Wu ji (2005)

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writer:

Kaige Chen (writer)

Release Date:

15 December 2005 (China)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

Empowered by the love of a slave (Jang), a royal concubine (Cheung) is given the chance to make an extraordinary decision.

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Armor | General | Slave | Barbarian

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Dong-Kun Jang	...	Kunlun
Hiroyuki Sanada	...	General Guangming
Cecilia Cheung	...	Princess Qingcheng
Nicholas Tse	...	Wuhuan
Ye Liu	...	Snow Wolf
Hong Chen	...	Goddess Manshen
Qian Cheng	...	The Emperor
Xiao Wei Yu	...	Ye Li
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chun-Xiao	...	Princess Qingcheng (voice)
Anthony Wong	...	(voice)

Also Known As:

The Promise (International: English title) (Singapore: English title)
Master of the Crimson Armor (USA) (pre-release title)
Mo gik (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for stylized violence and martial arts action, and some sexual content.

Runtime:

121 min | USA:103 min (cut version)

Country:

China | Hong Kong | Japan | South Korea

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Taiwan:PG-12 | USA:PG-13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Netherlands:12 | Malaysia:U | Brazil:12 | South Korea:12 | Germany:12 (f) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Hengdian World Studios, Heng Dian, China

Company:

21 Century Shengkai Film

Trivia:

The Weinstein Co. has handed back distribution rights for all major English speaking countries to its producers, China Film Group Corp. and Moonstone Entertainment. Reportedly, the producers of the film, including director Kaige Chen, demanded a wider released in the US and the Weinstein Co. was only willing to give it a limited exposure. Warner Independent then picked up the rights and as a result the film's title was changed back from "Master of the Crimson Armor" to "The Promise", the English title used in most countries.

Quotes:

Goddess Manshen: Once you have accepted your destiny, nothing can alter it unless time flows backwards, snow falls in the spring, and the dead come back to life.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2006) (TV)

One of the Most Beautiful Fantasies I Have Ever Seen

When the world was young, laid a Kingdom between the Land of Snow and the Barbarian Territory where gods and men lived side by side and promises were lies. When the poor and starving orphaned girl Qingcheng meets the Goddess Manshen (Hong Chen), she accepts to become the wealthy beauty of beauties with the curse that she would lose every man she loves, unless three things happen: snow falls in the spring, time moves backwards and the dead comes back to life. Years later, the slave Kunlun (Dong-Kun Jang) helps the Great General Master of the Crimson Armor Guangming (Hiroyuki Sanada) to defeat a barbarian army with almost seven times more warriors, and Kunlun becomes his slave. When Guangming is wounded, he asks Kunlun to wear his armor and save the king from the cruel Duke of the North Wuhuan (Nicholas Tse) that put the Imperial City under siege with his army. However, Kunlun kills the king to save Princess Qingcheng (Cecilia Cheung) and promises her to never let her die. Princess Qingcheng falls in love for the man of the crimson armor that she believes is General Guangming. When Snow Wolf (Ye Liu) saves Kunlun and brings him to the Land of Snow, he recollects his childhood when his mother and sister were killed by the evil Wuhuan. Kunlun decides to return to the Kingdom to face Wuhuan and fight for his love.

"Wu Ji" is one of the most beautiful fantasies that I have ever seen, and I list this magnificent film among my favorites. The story has romance, magic, betrayal, loyalty, action, supported by a stunning cinematography, great screenplay, wonderful special effects and awesome direction and performances. This film is surprisingly underrated in IMDb, with and user rating of 5.6. Cecilia Cheung is one of the most beautiful actresses of cinema and is perfect in the role of the Beauty of Beauties. In the end, fate can be changed. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Promessa" ("The Promise")