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Hero (2002)
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Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
27 August 2004 (USA)
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Tagline:
Kono kuni wa mada, hontô no hero wo shiranai [Japan] (This land doesn't know a real hero. Yet.) See more »
Plot:
A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 26 wins
&
19 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(131 articles)
Trailer Trash
(From The Guardian - Film News. 28 August 2010, 4:06 PM, PDT)
Talking To Legends – The Expendables Q&A
(From FilmShaft.com. 15 August 2010, 1:45 PM, PDT)
Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 15, 2010
(From Screen Rant. 15 August 2010, 3:52 AM, PDT)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 28 August 2010, 4:06 PM, PDT)
Talking To Legends – The Expendables Q&A
(From FilmShaft.com. 15 August 2010, 1:45 PM, PDT)
Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: August 15, 2010
(From Screen Rant. 15 August 2010, 3:52 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
A most beautifully questionable film
See more (807 total) »
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Jet Li | ... | Nameless | |
| Tony Leung Chiu Wai | ... | Broken Sword | |
| Maggie Cheung | ... | Flying Snow (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk) | |
| Ziyi Zhang | ... | Moon (as Zhang Ziyi) | |
| Daoming Chen | ... | King of Qin | |
| Donnie Yen | ... | Sky | |
| Liu Zhong Yuan | ... | Scholar | |
| Zheng Tia Yong | ... | Old Servant | |
| Yan Qin | ... | Prime Minister | |
| Chang Xiao Yang | ... | General | |
| Yakun Zhang | ... | Commander | |
| Ma Wen Hua | ... | Head Eunuch | |
| Jin Ming | ... | Eunuch | |
| Xu Kuang Hua | ... | Pianist | |
| Wang Shou Xin | ... | Musician |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
"Ying xiong" - Hong Kong (original title)
"Jet Li's Hero" - USA
"Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero" - USA (promotional title)
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"Jet Li's Hero" - USA
"Quentin Tarantino Presents Hero" - USA (promotional title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for stylized martial arts violence and a scene of sensuality.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
99 min | China:107 min (extended version) | China:93 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
France:U | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Ireland:12 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39290)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Originally released in 2002 in Asia, it would not be another two years until this film was released in the United States. Studio executives were concerned that the foreign-language film would not be successful at the box office with American audiences. When the film debuted in August 2004, it surprised many by opening at #1 with $18 million in receipts. It would go on to gross $53 million, becoming the 3rd highest grossing foreign film to date in the United States.See more »
Goofs:
Continuity: When Moon gives Nameless the sword as he is in the horse-drawn cart, she initially approaches from the right, but later is seen to the left of the cart.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Nameless:[voiceover] I was orphaned at a young age and was never given a name. People simply called me Nameless. With no family name to live up to, I devoted myself to the sword. I spent ten years perfecting unique skills as a swordsman. The King of Qin has summoned me to court, for what I have accomplished has astonished the kingdom.
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Nameless:[voiceover] I was orphaned at a young age and was never given a name. People simply called me Nameless. With no family name to live up to, I devoted myself to the sword. I spent ten years perfecting unique skills as a swordsman. The King of Qin has summoned me to court, for what I have accomplished has astonished the kingdom.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)See more »
FAQ
Is "Ying xiong" based on a book?What are the differences between the Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut?
What musical instrument was the old guy playing near the beginning of the movie?
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See more (807 total) »
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After two years of hearing about the myth of the most expensive Chinese film ever made, Hero has finally floated on to British cinema screens. As it flies, it trails a coloured cloth that carries the film's numerous morals and messages which descend upon you like a soft layer of fabric. This is a film that can lift your spirits and have you laughing out in sheer joy as you gaze in wonder at the perfection of the mise-en-scene and cinematography. That is, if you let the film take you on a journey, without pondering the films questionable plot points.
Hero is two sides of a tale as presented by Nameless (Jet Li), a mere Prefect who defeated three deadly assassins, and the King of Qin (Daoming Chen), the man the assassins wished to kill. Nameless weaves his heroic though modest story of how he killed the assassins, but the King remains unconvinced, spinning his own version of how he believed events unfolded.
Director Yimou Zhang takes us through Nameless' story first, spreading the battle sequences thick, allowing them to take their own time. In the King's version, certain battles are then revised, which is remarkably brave considering that some battles are utter fabrications. In one such fictitious fight, in a faultlessly designed set, Nameless and Sky (Donnie Yen) close their eyes and fight out the battle within their minds. Screen time is being spent lavishly on showing how two characters contemplated a fight, whilst fighting each other in a battle that never occurred. It is confusing certainly, but perhaps Zhang wished for his audience to get lost in the plot's design so that they would not question the warrantability of half of the battle sequences, which make up most of the film.
Yet, it is difficult to ponder these details when they are made so utterly insignificant when viewing such a spectacle. The sheer beauty of the battles, the gentle floating of the assassins as they fly around their arenas (which range from a forest full of orange leafed trees, crisp leaves falling down to the ground like rain, to the crystal clear and calm of a mountain lake), the costumes of characters at varying stages in the story line (red for passion, green for youth, white for truth, blue for love), the amazing army scenes which feature thousands of arrows being fired into the sky to create a black cloud that descends right on top of the camera, all these elements combine to produce a faultlessly perfect image on the screen, each frame a worthy photograph that gently reminds you why cinema is the greatest art form of the twentieth century.
And characterisation is not lost in this beauty as one may have feared. Despite the irritating two dimensional performance of Zhang Ziyi as Moon, the other actors carry off fine performances, especially Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Broken Sword and Daoming Chen as the King. Their performances are especially credible as they are often drowning in the memories of the King and Nameless - they need to change slight mannerisms in order to reflect whose mind they are now in.
The script too is of an impressively high standard. The moments of clarity that the warriors feel are experienced by the audience also, and there are some very informed outlooks of the emptiness of warfare, communicating that to achieve peace, sometimes war is the only option. These messages of course seem fitting in our current times, underlining how ancient some of the methods of our governing body truly are.
Hero is undoubtedly a most beautiful and awe inspiring film. What it lacks in plot substance, it makes up for with structure and script. It elaborates on the ground work created by 'Crouching Tiger' and is an experience that I would encourage you to seek out, as long as you are willing to submit to the film and let it guide you through its world on its own terms.
Rating: 4/5