Jing Ke ci Qin Wang (1998)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Kaige Chen (writer)
Peigong Wang (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 1998 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

King | Concubine | Coup D'état | Battle | Massacre

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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

Directed by
Kaige Chen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kaige Chen		writer
Peigong Wang		writer

Produced by
Kaige Chen	....	executive producer
Hiromitsu Furukawa	....	executive producer
Sanping Han	....	producer
Satoru Iseki	....	producer
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa	....	executive producer
Shirley Kao	....	producer
Philip Lee	....	associate producer
Sunmin Park	....	associate producer
Bai Yu	....	line producer
Xia Zhang	....	line producer

Original Music by
Jiping Zhao

Cinematography by
Fei Zhao

Film Editing by
Xinxia Zhou

Production Design by
Qi Lin
Juhua Tu

Art Direction by
Weihua Ji
Shudong Yang

Set Decoration by
Zhenzhou Yi
Xiaoman Zhang

Costume Design by
Qiuping Huang
Mo Xiaomin

Production Management
Bai Yu	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chao Wang	....	assistant director
Haiquan Yang	....	assistant director
Xijue Zhang	....	assistant director

Art Department
Yang Shimin	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Jing Tao	....	sound

Special Effects by
Shaochun Liu	....	special effects supervisor

Editorial Department
Stew Markel	....	lightworks operator

Other crew
Jiacheng Liu	....	martial arts director
Jinzhan Zhang	....	executive director

Production Companies

• Beijing Film Studio
• Canal+
• China Film Co-Production Corporation
• Neue Deutsche Filmgesellschaft (NDF)
• New Wave Company
• Pricel
• Shin Corporation

Distributors

• Cinema Mondo (2001) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (2000) (UK) (theatrical)
• Pathé (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (1999) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Tobis Filmkunst (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Centro Digital Pictures Ltd. (special effects)

Also Known As:

L'empereur et l'assassin (France)
Shikôtei ansatsu (Japan)
The Assassin
The Emperor and the Assassin (Europe: English title)
The First Emperor (Singapore: English title)

Runtime:

162 min

Country:

France | Japan | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | DTS-Stereo | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:R

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

Trivia:

The task of reproducing the costumes for the production was undertaken by the renowned designer, Mo Xiaomin, whose work is synonymous with the term 'costume design as art'. Mo Xiaomin spent two and a half years visiting historical ruins, collecting vast amounts of information and reading over 100 specialized texts before officially accepting Chen Kaige's offer to create the costumes for the movie. During the early planning stages, there were continuous consultations with the director and thousands of preliminary sketches made before Mo decided on his final 400 designs. The film's costumes are the culmination of four years of continuous labor and the pinnacle of Mo Xiaomin's celebrated twenty year career as a designer.

Movie Connections:

References Kumonosu jô (1957)

Love, death and moral choices in a historical epic of China

Based on the actual event , this epic, is set in the year 221 B.C and tells the true story of the unification of China. Action packed and filled with intrigue, passion, betrayals and unforgettable battle sequences, it held my attention throughout in spite of its 160 minute length.

The king, Ying Zeng, played by Li Xuejian is obsessed with unifying the seven kingdoms of China and becoming its first Emperor. His lover, Lady Zhao, played by the beautiful actress Gong Li, devises a plot whereby she will travel to the neighboring kingdom of Yan to set a fake assassination plot in motion which will give the king an excuse to invade Yan. However, she falls in love with the assassin as the king becomes more and more ruthless.

There are subplots, and tragedy and constant high drama. There are scenes of great beauty and of abject cruelty. There is great cinematography and brilliant use of physical space.

The deep characterization made me think of Shakespeare. And tragic events that call to mind Greek drama. And yet it is totally Chinese as it deals with age-old questions of whether the ends justify the means. And raises the questions dealing with life and death and good and evil and all the blurred edges in between.

It is the story of individuals against the backdrop of history, a history that has shaped China for the past two thousand years. I was swept up in the story as well as the moral questions raised. There are no easy answers and this was one of the strengths of the movie.

Recommended. But be prepared for the violence and gore.