House of Flying Daggers (2004)
"Shi mian mai fu" (original title)

A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Feng Li, Bin Wang,

Stars:

Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Jin
Andy Lau	...	Leo
Ziyi Zhang	...	Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi)
Dandan Song	...	Yee
Hongfei Zhao	...	Performer
Jun Guo	...	Performer
Shu Zhang	...	Performer
Jiusheng Wang	...	Performer
Zhengyong Zhang	...	Performer
Yongxin Wang	...	Performer
Dong Liu	...	Performer
Qi Zi	...	Performer
Xuedong Qu	...	Performer
Liping Tian	...	Performer
Hongwei Zhao	...	Performer

Storyline

During the reign of the Tang dynasty in China, a secret organization called "The House of the Flying Daggers" rises and opposes the government. A police officer called Leo sends officer Jin to investigate a young dancer named Mei, claiming that she has ties to the "Flying Daggers". Leo arrests Mei, only to have Jin breaking her free in a plot to gain her trust and lead the police to the new leader of the secret organization. But things are far more complicated than they seem...

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Plot Keywords:

flying | police | government | captain | flying dagger | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of stylized martial arts violence, and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Bim Distribuzione [it] Edko Filims Limited [hk] (Chinese, Englsh)

Country:

China Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of Flying Daggers

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Budget:

CNY 100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$146,833 (Australia) (11 February 2005)

Gross:

$11,041,228 (USA) (1 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beijing New Picture Film Co., China Film Co-Production Corporation, EDKO Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song that Mei sings that begins with, "A Rare Beauty in the North" is actually an ancient poem set to music. It was written by the brother of an Imperial Concubine about his sister. Meant as a cautionary tale to the Emperor about overindulgence in female beauty at the same time it acknowledged the lasting hurt of a powerful love.

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Goofs

The music that the live musicians play during the drum duel scene, although beautiful, is not characteristic of classical Chinese music of that era.

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Quotes

Jin: [speaking to Mei] I thought you were hot as fire. In fact you're cool as water.

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Crazy Credits

In Memory of Anita Mui 1963-2003

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Connections

Referenced in Immortals (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Lovers"
Music and lyrics by Shigeru Umebayashi
Performed by Kathleen Battle
Played during the closing credits

User Reviews

Best Movie of 2004

I guess having this movie out just a few months after the U.S. release of "Hero" was more than many moviegoers could chew (and you can see it in the reviews here). That takes away from a fantastic experience. Every frame of this film is exquisite. It was breathtaking scene after breathtaking scene. There are enough plot twist, double crossings and romance to keep the scenes between the action sequences interesting. Ziyi Zhang plays her best role of what I call now a trilogy (which includes "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero" and now "House Of Flying Daggers" -the best of the three). It's not Yimou Zhang's best movie, that'd be "Raise The Red Lantern", but it's proof this director is on a roll. Go see this movie without worry.