The Emperor and the Assassin (1998)
"Jing Ke ci Qin Wang" (original title)

In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen, Peigong Wang

Stars:

Li Gong, Fengyi Zhang, Zhou Sun

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Li Gong	...	Lady Zhao
Fengyi Zhang	...	Jing Ke
Zhou Sun	...	Dan, Prince of Yan
Xiaohe Lü	...	General Fan Yuqi
Zhiwen Wang	...	Marquis Changxin
Kaige Chen	...	Lu Buwei
Yongfei Gu	...	Queen Mother
Benshan Zhao	...	Gao Jianli
Haifeng Ding	...	Qin Wuyang
Changjiang Pan	...	Prison Official
Xun Zhou	...	Blind Girl
Xuejian Li	...	Ying Zheng

Storyline

In the 3rd Century BC, Ying Zheng, heir to the Kingdom of Qin, seeks to dominate the remaining six Chinese kingdoms. Ying's strategy is to seem invincible. Ying sends his concubine Zhao to the Han Kingdom as a spy, to enlist an assassin he can conquer. Zhao persuades Jing Ke, but falls in love.

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Plot Keywords:

concubine | king | court | warrior | robe | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony - synopsis, cast and credits etc Sony Classics Release Info

Country:

China Japan France

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

14 November 1998 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Emperor and the Assassin

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$47,295 (USA) (17 December 1999)

Gross:

$1,328,435 (USA) (7 July 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shin Corporation, Canal+, New Wave Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min

Sound Mix:

DTS DTS-Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Xianyang palace was reconstructed in its entirety in the city of Dongyang in Zhenjiang province. Much of the film, including the final scene, was shot there. It is now being preserved as a theme park drawing large numbers of tourists. In addition, the capital cities of the other kingdoms featured in the film, Yan Zhao and Han, were constructed as several sights across China. All have been meticulously built to scale with special attention paid to their historical accuracy.

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Connections

References Throne of Blood (1957)

User Reviews

Excellent epic film.

I will admit my ignorance of this film's existence, until I saw it advertised on a cable outlet. I was very impressed with the novelistic structure of the film. The film, which is in a language I do not understand, shone with intelligence and nuance for me. I think this speaks to the film's quality. It was visually stunning. The acting was visually entrancing. The Chinese theater traditions of movement, used to enhance the delivery of dialogue, is so compelling after watching Western film, where actors traditionally focus more heavily on the dialogue. The action in this film comes right at you, without a lot of explosions to get your attention. It is human action that is so affective here. The added advantage that the film taught me history about one of the world's greatest tourist attractions, the funereal clay army of China's First Qin Emporer, was very impressive. It seemed to give the film an international relevance beyond the film's great ethical themes. This is a film I can comfortably recommend to a wide variety of friends and acquaintances.