The Banquet (2006)

A loose adaptation of Hamlet, "The Night Banquet" is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies they would like to finish off at a night banquet.

Director:

Xiaogang Feng

Writers:

Gangjian Qiu, William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Ziyi Zhang, You Ge, Daniel Wu

10 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ziyi Zhang	...	Empress Wan
You Ge	...	Emperor Li
Daniel Wu	...	Prince Wu Luan
Xun Zhou	...	Qing Nu
Jingwu Ma	...	Minister Yin Taichang
Xiaoming Huang	...	General Yin Sun
Zhonghe Zhou	...	Chamberlain
Qiusheng Zeng	...	Governor Pei Hong
Xu Xiyan	...	Ling
Liu Yanbin	...	Messenger
Lun Ma	...	Pharmacist
Xiang Bin	...	Imperial Guard
Chunyu Zheng	...	Imperial Guard
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bing Bo	...	Executioner
Kai Cui	...	Dancer

Storyline

In 907 AD, the Tang Dynasty is in tatters; infighting snarls the imperial family. Crown Prince Wu Luan loves Little Wan, but his father takes her as his Empress. Wu Luan goes into exile, studying dance and music. His uncle murders his father, taking throne and Empress; uncle sends assassins to kill Wu Luan. The Crown Prince eludes death and comes to court. The Emperor arranges for Little Wan's coronation and dispatches Wu Luan to a distant land; he then calls for a midnight banquet on the 100th day of his rule. Poison, treachery, Wu Luan's return, and the love of the innocent Qing for Wu Luan set up the final entanglements. No Fortinbras or Horatio lay the dead to rest.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | empress | banquet | emperor | treachery | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [China] Official site [United States]

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

15 September 2006 (China)

Also Known As:

Legend of the Black Scorpion

Filming Locations:

Inner Mongolia, China

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,205,648, 12 October 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Huayi Brothers Media, Media Asia Films, Media Asia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 180 meters long and 60 meters wide, the set for the Emperor's Palace is the largest set ever built in China.

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Connections

Version of Teatro Trece: Hamlet (1964)

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Soundtracks

Only For Love
Composed by Dun Tan
Lyrics by Fan Xueyi
Performed by Jane Zhang

User Reviews

Some good reasons to watch this

This is a very well made production of an epic story placed in 10th century China. Magnificent scenes of ritual, majestic scenery, beautiful landscapes, great stage design, artful choreography and above all a very good sense of the theatrical that echos ancient Greek Tragedy. One thing that seems to be wearing out in Chinese movies of this kind are the long violently cruel scenes that are attempted to be beautified and the ongoing fighters who fly allover. In a choreographic sense they are of great merit but a lot is unnecessary. Zhang Ziyi is one more good reason to see this movie. I found her convincing in her role although somewhat stiff. I would like to see more of her in the future, more such great productions with even less fighting and more content that Chinese culture can easily provide.