The Guillotines (2012)
"Xue di zi" (original title)

An elite crime-fighting unit in the court of the Chinese emperor relies on flying swords to defeat their enemies.

Director:

Wai-keung Lau

Writers:

Oi Wah Lam, Joyce Chan,

Stars:

Xiaoming Huang, Ethan Juan, Purba Rgyal

5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Xiaoming Huang	...	Wolf
Ethan Juan	...	Leng (as Ethan Juan)
Purba Rgyal	...	Chentai
Tian Gao	...	Hutu
Yi Wei Zhou	...	Buka (as Zhou Yiwei)
Boran Jing	...	Shisan
Peng Guo	...	Su
Yuchun Li	...	Musen
Yu Wang	...	Gong-E (as Jimmy Wang Yu)
Vivien Li	...	Bai Lan
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shih-chieh Chin	...	Wan Jiang (as Jin Shijia)
Wai-keung Lau	...	Yongzheng
Kenzie Pallone	...	Walla Child (voice)
Stephy Tang
Zhang Wen	...	Qianlong

Storyline

During the Manchurian-ruled Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yong Zheng established a secret assassination squad known as the Guillotines to eliminate all who opposed him. Once heavily favored by the Emperor, the Guillotines are deemed expendable once Emperor Qian Long ascends to the throne and adopts Western ideas and technology. To consolidate his power under a new regime, the Emperor continues to use the Guillotines to persecute the conquered Han Chinese in a reign of terror and oppression.

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Plot Keywords:

flying guillotine

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Genres:

Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violent content

Details

Country:

China Haiti Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

14 June 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Guillotines

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media Asia Films, Polyface Entertainment, Stellar Mega Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Youqing suiyue"
Performed by Shawn Yue, Xiaoming Huang', Ethan Juan
Composed by Kwong Wing Chan
Lyrics by Coek-Fai Lau

User Reviews

The movie gives you new light about the world

I am not really sure why this movie is only rated at 3.9 over 10 points right now, but to myself, this movie opens up new light about what the country wants, may not be for the particular good of the people, but for sure, it will be for the good of the country itself.

And this applies for the king, the emperor, the ruler, or the people at power, or the companies at power, or the companies that make a lot of money and thus can be powerful (think junk food companies, for example).

So this movie does open up new lights for me, to be not so gullible.

The part about the guy hoping to have a small peaceful community, that seems familiar, although I can't recall at the moment which other movie has this. But I certain don't feel it is copy-cat, but is quite original and occurs naturally in the movie.

I would say, don't be swayed by the low score of the movie, but still give it a try and see for yourself.