Kiss of the Dragon, Fearless, Unleashed, Romeo must Die, Cradle to Grave, even The One are just great ❤ but also in that order ranking from up to down..😅 Hero might as well be the best Jet Li movie i know, its beautiful But i maybe have forgotten something
In the nameless assasin's version of the story, the characters are painted in red and they are full of passion and desires. The story is vulgar and spicy, something, the assassin thinks, the bloodthirsty tyrant would be interested in. But the emperor turns out to be in awe of the martial artists who breached his palace, but ultimately spared his life. In the emperor's version of the story, the martial artists are painted in blue, and unrealistically noble and honourable. When the characters are bleached of all colors, lies and biases, finally emerges the reality. It is neither as pristine, like in the emperor's imagination, nor entirely dramatic, as in the nameless assassin's lie. However, that's the one that brings tears to the audience's eyes. I really like the use of colors and symbolism in this movie.
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take on their use is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue romanticized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section. Presenting different layers of character writing.
@@jp3813I like your interpretation. One thing you may not know is that white according to many Asian cultures like Chinese and even Japanese, is the color of death which almost everyone in the final version of the story was wearing, foreshadowing everyone’s death. Sigh, this is arguably Jet Li’s best movie not just in terms of Kung Fu fighting, but in artistic license as well as story acting. The 4 assassins are the most famous actors, but to me I really liked the Emperor as he reacted to the story
@@jp3813wow, this is a whole other level I hadn't considered. I appreciated the colours and what they stood for, but the combination of them is brilliant.
Fun fact: Jet Li convinced the director of this movie, Zhimou Yang, to go with Donnie Yen instead of his own pick bcos he thought that Donnie Yen and him going at it would be the best opener due to knowing Donnie's skill level. This also helped revitalize Donnie Yen's career in China, which had been on a downward trend for a while. Edit: Another fun fact is that Quentin Tarantino liked this movie so much that he convinced Miramax to release the movie in American theaters back in 2004.
Another fun fact: Donnie Yen last onscreen appearance/fight scene with Jet Li was 10 years prior to this movie when Yen appeared in Once Upon a Time in China II. In that movie, Yen played the lead villain to Li's Wong-Fei Hong character.
@@KeqingMain8 I love Once Upon a Time in China 2, and when I heard Donnie and Jet was going to team up again I was freaky hype. Their display of skills in Hero did not disappoint, but that was the peak of my excitement. The rest of the movie was OK, I've seen similar narrative in other Chinese shows. Super pretty movie though.
Not surprising that Jet prefers Donnie since they both trained under the same master and won National Wushu Championships at a young age. Although Jet was the more senior student and Donnie joined the school much later.
In Chinese history, this Qin Emperor became the first Emperor of China and fully unified all thr kingdoms to become one 'under Heaven'. Hence, despite the wars, Broken Sword realised he was the only man strong enough to unify all their kingdoms and put an end to all the fighting once and for all.
The color schemes were used brilliantly to represent different stories. Red--passion, lust, envy, chaos Blue--pure, idealistic White--reality, sensible Green--memory, nostalgia Visually and thematically the film is near perfect. The script structure however was debated much at its time as overdesigned to the point of feeling artificial. To me, its strength much compensated for its weaknesses. The cinematography and fight choreography alone make it a significant film for the general audience and industry professionals to appreciate.
Came to say this. Thank you. Slight differences in interpretation: Passion, Intellect, truth, and nature. Pretty much the same. One of my all time favorite film.
The Chinese elements and their associated colours: Red - Fire, blue - no Chinese element equal but possibly water, white - metal, green - forest / wood in it's natural form. Black - the element of water, used by the King of Qin, who's flag was the Great Bear constellation on a black flag. The yellow is earth, China itself, 'our land'.
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take on their use is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. They can also be interpreted as different layers of character writing. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue romanticized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section. As for the "debate", I don't recall them being "much". The structure was obviously inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, and it's no more complicated than many Christopher Nolan films.
Glad you guys enjoyed this! 'Fearless' is definitely a good pick out of Jet Li's movies. I must say though, if you want to watch real Chinese martial arts with basically no special effects, Jet Li's first movie, Shaolin Temple (1982), remains the best display of different weaponry and fighting styles. At the time, Jet Li and all the other martial artists performed in each of their best known styles without knowing how to choreograph...instead it was just a display of raw talent. It's amazing stuff.
Yes! Fist of Legend is fairly grounded too and would make a great double feature since the main character in Fist of Legend is the student of the main character in Fearless.
For me, his Wong Fey Hong series called Once Upon a Time in China 1-3 features some of Jet Li’s best work. Not quite so fantastical but still awesome fighting, and also has a great duel between Donnie Yen and Jet Li using staffs in no.2. Sigh, sadly he is quite old now and no longer in shape due to some illness last few years. Donnie Yen on the other hand still in shape and acting/working I think.
Some random trivia: That Qin (Chin) emperor was the first historical emperor who unified China, and supposedly the base or origin of the English name for China. The scene where they were fighting over that pond took a long time as they had to come each day at dawn and shoot the film when there was no breeze and thus show the beautiful still water. Yes, that “murderous intent” concept is often seen in anime. I don’t know Chinese, but I heard the emperor say the word as something like “saa chi”; in Japanese, it’s “sakki” 殺気. The kanji, of course is from China, and broken down, the first character is “satsu,” and means “kill” and the second character is “ki,” which means “spirit/feeling.” You see “satsu” in such words as 殺人 “satsujin” (killer), 暗殺 “ansatsu” (assassination), and “ki” in such words as 気分 “kibun” (feeling), やる気 “yaruki” (readiness/willingness), 元気 “genki” (healthy), 人気 “ninki” (popular), etc. And who do you think the title “hero” refers to? Nameless, for letting the emperor live for the greater good of the land? The trio fighters for their sacrifices? Or the emperor for unifying China? For other Jet Li movies, I recommend the “Once Upon a Time in China” series (Donnie Yen fights him in one of them… maybe it was the second one) and “Fong Sai Yuk” series.
Once Upon A Time in China I-II (III is OK, they're not so good after that) Fist of Legend The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk (Second one is OK) Romeo Must Die Kiss of The Dragon The Tai Chi Master The Swordsman 2 Lethal Weapon 4 Forbidden Kingdom The Expendables
It takes western audiences ages to understand how to appreciate these films. You need to understand you’re not supposed to watch it with realism in mind, you’re supposed to watch it and understand it like you would a ballet, with the fight choreography being the dance which communicates the characters’ desires, and reason and emotions.
True. All these kinds of films, starting from Shaw Brothers films to modern day Kungfu classics, you have to watch them as they are fantasy. Like Lord of the Rings. That is the beauty of these films. The transcedent beauty of the scenes like in this, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of the Flying Daggers. Outside kungfu, I would suggest: Blind swordsman: Zatoichi 2003. A wonderful samurai film with Tadanobu Asano & Takeshi Kitano.
Dude...western audiences aren't THAT dumb. We can grasp the idea of non-realistic fantasy. Take musicals for example. No one goes "Wait a minute why are these people bursting into song in the middle of the street!? It makes no sense!" People get the idea
@@felphero I really don’t think that’s true. I think westerners are okay with non-realism when it’s non-realism they’ve grown up with. Not so much for the rest.
@@RoyKoopaling well, fair point. But I will say this, I still totally managed to understand what was this movie's deal back when I was like 13 or 14. It's pretty much a poem in motion. However I'm a huge nerd so I'm not sure if I can be used as a "normal audience" example
No，It starts the blockbuster era of China movie “industry”. YiMou Zhang used to be a master level director during late 80’s and middle 90’s. After Ang Lee winning Oscars Award of best foreign language film with in 2001,Zhang felt great pressure and craved for that award,and this movie which released in 2002 was aiming for The Oscars and failed.Most of Chinese movie critics say it’s pretty hollow spiritually compare with Ang Lee‘s movie,but still a good movie.
@@shiliu3295 I don't understand the point. I have no problem with blockbusters. If western blockbusters were of this quality that'd be great for everyone. But they aren't
My favourite "martial arts" movie of all time. It's just a complete spectacle. The storytelling is amazing, cinematographylooks so refined and beautiful, and the film score is incredible. Hero is truly a work of art. I just wished more people have seen it.
This is my favorite film with a tragic ending, because the tragedy is meaningful and has an important impact. It's not one of those "bad things happen just because so suck it up." The emperor learns a lesson from it all, as do other characters. I love it.
Two other amazing films, that I would highly recommend along this vein, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers, both are absolutely gorgeous films, everyone should watch.
I recommend 2 more masterpieces,"Reign of Assassins" Starring Michelle Yeoh and "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" starring Andy Lau.
AHHH I love that you guys are reacting to this!! I grew up with Chinese cinema and I always try to show this film and others to my western friends, I'm glad there's channels that react to Hero, it's one of my favorites :)
The word masterpiece was created to describe this film. I mean there’s so much to love, the music, the acting, the fight scenes etc, but my god the mother flubbing cinematography is the greatest I’ve ever seen in any film, it belongs in a freaking museum
This film is an imaginative dramatisation of a well-known historical event - the attempted assassination of the king of Qin by a man named Jin Ke. Jin Ke, like Nameless, manoeuvred to get close to the king, under the pretext of ceding lands to Qin. Unbeknownst to the king, a dagger was hidden in one of the scrolls of the maps Jin Ke was carrying. As the assassin unrolled the scroll, he grabbed the dagger hidden there and tried to stab the king. He missed. And the king of Qin would go on to conquer the rest of the states and declare himself the emperor - Qin Shi Huang Di.
My Wushu coach was on the same Beijing Wushu Team as Jet Li and Donnie Yen, and I was always amazed at how rigorous their training was, allowing them to move like that at such speed even well past their prime I’m shocked to hear this is your first Jet Li movie, I hope you get to Fearless as well For another Tony Leung movie that doesn’t get much appreciation, you can also try Red Cliff, an insanely epic two-part film that takes place in a vaguely similar warring setting, and is also actually based on history This story was based on a real assassination attempt on the first Emperor of China, although only very loosely, where the assassin, who was loyal to one of the states he was trying to conquer, used trickery to get come within striking range of him, but ultimately failed It was about unification though, since the land was nominally supposed to already be unified under the Zhou Dynasty but in reality the Zhou’s lack of power led to an 800 year long series of bloody wars. So you can see why Broken Sword just wanted it all to end I might add that it is actually incredibly rare for the First Emperor to be depicted in an overall positive light like this
One of my all-time favorite films. Have had a LONG time crush on Maggie Cheung and the cinematography in this film is SO beautiful! Really nice to see someone react to this one.
The first time I watched your video was you reacting to Mandalorian, the final episode when Luke shows up. I've been loving your videos ever since. As a Chinese-American, I'm so happy and proud that you have chosen this film to react to. The ending have always brings tears to me. Thank you so much for reacting to this film and I look forward to seeing more of your reaction videos.
I recommend "Once Upon a Time in China 2" (1992) - my absolute favorite of Jet Li's Wong Fei Hong movies and proved to doubters that young Jet Li had the presence and bearing to be convincing as a revered sifu (traditionallly, a highly, highly respected sifu like Wong would have been played by an older actor), "Once Upon a Time in China 1" - elevated Jet Li from star to superstar in Asia and does a good job establishing the characters and the complex and turbulent times they live in with more plot and somewhat less action (very helpful but not absolutely essential to see before watching "Once Upon a Time in China 2"), and "The Shaolin Temple" (1982) - very basic story but brought Jet Li into the limelight and features a terrific showcase of some traditional Chinese martial arts.
Fun fact: Jet Li & Donnie Yen used to train together at the Beijing Wushu team. That's where they met for the first time. It's been said many times that Donnie is probably the best in terms of actual practical combat by his peers in regards to Asian cinema. Another fun fact, he actually broke one of Mike Tyson's fingers during a fight scene with his elbow in Ip Man 3. It was by accident but Mike wanted to finish the scene before being sent to the hospital for treatment. Recommendations: Jet Li: Once Upon A Time In China & Fist Of Legend Donnie Yen: Flashpoint & SPL (Kill Zone) edit: You guys should really react to Kingdom anime. It covers the warring states before the King of QIn achieved his goal of the unification all states. The battles are just godamn EPIC.
The use of color, sound design , beautiful scenery, and the music all work together in such a beautiful way. In my opinion it is one of the most beautifully produced movies.
Red: The story is about passion love tragic. Blue: The story is about sad love tragic. While: neutral. The truth Green: The beginning. The serenity of Broken Sword and the enlightment. Broken Sword choose to die because of love for Snow. He saw the rage and vengence in her so he took it to free her. Snow upon realising what she has done, she choose to die to end it all. Nameless spare the king because he finally understood what Broken Sword meant with his calligraphy and his last word (the suffering of few can't compare to the suffering of the masses), so he choose to let him become the "example". The king had no choice but to kill the last man who understood him, to set an example so he could end the conquest to unify every land under one sky.
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. They can also be interpreted as different layers of character writing. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue idealized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section.
You guys should definitely dive into Jet Li's films. Black Mask, Fist of Fury, The Protector, Fearless, Romeo Must Die, The One. All notable movies in his filmography.
@@andyandys5356 Yes! Fist of Legend is what I meant to say. I confused it with Fist of Fury because Fist of Legend is a loose adaptation of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection. And because of FISTS. Haha.
A lot of Jet Li movies have had Yuen Woo-Ping as the fight choreographer. Fist of Legend is the one that got the Wachowskis to insist on hiring him for the Matrix trilogy. He's also the one who introduced Jackie Chan to martial arts comedy and gave both Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen their first big break as actors.
i always find it funny that western audiences can accept someone throwing a shield that returns to his hand even a hammer, or someone bitten but a spider who suddenly becomes able to stick to walls… and then calls wuxia “unrealistic”. 😂🤣😂
@@Skip-Kilat I think it has to do with context. Most westerners have a rudimentary understanding of chi, Chinese culture, the historical settings these stories are usually told, or the concepts involved in a 2,000+ year old literary tradition that allow the viewer to appreciate something like the weightless leap. Also, most wuxia films do a poor job at explaining these things because they don't have to, they are made for a particular audience who understands these concepts already. Their understanding of martial arts itself merely serves as a way to defend yourself and look cool doing it and beyond that it's value only extends to movies and sports. It's not their fault, they're frame of reference is just different.
Strange how the subtitles changed it to "Our Land" in the newer versions. Original subtitles was "Under Heaven" which is more accurate, and a better poetic translation of the two written words "Tian Xia" (天下).
I was just thinking about this movie! My absolute favorite martial arts film - I try to explain it to friends and always give up and just send them video clips of the red leaves scene.
The one thing that bothered me in this movie was the English subtitle translation for the two words that Broken Sword wrote on the sand to convince Nameless not to go through with it. "Tien Sia" literally translates to "below heaven" meaning "all things under one heaven" referencing not just the land but also the Emperor's metaphorical title of "The son of heaven" who rules all things under heaven". Somehow, "Our land" doesn"'t carry as much weight or punch that shows the depth of wisdom and significance of those two words. My mandarin is pretty limited(I don't speak it, but know simple phrases and words), but I remember being surprised the moment I heard it and saw the mistranslation in the subtitle. It felt like for me, the reveal scene was incomplete because of it.
That calligraphy in red, the symbol 'sword' as one replacing 19 versions, all on yellowish paper suggesting earth. Qin / China is blood-soaked earth, and all others must submit. An excellent symbol for a tyrant, and it's use in this film may be showing the hope that leaders are wise, not violent.
perhaps "The Realm" might come closest, but the choice here is between the grandiosity of "realm" vs. the simplicity of "Our Land" or "The Land". something to be appreciated either way
Nameless's decision to kill the King, was determined by whether or not the King understood the Truth within the calligraphy of the scroll. The candle flames wavered until the King's ultimate realization of the ideal of the warrior, upon which they became still. Nameless - "My mission is now complete, a dead man begs you to remember, that the ultimate act of a warrior is to lay down his sword". The King of Qi, must bring peace. Only then was it a worthy sacrifice.
This is the first time i am seeing anyone reacting to this movie, This is one those movies i believe to be One the best movies made on a Global platform, one of the best movies i have seen in my life. Love from India.
Very unique movie, was so dam confused watching this as a 8 year old but the fight scenes were mesmerizing 😂. One of my favorite Jet Li movie for sure but you guys should watch Fearless a Jet Li Classic 👌
For sure. Back then, Fearless was the movie that opened my eyes up to how deep martial arts movies could be. Hero and Crouching Tiger were too philosophical for me to understand at the time.
This type of story narrative is based off Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon where a dead samurai is found in the woods and there are different sides of the story as to how the samurai died; a bandit's story, the samurai's wife's story, the samurai's story (told by a third party) and a woodcutter's story.
I read through most of the comments and saw several referenced color: keep in mind that colors in the East have different connotations than in the West. For example, white is a color of death and worn at funerals; red is worn at weddings. Just a thought.
The scene where arrows all firing through the air at the same time was considered first popularized in Hero. It's can be said that it was Mr. Chang contribution to cinematography. (Note: another Asian contribution was Mr. Kurozawa's shot of army coming up from horizon.). Hero was influenced, story telling-wise, by another old school Kurozawa's film, Rashomon. Chang's works have been very famous for artistic cinematography. His earlier film, "Raise the red lantern" get him award for it. (note: The film is not wuxia style)
I still remember seeing this in theaters and I loved it to death. I'm so glad it came out in a time where it wasn't going to be constantly compared to today's marvel movies.
I read that this was meant to be Zhang Yimou’s practice film before he remade House Of Flying Daggers, but I thought this one was better. It really leans into the abstract nature of these kinds of movies and paints a beautiful picture. The message was really interesting - the importance of the group over the individual, that can only be achieved through brutal conquest, yet the sword needs to be put down afterwards. It’s no wonder the director was employed to make the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics after this film came out. Similar kind of spectacle and message (communalism)
The biggest names in early Wuxia films came from the schools of Peking Opera. So its connection to dance and musical theatrics are extremely prominent. The use of wires and gravity-defying imagery all harken back to its origins as a way to bring tales of legendary heroes, mythical beings with mysterious powers, and tales of great triumph and tragedy to the stage.
Loved the soundtrack to this film so much I bought it back in the day. Such a beautiful film overall. Like many others, I definitely recommend the same director's House of Flying Daggers. Also, the word for Sky's weapon that Anthony was looking for is "spear."
This is a great Jet Li movie but I think Fearless, also with Jet Li, is even better. No one has really reacted to Fearless on youtube as well, would love to see one! ;D
Have you two watched the movie The Grandmaster. I think you two would like it. Its a different look at IpMan than the Donny Yen IpMan series. It stars Tony Leoung
Loved your reaction, and how you were spot on with the symbolism and story. Many reactors forget that this is a someone telling the Emperor of what he did, not showing the actual fight. The Emperor sees it as he hears the story, which is why the characters are flying and everything seems bigger than real. Colours are the important part of this story. They use specific colours depending on how the story is expressed. Like red = imagination, blue = perceived reality, white = truth, and green = enlightenment. This is why when red was used in the calligraphy fight it wasn't true, blue was what the Emperor perceived as how it should be, green is when a warrior realized he was in the wrong, and white to show how it actually happened.
i am so into the beautiful cool fighting in this movie...stunning..i remember watching a trailer promoted on my local tv....the scene where that lady turning around attacking the other lady and all the autumn leaves at the back also turning with her..stunning, badasses..love it.
You still haven't seen Ip Man 4 yet. Another Donnie Yen movie you should watch is Raging Fire. If you're looking for more Tony Leung watch Infernal Affairs, one of the best Hong Kong movies ever. The Departed was a remake of it. Also, some korean movies you should watch are, Train To Busan and The Witch Part 1 Subversion. If you plan on watching The Witch, don't look at the international trailer whatever you do.
Agreed. Raging Fire was a underrated as hell gem from last year. As for Tony Leung, his seven film collaborations with director Wong Kar-wai are great, with personal favorites being, Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, and 2046, plus also his John Woo collaborations in Hard Boiled and Red Cliff, as well as the NC-17 rated erotic WWII drama Lust, Caution from Ang Lee
Other movies with similar artistic direction: House of the Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Legend of the Black Scorpion (loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet).
The actors who played Flying Snow and Broken Sword played the couple in In the Mood for Love, which is a movie I have not yet seen, but I have heard literally nothing but effusive praise about it.
do you know maggie cheung, actress who play snow, has won many awards from Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival or Chicago International Film Festival
Had watched that in the cinema, and I also immediately thought about how great the soundtrack was, but I wondered also directly that it sounds so Japanese for a Chinese film, and thus I waited to get my suspicion confirmed in the credits.
From my understanding about this movie; Qin was the only dynasty able to unify China which was why Broken Sword didn’t killed the king when he had the chance because he understood Qin could end all wars in China. Broken Sword and Snow’s relationship also went sour after that assassin attempt since Snow couldn’t understand. Jet Li also realized that at the end and kept the king alive.
"Hero" is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 2002. The story is based on true history in 227 BC that a swordsman Jing Ke prepared for ten years to kill the King of Qin. This is also the main storyline of the movie.
You guys gotta watch other Jet Li movies like Once Upon A Time In China (the original Cantonese version, not English dubbed) and the ones he made in the U.S. (The One, Kiss of The Dragon, Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave)
Where to begin? There is so much to unfold here. Hero was released in the US two years after Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won four Oscars. Zhang Ziyi was in CTHD, which made her an instant international star leading her to work with director Zhang Yimou in Hero in a supporting role and as the female lead in House of Flying Dagger. The color scheme in Hero is from the narrator's perspective, a tribute and reference to Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950), colloquially known as the Rashomon Effect, where each character gives their version of the same incident. Also, the calligraphy scene where the old master writes as arrows whizzing near him is a call back to another Kurosawa film, Ran (1985). Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung also starred together in Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love as yet again in a tragic love story. Zhang Yimou, the visionary director, was selected to direct the breathtaking grandeur of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, alongside co-director and choreographer Zhang Jigang. Just search for it here on UA-cam and be ready to be astounded by the sheer beauty and synchronicity of the ceremonies.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
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Jet Li is amazing! Have ya by any chance watched Jackie Chans first strike or Legend of the Drunken Master (1994) classic martial arts movies!
You must watch jet li film "The One"
Please ,react to'" train to busan "if you havent watched yet
Kiss of the Dragon, Fearless, Unleashed, Romeo must Die, Cradle to Grave, even The One are just great ❤ but also in that order ranking from up to down..😅 Hero might as well be the best Jet Li movie i know, its beautiful
But i maybe have forgotten something
5:35 they are just full of their chi
In the nameless assasin's version of the story, the characters are painted in red and they are full of passion and desires. The story is vulgar and spicy, something, the assassin thinks, the bloodthirsty tyrant would be interested in. But the emperor turns out to be in awe of the martial artists who breached his palace, but ultimately spared his life. In the emperor's version of the story, the martial artists are painted in blue, and unrealistically noble and honourable. When the characters are bleached of all colors, lies and biases, finally emerges the reality. It is neither as pristine, like in the emperor's imagination, nor entirely dramatic, as in the nameless assassin's lie. However, that's the one that brings tears to the audience's eyes. I really like the use of colors and symbolism in this movie.
great interpretation. never thought of the red that way before
Absolutely brilliant
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take on their use is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue romanticized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section. Presenting different layers of character writing.
@@jp3813I like your interpretation. One thing you may not know is that white according to many Asian cultures like Chinese and even Japanese, is the color of death which almost everyone in the final version of the story was wearing, foreshadowing everyone’s death.
Sigh, this is arguably Jet Li’s best movie not just in terms of Kung Fu fighting, but in artistic license as well as story acting. The 4 assassins are the most famous actors, but to me I really liked the Emperor as he reacted to the story
@@jp3813wow, this is a whole other level I hadn't considered. I appreciated the colours and what they stood for, but the combination of them is brilliant.
Fun fact: Jet Li convinced the director of this movie, Zhimou Yang, to go with Donnie Yen instead of his own pick bcos he thought that Donnie Yen and him going at it would be the best opener due to knowing Donnie's skill level.
This also helped revitalize Donnie Yen's career in China, which had been on a downward trend for a while.
Edit: Another fun fact is that Quentin Tarantino liked this movie so much that he convinced Miramax to release the movie in American theaters back in 2004.
I love that Tarantino is a wuxia fan. He said he watched Ashes of Time a movie wuxia fans would know.
Another fun fact: Donnie Yen last onscreen appearance/fight scene with Jet Li was 10 years prior to this movie when Yen appeared in Once Upon a Time in China II. In that movie, Yen played the lead villain to Li's Wong-Fei Hong character.
@@KeqingMain8 I love Once Upon a Time in China 2, and when I heard Donnie and Jet was going to team up again I was freaky hype. Their display of skills in Hero did not disappoint, but that was the peak of my excitement. The rest of the movie was OK, I've seen similar narrative in other Chinese shows. Super pretty movie though.
Not surprising that Jet prefers Donnie since they both trained under the same master and won National Wushu Championships at a young age. Although Jet was the more senior student and Donnie joined the school much later.
@@johnlloyddy7016 only months and Donnie actually training with female team they didn't meet that much cause jet is already an actor that time
In Chinese history, this Qin Emperor became the first Emperor of China and fully unified all thr kingdoms to become one 'under Heaven'. Hence, despite the wars, Broken Sword realised he was the only man strong enough to unify all their kingdoms and put an end to all the fighting once and for all.
The color schemes were used brilliantly to represent different stories.
Red--passion, lust, envy, chaos
Blue--pure, idealistic
White--reality, sensible
Green--memory, nostalgia
Visually and thematically the film is near perfect. The script structure however was debated much at its time as overdesigned to the point of feeling artificial.
To me, its strength much compensated for its weaknesses. The cinematography and fight choreography alone make it a significant film for the general audience and industry professionals to appreciate.
Came to say this. Thank you. Slight differences in interpretation: Passion, Intellect, truth, and nature. Pretty much the same. One of my all time favorite film.
The Chinese elements and their associated colours: Red - Fire, blue - no Chinese element equal but possibly water, white - metal, green - forest / wood in it's natural form.
Black - the element of water, used by the King of Qin, who's flag was the Great Bear constellation on a black flag.
The yellow is earth, China itself, 'our land'.
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take on their use is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. They can also be interpreted as different layers of character writing. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue romanticized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section.
As for the "debate", I don't recall them being "much". The structure was obviously inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, and it's no more complicated than many Christopher Nolan films.
Glad you guys enjoyed this! 'Fearless' is definitely a good pick out of Jet Li's movies. I must say though, if you want to watch real Chinese martial arts with basically no special effects, Jet Li's first movie, Shaolin Temple (1982), remains the best display of different weaponry and fighting styles. At the time, Jet Li and all the other martial artists performed in each of their best known styles without knowing how to choreograph...instead it was just a display of raw talent. It's amazing stuff.
Yes! Fist of Legend is fairly grounded too and would make a great double feature since the main character in Fist of Legend is the student of the main character in Fearless.
For me, his Wong Fey Hong series called Once Upon a Time in China 1-3 features some of Jet Li’s best work. Not quite so fantastical but still awesome fighting, and also has a great duel between Donnie Yen and Jet Li using staffs in no.2.
Sigh, sadly he is quite old now and no longer in shape due to some illness last few years. Donnie Yen on the other hand still in shape and acting/working I think.
Some random trivia: That Qin (Chin) emperor was the first historical emperor who unified China, and supposedly the base or origin of the English name for China.
The scene where they were fighting over that pond took a long time as they had to come each day at dawn and shoot the film when there was no breeze and thus show the beautiful still water.
Yes, that “murderous intent” concept is often seen in anime. I don’t know Chinese, but I heard the emperor say the word as something like “saa chi”; in Japanese, it’s “sakki” 殺気. The kanji, of course is from China, and broken down, the first character is “satsu,” and means “kill” and the second character is “ki,” which means “spirit/feeling.” You see “satsu” in such words as 殺人 “satsujin” (killer), 暗殺 “ansatsu” (assassination), and “ki” in such words as 気分 “kibun” (feeling), やる気 “yaruki” (readiness/willingness), 元気 “genki” (healthy), 人気 “ninki” (popular), etc.
And who do you think the title “hero” refers to? Nameless, for letting the emperor live for the greater good of the land? The trio fighters for their sacrifices? Or the emperor for unifying China?
For other Jet Li movies, I recommend the “Once Upon a Time in China” series (Donnie Yen fights him in one of them… maybe it was the second one) and “Fong Sai Yuk” series.
Don't forget Fearless.
since multiversal stories are a trend nowadays, might as well add The One
Once Upon A Time in China I-II (III is OK, they're not so good after that)
Fist of Legend
The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk (Second one is OK)
Romeo Must Die
Kiss of The Dragon
The Tai Chi Master
The Swordsman 2
Lethal Weapon 4
Forbidden Kingdom
The Expendables
Yeah Once Upon A Time In China I & II are masterful! There is some nice Jet vs Donnie action in the second one.
@@jasontodd6779 I hope they watch the director's cut of Fearless.
It takes western audiences ages to understand how to appreciate these films. You need to understand you’re not supposed to watch it with realism in mind, you’re supposed to watch it and understand it like you would a ballet, with the fight choreography being the dance which communicates the characters’ desires, and reason and emotions.
True. All these kinds of films, starting from Shaw Brothers films to modern day Kungfu classics, you have to watch them as they are fantasy. Like Lord of the Rings. That is the beauty of these films. The transcedent beauty of the scenes like in this, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of the Flying Daggers. Outside kungfu, I would suggest: Blind swordsman: Zatoichi 2003. A wonderful samurai film with Tadanobu Asano & Takeshi Kitano.
Dude...western audiences aren't THAT dumb. We can grasp the idea of non-realistic fantasy. Take musicals for example. No one goes "Wait a minute why are these people bursting into song in the middle of the street!? It makes no sense!" People get the idea
@@felphero I really don’t think that’s true. I think westerners are okay with non-realism when it’s non-realism they’ve grown up with. Not so much for the rest.
Superman flies: Man, that's so cool.
Chinese martial artist float in air: This is some unrealistic bullshit.
@@RoyKoopaling well, fair point. But I will say this, I still totally managed to understand what was this movie's deal back when I was like 13 or 14. It's pretty much a poem in motion. However I'm a huge nerd so I'm not sure if I can be used as a "normal audience" example
Now this film really is a masterpiece. Yimou Zhang, the director, is a genius.
No，It starts the blockbuster era of China movie “industry”.
YiMou Zhang used to be a master level director during late 80’s and middle 90’s. After Ang Lee winning Oscars Award of best foreign language film with in 2001,Zhang felt great pressure and craved for that award,and this movie which released in 2002 was aiming for The Oscars and failed.Most of Chinese movie critics say it’s pretty hollow spiritually compare with Ang Lee‘s movie,but still a good movie.
@@shiliu3295 I don't understand the point. I have no problem with blockbusters. If western blockbusters were of this quality that'd be great for everyone. But they aren't
@@shiliu3295 are you really judging a movie base on critics?
@@hoamanh7638 No, I wrote one of them.
@@RoyKoopaling Ok
My favourite "martial arts" movie of all time. It's just a complete spectacle. The storytelling is amazing, cinematographylooks so refined and beautiful, and the film score is incredible. Hero is truly a work of art. I just wished more people have seen it.
Hero is a masterpiece of film-making. Incredibly powerful on so many levels
It's also just straight up Chinese propaganda, like objectively.
Still gorgeous, though.
@@BH-wh2vo Doesn't matter. It's made for Chinese audiences in the first place.
@@jp3813 so it’s not bad to propagandize your own people?
@@BH-wh2vo From what I've heard, most Chinese audiences already determined this film to be good.
This is my favorite film with a tragic ending, because the tragedy is meaningful and has an important impact. It's not one of those "bad things happen just because so suck it up." The emperor learns a lesson from it all, as do other characters. I love it.
tony leung and maggie cheung are simply two of the best actors ever. they starred together in another great movie, In The Mood For Love
Two other amazing films, that I would highly recommend along this vein, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers, both are absolutely gorgeous films, everyone should watch.
I recommend 2 more masterpieces,"Reign of Assassins" Starring Michelle Yeoh and "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" starring Andy Lau.
Not for Chinese, we have watched too many Kongfu movies. but tiger and dragon is wonderful
@@gavinpan7459 You don't speak for all Chinese.
ADD CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
AHHH I love that you guys are reacting to this!! I grew up with Chinese cinema and I always try to show this film and others to my western friends, I'm glad there's channels that react to Hero, it's one of my favorites :)
The word masterpiece was created to describe this film. I mean there’s so much to love, the music, the acting, the fight scenes etc, but my god the mother flubbing cinematography is the greatest I’ve ever seen in any film, it belongs in a freaking museum
This film is an imaginative dramatisation of a well-known historical event - the attempted assassination of the king of Qin by a man named Jin Ke. Jin Ke, like Nameless, manoeuvred to get close to the king, under the pretext of ceding lands to Qin. Unbeknownst to the king, a dagger was hidden in one of the scrolls of the maps Jin Ke was carrying. As the assassin unrolled the scroll, he grabbed the dagger hidden there and tried to stab the king. He missed. And the king of Qin would go on to conquer the rest of the states and declare himself the emperor - Qin Shi Huang Di.
My Wushu coach was on the same Beijing Wushu Team as Jet Li and Donnie Yen, and I was always amazed at how rigorous their training was, allowing them to move like that at such speed even well past their prime
I’m shocked to hear this is your first Jet Li movie, I hope you get to Fearless as well
For another Tony Leung movie that doesn’t get much appreciation, you can also try Red Cliff, an insanely epic two-part film that takes place in a vaguely similar warring setting, and is also actually based on history
This story was based on a real assassination attempt on the first Emperor of China, although only very loosely, where the assassin, who was loyal to one of the states he was trying to conquer, used trickery to get come within striking range of him, but ultimately failed
It was about unification though, since the land was nominally supposed to already be unified under the Zhou Dynasty but in reality the Zhou’s lack of power led to an 800 year long series of bloody wars. So you can see why Broken Sword just wanted it all to end
I might add that it is actually incredibly rare for the First Emperor to be depicted in an overall positive light like this
Red Cliff is an amazing epic... i too highly recommend
One of my all-time favorite films. Have had a LONG time crush on Maggie Cheung and the cinematography in this film is SO beautiful! Really nice to see someone react to this one.
This is an artistic masterpiece.
Music, Sound, the use of colors, slow motion etc. everything is very well used.
That I agree.
The first time I watched your video was you reacting to Mandalorian, the final episode when Luke shows up. I've been loving your videos ever since. As a Chinese-American, I'm so happy and proud that you have chosen this film to react to. The ending have always brings tears to me. Thank you so much for reacting to this film and I look forward to seeing more of your reaction videos.
I recommend "Once Upon a Time in China 2" (1992) - my absolute favorite of Jet Li's Wong Fei Hong movies and proved to doubters that young Jet Li had the presence and bearing to be convincing as a revered sifu (traditionallly, a highly, highly respected sifu like Wong would have been played by an older actor), "Once Upon a Time in China 1" - elevated Jet Li from star to superstar in Asia and does a good job establishing the characters and the complex and turbulent times they live in with more plot and somewhat less action (very helpful but not absolutely essential to see before watching "Once Upon a Time in China 2"), and "The Shaolin Temple" (1982) - very basic story but brought Jet Li into the limelight and features a terrific showcase of some traditional Chinese martial arts.
OUATIC1&2 ARE MUST WATCHES!
Broken Sword was the wisest of them all. I think this movie is visually the most beautiful movie i have ever seen. Gorgeous.
Fun fact: Jet Li & Donnie Yen used to train together at the Beijing Wushu team. That's where they met for the first time. It's been said many times that Donnie is probably the best in terms of actual practical combat by his peers in regards to Asian cinema. Another fun fact, he actually broke one of Mike Tyson's fingers during a fight scene with his elbow in Ip Man 3. It was by accident but Mike wanted to finish the scene before being sent to the hospital for treatment.
Recommendations:
Jet Li: Once Upon A Time In China & Fist Of Legend
Donnie Yen: Flashpoint & SPL (Kill Zone)
edit: You guys should really react to Kingdom anime. It covers the warring states before the King of QIn achieved his goal of the unification all states. The battles are just godamn EPIC.
This was the first Asian film I saw in theaters. I thought it was so cool. Having to read and see subtitles for the first time was unique.
The use of color, sound design , beautiful scenery, and the music all work together in such a beautiful way. In my opinion it is one of the most beautifully produced movies.
Yimou Zhang is famous for his rich atmospheric and deep storytelling style. It's all about visuals and emotions. Check out "Shadow" from 2018.
Shadow is a masterpiece, not enough people have seen it.
YES FINALLY SOMEONE REACTS TO THIS GEM OF A FILM!!!!!!!.......sorry its just i love this movie so much and i haven't seen anyone react to these.
Another great movie of Jet Li I feel like I don't hear people talk much about is; FEARLESS.
Fearless Director's Cut is 10/10
By far the best big budget "with wires" Kung Fu film ever made a true masterpiece of cinema, stunningly beautiful
Red: The story is about passion love tragic.
Blue: The story is about sad love tragic.
While: neutral. The truth
Green: The beginning. The serenity of Broken Sword and the enlightment.
Broken Sword choose to die because of love for Snow. He saw the rage and vengence in her so he took it to free her. Snow upon realising what she has done, she choose to die to end it all. Nameless spare the king because he finally understood what Broken Sword meant with his calligraphy and his last word (the suffering of few can't compare to the suffering of the masses), so he choose to let him become the "example". The king had no choice but to kill the last man who understood him, to set an example so he could end the conquest to unify every land under one sky.
The primary colors red, blue, & green combine to make white while the absence of all three is black. My take is that the kingdom is given the color black as a representation of fact. No layers, just what everyone knows. The assassins are given the color white, representing the truth that has been taken apart into the three primary colors. Hence, we get the real story after combining details from all three tales. They can also be interpreted as different layers of character writing. The red section portrayed the characters as shallow, blue idealized them, and white gave them complexities that originate from the green section.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, amazing acting, action, story, screenplay, soundtrack.
Nice twist on the "who dunnit"-forumula introduced by Rashomon.
Liked the color schemes.
You guys should definitely dive into Jet Li's films. Black Mask, Fist of Fury, The Protector, Fearless, Romeo Must Die, The One. All notable movies in his filmography.
Once Upon A Time in China 1 & 2 as well (I haven't seen the other sequels yet)...
*fist of legend
@@andyandys5356 Yes! Fist of Legend is what I meant to say. I confused it with Fist of Fury because Fist of Legend is a loose adaptation of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection. And because of FISTS. Haha.
@@filmfanaticx4212 yes of course, this trilogy is essential. Tai Chi Master, The Enforcer & The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk are also up there.
A lot of Jet Li movies have had Yuen Woo-Ping as the fight choreographer. Fist of Legend is the one that got the Wachowskis to insist on hiring him for the Matrix trilogy. He's also the one who introduced Jackie Chan to martial arts comedy and gave both Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen their first big break as actors.
Kiss Of The Dragon will always be my favorite Jet Lee movie. No strings or unrealistic choreography, only skills!
The action in Kiss of the Dragon was inspired by his earlier film Fist of Legend, Jet Li's finest exhibit of his versatility as a martial artist.
i always find it funny that western audiences can accept someone throwing a shield that returns to his hand even a hammer, or someone bitten but a spider who suddenly becomes able to stick to walls…
and then calls wuxia “unrealistic”. 😂🤣😂
@@Skip-Kilat I think it has to do with context. Most westerners have a rudimentary understanding of chi, Chinese culture, the historical settings these stories are usually told, or the concepts involved in a 2,000+ year old literary tradition that allow the viewer to appreciate something like the weightless leap. Also, most wuxia films do a poor job at explaining these things because they don't have to, they are made for a particular audience who understands these concepts already. Their understanding of martial arts itself merely serves as a way to defend yourself and look cool doing it and beyond that it's value only extends to movies and sports. It's not their fault, they're frame of reference is just different.
Love this movie. One of my all-time favs.
Red is lie, blue is the emperor's perception, white is truth, and green is history.
House of flying daggers next time Please!!
One of the most visually astonishing martial-arts fantasies ever made.❤❤
Strange how the subtitles changed it to "Our Land" in the newer versions.
Original subtitles was "Under Heaven" which is more accurate, and a better poetic translation of the two written words "Tian Xia" (天下).
Found this channel after the Black krrsantan reveal and have been a fan ever since. Great job and great content guys.
If anyone ever asked me which film I thought was the most beautiful, I would probably say Hero. The great Master Yuen Wo Ping did the choreography.
And Christopher Doyle was the cinematographer.
Next is Fearless and the Once Upon a Time In China Trilogy.
I was just thinking about this movie! My absolute favorite martial arts film - I try to explain it to friends and always give up and just send them video clips of the red leaves scene.
The one thing that bothered me in this movie was the English subtitle translation for the two words that Broken Sword wrote on the sand to convince Nameless not to go through with it. "Tien Sia" literally translates to "below heaven" meaning "all things under one heaven" referencing not just the land but also the Emperor's metaphorical title of "The son of heaven" who rules all things under heaven". Somehow, "Our land" doesn"'t carry as much weight or punch that shows the depth of wisdom and significance of those two words. My mandarin is pretty limited(I don't speak it, but know simple phrases and words), but I remember being surprised the moment I heard it and saw the mistranslation in the subtitle. It felt like for me, the reveal scene was incomplete because of it.
That calligraphy in red, the symbol 'sword' as one replacing 19 versions, all on yellowish paper suggesting earth.
Qin / China is blood-soaked earth, and all others must submit.
An excellent symbol for a tyrant, and it's use in this film may be showing the hope that leaders are wise, not violent.
perhaps "The Realm" might come closest, but the choice here is between the grandiosity of "realm" vs. the simplicity of "Our Land" or "The Land". something to be appreciated either way
Nameless's decision to kill the King, was determined by whether or not the King understood the Truth within the calligraphy of the scroll. The candle flames wavered until the King's ultimate realization of the ideal of the warrior, upon which they became still. Nameless - "My mission is now complete, a dead man begs you to remember, that the ultimate act of a warrior is to lay down his sword". The King of Qi, must bring peace. Only then was it a worthy sacrifice.
This is the first time i am seeing anyone reacting to this movie, This is one those movies i believe to be One the best movies made on a Global platform, one of the best movies i have seen in my life. Love from India.
This movie along with Kill Bill Vol 1&2 are the two closest movies to human anime that I saw until Netflix exploded in size.
My favorite martial art, Wu Xia film ever. Masterpiece. Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon are my 1, 2 punch.
Very unique movie, was so dam confused watching this as a 8 year old but the fight scenes were mesmerizing 😂. One of my favorite Jet Li movie for sure but you guys should watch Fearless a Jet Li Classic 👌
For sure. Back then, Fearless was the movie that opened my eyes up to how deep martial arts movies could be. Hero and Crouching Tiger were too philosophical for me to understand at the time.
is it conquering or unifying? After uniting china, the emperor built the great wall of china... do you build a wall to conquer?
This type of story narrative is based off Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon where a dead samurai is found in the woods and there are different sides of the story as to how the samurai died; a bandit's story, the samurai's wife's story, the samurai's story (told by a third party) and a woodcutter's story.
I read through most of the comments and saw several referenced color: keep in mind that colors in the East have different connotations than in the West. For example, white is a color of death and worn at funerals; red is worn at weddings. Just a thought.
"Kiss of the Dragon" another great Jet Li film. Also Legend of the Red Dragon but that one is pretty old.
The scene where arrows all firing through the air at the same time was considered first popularized in Hero. It's can be said that it was Mr. Chang contribution to cinematography. (Note: another Asian contribution was Mr. Kurozawa's shot of army coming up from horizon.). Hero was influenced, story telling-wise, by another old school Kurozawa's film, Rashomon.
Chang's works have been very famous for artistic cinematography. His earlier film, "Raise the red lantern" get him award for it. (note: The film is not wuxia style)
A British film from 1945 of Shakespeare's play 'Henry V' has a full-on arrow-storm in it, traditional special effects, too.
@@stevetheduck1425 Thanks, I'll look it up.
@@stevetheduck1425 Henry V (time around 1:39:00) I correct that firing arrows scene done before by Laurance Olivier, thanks.☕
I grew up watching movies like Hero and House of Flying Daggers. I’ll always appreciate this style of action cinematography.
I still remember seeing this in theaters and I loved it to death. I'm so glad it came out in a time where it wasn't going to be constantly compared to today's marvel movies.
Great movie and great reaction. I just found your channel and really liked how you both were commenting and enjoying this movie.
I read that this was meant to be Zhang Yimou’s practice film before he remade House Of Flying Daggers, but I thought this one was better. It really leans into the abstract nature of these kinds of movies and paints a beautiful picture. The message was really interesting - the importance of the group over the individual, that can only be achieved through brutal conquest, yet the sword needs to be put down afterwards. It’s no wonder the director was employed to make the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics after this film came out. Similar kind of spectacle and message (communalism)
The biggest names in early Wuxia films came from the schools of Peking Opera. So its connection to dance and musical theatrics are extremely prominent. The use of wires and gravity-defying imagery all harken back to its origins as a way to bring tales of legendary heroes, mythical beings with mysterious powers, and tales of great triumph and tragedy to the stage.
Loved the soundtrack to this film so much I bought it back in the day. Such a beautiful film overall.
Like many others, I definitely recommend the same director's House of Flying Daggers.
Also, the word for Sky's weapon that Anthony was looking for is "spear."
This is a great Jet Li movie but I think Fearless, also with Jet Li, is even better. No one has really reacted to Fearless on youtube as well, would love to see one! ;D
The director's cut of Fearless is one of my favorite films of all time.
Once upon a time in China 2 has long fight scenes between Jet Li and Donnie Yen
10:55 - Oh look, Shang-Chi's dad (Tony Leung).
Good commenting--thinking aloud. Smart and considerate.-Ernie Moore Jr.
Have you two watched the movie The Grandmaster. I think you two would like it. Its a different look at IpMan than the Donny Yen IpMan series. It stars Tony Leoung
Finally a second reaction to this masterpiece on UA-cam.
For Jet Li,you should take her to
One of my favorite moments. All the stories where they dress in red is a lie, which is a detail I love
Loved your reaction, and how you were spot on with the symbolism and story. Many reactors forget that this is a someone telling the Emperor of what he did, not showing the actual fight. The Emperor sees it as he hears the story, which is why the characters are flying and everything seems bigger than real. Colours are the important part of this story. They use specific colours depending on how the story is expressed. Like red = imagination, blue = perceived reality, white = truth, and green = enlightenment. This is why when red was used in the calligraphy fight it wasn't true, blue was what the Emperor perceived as how it should be, green is when a warrior realized he was in the wrong, and white to show how it actually happened.
This movie is literally poetry in motion.
i am so into the beautiful cool fighting in this movie...stunning..i remember watching a trailer promoted on my local tv....the scene where that lady turning around attacking the other lady and all the autumn leaves at the back also turning with her..stunning, badasses..love it.
Love this movie so much! Glad you saw it and reacted to it. One of the best, as far as the artistic way it was told, and the message. Quite a thing.
Thank you for the reactions to "Hero" : )
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tai Chi Zero, & Bulletproof Monk are classics. Thank you for appreciating Hero.
You still haven't seen Ip Man 4 yet. Another Donnie Yen movie you should watch is Raging Fire. If you're looking for more Tony Leung watch Infernal Affairs, one of the best Hong Kong movies ever. The Departed was a remake of it. Also, some korean movies you should watch are, Train To Busan and The Witch Part 1 Subversion. If you plan on watching The Witch, don't look at the international trailer whatever you do.
Agreed. Raging Fire was a underrated as hell gem from last year. As for Tony Leung, his seven film collaborations with director Wong Kar-wai are great, with personal favorites being, Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, and 2046, plus also his John Woo collaborations in Hard Boiled and Red Cliff, as well as the NC-17 rated erotic WWII drama Lust, Caution from Ang Lee
'This time you fought with yours hearts, but your hearts weren't in it.'
Other movies with similar artistic direction: House of the Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, and Legend of the Black Scorpion (loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet).
The actors who played Flying Snow and Broken Sword played the couple in In the Mood for Love, which is a movie I have not yet seen, but I have heard literally nothing but effusive praise about it.
do you know maggie cheung, actress who play snow, has won many awards from Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival or Chicago International Film Festival
A masterpiece of filmmaking
Had watched that in the cinema, and I also immediately thought about how great the soundtrack was, but I wondered also directly that it sounds so Japanese for a Chinese film, and thus I waited to get my suspicion confirmed in the credits.
From my understanding about this movie; Qin was the only dynasty able to unify China which was why Broken Sword didn’t killed the king when he had the chance because he understood Qin could end all wars in China. Broken Sword and Snow’s relationship also went sour after that assassin attempt since Snow couldn’t understand. Jet Li also realized that at the end and kept the king alive.
Not gonna lie jet li was really handsome back in his prime
Best Movie Ever. . .
The Red is passion (and a lie) the Blue is cold logic but is not accurate and the White is the truth and the Green is the past
You didn't catch Tony Leung? That was nice to know :D
"Hero" is a Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou in 2002. The story is based on true history in 227 BC that a swordsman Jing Ke prepared for ten years to kill the King of Qin. This is also the main storyline of the movie.
"All under heaven."
You guys gotta watch other Jet Li movies like Once Upon A Time In China (the original Cantonese version, not English dubbed) and the ones he made in the U.S. (The One, Kiss of The Dragon, Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave)
The director Zhang Yimou started his career as a photographer / cinematographer, his standard for visual effects is very high.
I like how you guys analyze things.
In the Mood for Love is another masterpiece starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, directed by Wong kar-wai. Please do a watch along
wow didn't expect this. great movie to start with.
Oh man I love this movie, it's so Chinese, or rather very much not Western, amazing.
Jet Li's "Fist of Legend" is when he was younger and "Fearless" is when he's older, both have great fight scenes
epic movie, in my top 10 films of all time.
Broken Sword didn't die, he picked up the Ten Rings and lived on for thousands of years and became Shang Chi's dad :)
I love how this show touches on conquest vs unification. It definitely takes a side, but it's a difficult question
sick! my fav movie
Where to begin? There is so much to unfold here.
Hero was released in the US two years after Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won four Oscars. Zhang Ziyi was in CTHD, which made her an instant international star leading her to work with director Zhang Yimou in Hero in a supporting role and as the female lead in House of Flying Dagger.
The color scheme in Hero is from the narrator's perspective, a tribute and reference to Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950), colloquially known as the Rashomon Effect, where each character gives their version of the same incident. Also, the calligraphy scene where the old master writes as arrows whizzing near him is a call back to another Kurosawa film, Ran (1985).
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung also starred together in Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love as yet again in a tragic love story.
Zhang Yimou, the visionary director, was selected to direct the breathtaking grandeur of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, alongside co-director and choreographer Zhang Jigang. Just search for it here on UA-cam and be ready to be astounded by the sheer beauty and synchronicity of the ceremonies.