Chat gim (2005)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Hark Tsui

Writers:

Chi-Sing Cheung (writer)
Tin Nam Chun (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (China)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Seven warriors come together to protect a village from a diabolical General.

Plot Keywords:

Sword | China | Martial Art | Decapitation | Hero

Awards:

2 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Donnie Yen	...	Chu Zhao Nan
Leon Lai	...	Yang Yun Chong
Charlie Yeung	...	Wu Yuan Yin
Liwu Dai	...	Xin Long Zi
Chia-Liang Liu	...	Fu Qing Ju
Duncan Lai	...	Mulang (as Duncan Chow)
Yi Lu	...	Han Zhi Ban
Jingwu Ma	...	Master Shadow-Glow
Jason Pai Piao	...	Liu Jingyi
Honglei Sun	...	Fire-wind
Michael Wong	...	Prince Dokado (as Michael F. Wong)
Jingchu Zhang	...	Liu Yufang
So-yeon Kim	...	Luzhu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jiajia Chen	...	Kualo
Michelle Mee	...	Luzhu (voice)
Wenjie Wang	...	Duogeduo Swordsman
Lixiao Yang	...	Girl in blood

Directed by
Hark Tsui

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Chi-Sing Cheung		writer
Tin Nam Chun		writer
Yusheng Liang		novel "Seven Swordsmen from Mountain Tian"
Hark Tsui		writer

Produced by
Chzung Chi-Sing	....	associate producer
Fung Chi-Wai	....	line producer
Bong-Chui Hong	....	executive producer
Lee Joo-Ick	....	producer
Zhong-Jun Ma	....	producer
Nansun Shi	....	producer
Hark Tsui	....	producer
Bak-Ming Wong	....	executive producer
Cheng Yun	....	producer
Pan Zhizhong	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by
Kwok-Man Keung

Film Editing by
Angie Lam

Production Design by
Eddie Wong

Costume Design by
Wing-Yan Poon

Production Management
Jane Maguire	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chi-leung Chan	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Steve Burgess	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Burgess	....	supervising sound editor
Chris Goodes	....	sound editor
Chris Goodes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Vic Kaspar	....	sound editor
Chung-hau Leung	....	sound
Chung Wai Leung	....	sound
Jiajia Mok	....	sound effects editor
Blair Slater	....	foley recordist
Terry Tu	....	foley artist
Mario Vaccaro	....	foley artist

Visual Effects by
Grant Adam	....	technical director: Digital Pictures
Karen Ansel	....	visual effects consultant
Dan Ashton	....	film recording technician: Weta Digital
Nick Booth	....	film recording supervisor: Weta Digital
Paul Buckley	....	lead 3D animator
Alan Fairlie	....	lead 2D compositor
Bryn Farrelly	....	digital compositor
Wayne John Haag	....	lead matte painter
David Hampton	....	film recording technician: Weta Digital
Darrin Hanley	....	digital compositor
Mick Harkin	....	digital compositor
Dominic Hellier	....	rotoscope artist (as Domenic Hellier)
Ineke Majoor	....	visual effects producer
Florian Martin	....	consultant technical director: Digital Pictures, Melbourne
Glenn Melenhorst	....	digital artist: Iloura
Keith Meure	....	rotoscope artist
Matt Omond	....	compositor
Matthias Reiche	....	visual effects
Ole Dieter Sturm	....	compositor
Peter Webb	....	visual effects supervisor
Pete Williams	....	digital imaging manager: Weta Digital
Kim Worrall	....	digital compositor
Jason Wilson	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Chia-Liang Liu	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Sung Fai Choi	....	director of cinematography: second unit
Tsoi Kubbie	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
George Awburn	....	on-line editor
Pamela Hammond	....	head of post-production
Rachel Knowles	....	post-production coordinator
Stanley Lopuszanski	....	colorist
Tony Poriazis	....	digital film recordist
Charlie Wong Wing Fung	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Ross Cockle	....	score remix engineer

Other crew
Felice Bee	....	publicist
Oli Laperal Jr.	....	equipment coordinator
Wei Tung	....	action choreographer
Xin Xin Xiong	....	action choreographer

Production Companies

• Film Workshop
• Beijing Ciwen Digital Oriental Film & TV Production Co.
• Boram Entertainment
• City Glory Pictures Ltd.
• Mandarin Films Distribution Co.

Distributors

• Mandarin Films Distribution Co. (2005) (worldwide) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Eng Wah Cinema (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Mediacorp Raintree Pictures (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2005-2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Deltamac Entertainment (2005) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Dragon Dynasty (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Hong Kong Legends (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Medusa Distribuzione (2005) (Italy) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2005) (Romania) (all media)
• RTL Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing) (RTL7)
• SBP (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2007) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Digital Pictures Iloura

Other Companies

• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film supplied by
• Cinevex  film processing
• Digital Pictures  digital intermediate
• Hang Wan Cinematic Equipment Rental  camera equipment provided by
• Hang Wan Cinematic Equipment Rental  grip and lighting equipment
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles
• Showreel Film Facilities  ADR recording
• Soundfirm Beijing Co. Ltd.  sound post-production
• Soundfirm  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Qi jian (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Seven Swords (International: English title)
Seven Swords of Mt. Tien - Part I (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Seven Swordsmen Leave Mt. Heaven (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
The Seven Swords (International: English title)

Runtime:

153 min | Singapore:141 min (cut)

Country:

South Korea | Hong Kong | China

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin | Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Norway:15 | Ireland:15A | Germany:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Xinjiang, China

Company:

Film Workshop

Trivia:

The opening film of the 2005 Venice Film Festival.

The soulful masterpiece about the self-realization of our place in this world

I saw this film two weeks ago and I'm still under the strong impression. Overwhelming and powerful are two words that can best describe the experience watching this work of art. All is brilliant -- the direction, screen-play, performances, cinematography, the inspiring musical score by renowned Kenji Kawai...

Certainly, there are motifs from other films -- "Seven Samurai" or "Musa" -- but they are organically interwoven in the canvass of Tsui Hark's film.

This oeuvre, like other recent films by Tsui Hark, is a result of a happy amalgamation, a synthesis of Western and Chinese cinema traditions, which does not happen often.

The film is profoundly artistic by its symbolic nature and defying of the genre traditions and developments in terms of the characters or the story, but at the same time it's incredibly entertaining. This is also achieved not least by a careful choice of details and self-reflecting images and meanings. It just didn't take me so long to realize that all the 7 warriors actually mirrored the seven basic behavioral variations of the human personality.

What's quite neglected by most of the people who watched this film that it's a film that strictly falls into the art-house territory except for a few concessions that happen to side with the populist cinema. Calling it an experimental avant-garde film would be more appropriate. But i can't shake off the impression that most of the people who are watching this film just wrongly expecting the traditional wuxia film with clichés of a popular action genre. Let me advise you all: this is NOTHING like you've seen before. This is the first the most essential exploration of the spirit "xia" you could witness here.

I saw the film in a 3-disc DVD edition, and the only disappointment was the subtitles and mandarin dubbing. The English translation is sometimes too inexact and leaves too much dialogue untranslated.

Of course, the best is to see the film in Cantonese. But even if you do not speak Cantonese, try to see this film, because it is a masterpiece of a universal value, which transcends the language barriers. Watch it with an open mind.

I wish that all people on earth had that rare chance to see 'Seven Swords'. Then, maybe, they would've come to realization that every human being on this planet has the certain given destiny and valuable purpose in their life. Moreover, either we can be those who help or the ones that are desperately waiting for such help or in other words, for the celestial beam of the redemption and reconcilliation to our sore sinful past.

Thank you Mr. Tsui Hark, thank you very much all who made this excellent film! 10/10

I found a new purpose in my life, thank you.