The Warlords (2007) Tau ming chong (original title)

Directors:

Peter Chan
Wai Man Yip (co-director)

Writers:

Tin Nam Chun (screenplay)
Jianxin Huang (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

12 December 2007 (China)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Plot:

It's a heroic tale of three blood brothers and their struggle in the midst of war and political upheaval...

Plot Keywords:

Blood Brother | Assassination | General | Dynasty | Soldier

Awards:

15 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	General Pang Qingyun (as Lianjie Li)
Andy Lau	...	Zhao Er-Hu (as Dehua Liu)
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Zhang Wen-Xiang (as Wu Jincheng)
Jinglei Xu	...	Lian
Xiaodong Guo	...	Huang Wen Jin
Jacky Heung	...	Shi Jin Biao
Zongwan Wei	...	Lord Chen
Bao-ming Gu	...	Lord Jiang
Kuirong Wang	...	Lord Di
Bo Zhou	...	Lu Da Shan
Yachao Wang	...	Gou Zi
Xiao Yun Wang	...	Xiao Fu
Peng Guo	...	Xiao Shun
Ailei Yu	...	Wang Xiao Shou
You Zhang	...	Liu Jin
Jian Sun	...	Xiao Wu
Hai Tao	...	Gong Jiang
Kai Ding	...	Zhu Guan
Chung Xiao Li	...	Tai Ping General
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Liang Chen	...	Villager
Zhen Wei Cheng
Tian Dei	...	Villager
Tao Du	...	Villager
Dong Han	...	Villager
Lei Hao	...	Villager
Qang Hao	...	Villager
Li He	...	Villager
Dong Bafu Hong	...	Villager
Yan Shun Hu
Hong Jiang	...	Villager
Xiang Li	...	Villager
Xiao Le Liu	...	Villager
Li Na Lu
Qiang Luo	...	Villager
Li Yan Ming	...	Villager
Yun Jie Qiu	...	Villager
Xiu Ru Ri	...	Villager
Aaron Shang	...	Duan Feng
Jia Shi
Zhaoqi Shi	...	He Kui
Zhen Sun	...	Villager
Hui Na Tao
Jian Jun Tong
Dong Dong Wang	...	Zhang Shan
Li Li Wang
Peng Wang	...	Villager
Qian Hang Wang	...	Villager
Xiao Liang Wang
Yan Mei Wang	...	Villager
You Wu	...	Villager
Ying Xin
Bing Xu
Fu Sheng Ya	...	Villager
Xiao Ye Yang
Zhang
Sheng Tao Zhang	...	Villager
Weidong Zhang	...	Villager
Xiaoming Zhang	...	Villager
Ying Zhang	...	Villager

Directed by
Peter Chan
Wai Man Yip		(co-director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tin Nam Chun		screenplay
Junli Guo		screenplay
Jiping He		screenplay
Jianxin Huang		screenplay
Yuet-Jan Hui		screenplay
Oi Wah Lam		screenplay
Lan Xu		screenplay
James Yuen		screenplay

Produced by
Peter Chan	....	producer
Zoe Chen	....	co-producer
Rita Fung	....	line producer
Sanping Han	....	executive producer
Lorraine Ho	....	line producer
Jianxin Huang	....	producer
Yuet-Jan Hui	....	co-producer
Peter Lam	....	executive producer
Andre Morgan	....	executive producer
Andre Morgan	....	producer
D. Daniel Vujic	....	associate producer
Wai Man Yip	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kwong Wing Chan
Peter Kam
Leon Ko
Chatchai Pongprapaphan

Cinematography by
Arthur Wong		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Chris Blunden		(re-edited international version)
Wenders Li

Production Design by
Chung Man Yee

Art Direction by
Pater Wong
Zhenzhou Yi

Costume Design by
Pik Kwan Lee

Makeup Department
Crist Ballas	....	special makeup effects artist
Patrick Baxter	....	special makeup effects lab technician
Yu Lai Cheng	....	makeup artist
Mark Garbarino	....	special makeup effects designer
Mark Garbarino	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Rufus Hearn	....	special makeup effects: hair
James Kagel	....	special makeup effects sculptor
Eddie Liu	....	makeup artist
Eddie Liu	....	special makeup effects artist
Mark Shostrom	....	special makeup effects sculptor

Production Management
Kim Hung Fan	....	production manager
Felicia Tang	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kim Wah Lo	....	first assistant director
Gary Mak	....	assistant director
Eddy Yeung	....	first assistant director (as Kwok Wai Yeung)
Wai Man Yip	....	collaborating director

Art Department
Chung Kim Wai	....	special props

Sound Department
Sunij Asavinikul	....	sound mixer
Nakorn Kositpaisain	....	sound designer

Visual Effects by
Yuen Fai Ng	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Siu-Tung Ching	....	action coordinator
Huan-Chiu Ku	....	martial arts stunts
Chi Wah Ling	....	martial arts stunts
Yuk-Sing Ma	....	martial arts stunts
Peter Wong	....	martial arts stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jimmy Wong	....	second director of photography

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Man Kit Chow	....	assistant costume designer
Man Kit Chow	....	costume assistant
Jessie Dai	....	co-costume designer
Pik Kwan Lee	....	co-costume designer

Other crew
Jason C. Lin	....	assistant: Jet Li

Production Companies

• Media Asia Films (presents)
• Morgan & Chan Films (presents)
• China Film Group (presents)
• Applause Pictures (uncredited)
• Beijing Jinyinma Movie & TV Culture Co. (uncredited)
• Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Company (uncredited)
• Chengtian Entertainment (uncredited)
• Stellar Mega Film (uncredited)
• Talent Aid International
• Warner China Film HG Corporation (uncredited)

Distributors

• ARM Distribution (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Media Asia Distribution (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• ARM Distribution (2007) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Innoform Media (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Mediacorp Raintree Pictures (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Hollydan Works (2007) (Serbia) (all media)
• B.O.M. Film Productions Co. (2008) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Grand Brilliance (2008) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• Metrodome Distribution (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Sponge (2008) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Viva Films (2008) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• MG Film (2008) (Croatia) (all media)
• ARP Sélection (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Alliance (2009) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Broadmedia Studios (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Magnet Releasing (2009) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Magnolia Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical) (as 'The Warlords')
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Megastar (2009) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)
• Minerva Pictures (2009) (Italy) (all media)
• Alliance (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (as 'The Warlords')
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (as 'The Warlords')
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)

Special Effects

• FatFace Productions

Other Companies

• Kantana Animation Co. Ltd.  subtitles
• Konken Studios  sound post-production (German version)
• Oriental Post Co. Ltd.  digital intermediate
• Post Bangkok, The  digital intermediate
• Post Bangkok, The  telecine
• Salon Films  camera equipment provided by
• Salon Films  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

"Tau ming chong" - Hong Kong (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of strong violence

Runtime:

126 min | 113 min (international version)

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:U | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | UK:15 (cut) | Ireland:15A | Germany:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (certificate #45669) | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Media Asia Films

Trivia:

The main battle sequence had a detailed script treatment of over 20 pages and a maximum of 8 cameras rolling simultaneously.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 25 minutes into the movie, the curse word "gou ri de" (literally: dog, Japanese, of) was used. The expression means "Japanese dog" which originates from the Japanese invasion during World War II. The movie takes places in the 19th century, so the expression had not come about yet.

Quotes:

General Pang Qingyun:to Zhang Wen-Xiang: Let them eat. It's their last meal
Zhao Er-Hu:But I promised to spare their lives!
General Pang Qingyun:Winning is all that matters in war!
Zhao Er-Hu:A man who breaks his word is a beast!

Movie Connections:

References Paths of Glory (1957)

War Is Hell

Last night I had the opportunity to view one of the best films i've seen in a very long time. One that stays with you far after the closing credits. One that requires time after viewing to untie all the knots in your stomach.

Peter Chan's "The Warlords" is a period epic in every sense of the word. Chan covers a lot of ground here depicting war and the consequences thereof consisting of his anti-war sentiments. It tells the story of three "brothers" played brilliantly by Jet Li (Fearless), Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (House Of Flying Daggers) who make a pact of brotherhood to one another that consists of killing anyone who harms one of the brothers and killing any brother who harms another brother as they lead an army through war after war taking over city after city.

It's incredible to watch the thought process of making vital decisions during a battle or within their own army to defy humanity for the "greater good". It shows the internal and external struggle of these decisions by opposing points of view. The emotions felt by these men translate in any language and leave you emotionally drained after watching the film through to its tragic end.

The cinematography is outstanding, the budget is huge, the directing brilliant and the war scenes brutal as can be. We're talking decapitations, gushing blood, limbs sliced off and a man being blown up by a cannonball. Chan is delivering a truth in the brutality of war rather than dressing it up to keep (most of it) realistic.

War is hell.... and this film will take you there and back. Highest recommendation.