Tonkô (1988)

In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who ... See full summary »

Director:

Jun'ya Satô

Writers:

Yasushi Inoue (story), Jun'ya Satô

Stars:

Kôichi Satô, Toshiyuki Nishida, Anna Nakagawa

13 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Toshiyuki Nishida	...	Zhu Wangli
Kôichi Satô	...	Zhao Xingde
Anna Nakagawa	...	Tsurpia
Tsunehiko Watase	...	Li Yuanhao
Takahiro Tamura	...	Tsao Yanhui
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akira Emoto
Daijirô Harada	...	Weichi Kuang
Yoshiko Mita	...	Woman of Xixia
Yukio Ninagawa
Eisaku Shindô
Mizuho Suzuki
Katsuhiko Watabiki

Storyline

In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact to take revenge when Li arrives at Dun-Huang, the region's seat of learning and culture. Against overwhelming odds, they find a surprising way to leave a monument to their life and love.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

Japan China

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 January 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Silk Road

Box Office

Gross USA:

$123,959

Company Credits

Production Co:

August 1st Film Studio, China Film Co-Production Corporation, Chinese National Liberation Army

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

EPIC

This is a great movie, in my opinion, an epic.

The technical aspects (cinematography, etc) were top notch, the acting very realistic, and the story Shakespearean.

Great quotes I will use as my own later, like:

"You have no treasure here; your scrolls and books are just paper to you."

"Killing the wounded is a kindness; who wants a soldier who wants to die."

"The powerful survive, but to survive we have to fight. We survived, but what have we gained?:

Subtitles do NOT get in the way to the movie's impact; LOTS of action, but it helps not to be dim witted.

Bill Schaefer