Excellent & Exciting film The Assassins of Chow Yun Fat & Liu Yifei, directed by Zhao Linshan



My Rating: 93%                            (Range for my rating is 100% for Perfect Film, 75% for Passing Grade)



Where I watched: Cinema, Baiyun Plaza Mall, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China

When I watched: October 2, 2012 (Tuesday morning)

Director: Zhao Linshan

Screenplay: Wang Hailin

Cinamatographer: Zhao Xiaoding

Music: Shigeru Umebayashi

Editing: Cheng Long

Producer:  Lou Yi

Production companies: My Way Film Co Ltd, Intrend, Changchun, Co-creative Film, Enlight Pictures

International sales: www.arclightfilms.com

Language: Mandarin with English subtitles

Country:  China

Release Date: September 26, 2012 in China

Stars: Chow Yun-fat, Crystal Liu Yifei, Qiu Xin-zhi, Alec Su, Hiroshi Tamaki, Annie Yi

Watch the exciting and impressive movie trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp-i3sRkc3s






Synopsis: The films revolves around the legendary Three Kingdoms era statesman-warlord Cao Cao (pronounced as "Zhaw-Zhaw" and so convincingly played by Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat). Even in his twilight years, the Machiavellian Cao Cao decisively fights seemingly bloody military battles and political intrigues, as he seeks to unify the empire under his sovereign a young weakling emperor of the once glorious Han Dynasty.

The millieu of this film is that chaotic and warring transitional period (circa 220 AD) between China’s Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era, popular all over the Chinese-speaking world and East Asia by its romanticized literary version in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdom.

There is also a subplot that with a pair of star-crossed young lovers, played by Liu Yi Fei and Japanese actor Tamaki Hiroshi, both of whom had been secretly trained since childhood to become deadly assassins whose mission is to kill "the most powerful man in the world".

My Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed watching this well-made, interesting and entertaining period epic film The Assasins ( the Chinese film title is translated as Bronze Sparrow Terrace) by first-time director Zhao Linshan and produced by the same team behind Zhang Yimou's The Flowers Of War. The film is in Mandarin and has English language subtitles. I highly recommend this film.