The Warlords (2007)

Set in China in the 1860's during the Taiping Rebellion, the story is based on the assassination of Ma Xinyi in 1870. Loyalist General Qingyun is the only survivor of a battle with ... See full summary »

Directors:

Peter Ho-Sun Chan (as Peter Chan), Wai Man Yip (co-director)

Writers:

Tin Nam Chun (screenplay), Junli Guo (screenplay)

Stars:

Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro

17 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	General Pang Qingyun (as Lianjie Li)
Andy Lau	...	Zhao Erhu (as Dehua Liu)
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Jiang Wuyang (as Wu Jincheng)
Jinglei Xu	...	Liansheng
Xiaodong Guo	...	Huang Wenjin
Jacky Heung	...	Shi Jinbiao
Zongwan Wei	...	Lord Chen
Pao-Ming Ku	...	Lord Jiang
Kuirong Wang	...	Lord Di
Bo Zhou	...	Lu Dashan
Zhaoqi Shi	...	He Kui
Yachao Wang	...	Gouzi
Xiao Yun Wang	...	Fu
Peng Guo	...	Shun
Ailei Yu	...	Wang Xiaoshou

Storyline

Set in China in the 1860's during the Taiping Rebellion, the story is based on the assassination of Ma Xinyi in 1870. Loyalist General Qingyun is the only survivor of a battle with anti-Qing rebels. He encounters a starving village, whose inhabitants engage in banditry to survive, where he is nursed back to health by the attractive Liansheng. With his strength regained, Qingyun impresses one of the village bandit leaders, Jiang Wuyang, with his fighting skills. Wuyang introduces him to his "big brother", who also happens to be Liansheng's husband, Zhao Erhu and Qingyun begins to assist them with their raids. Qingyun convinces his two new comrades to form a loyalist army unit to fight the rebels and feed their own people. The three men swear a blood oath. Their stunning military successes impress the governing powers, but as Qingyun's influence begins to grow, they soon fear him. The political and emotional stakes will be tested, leading to differences between the blood brothers.

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Plot Keywords:

blood brothers | betrayal | 19th century | qing dynasty | historical event | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of strong violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [China] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Hong Kong China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 December 2007 (China)

Also Known As:

The Warlords

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,073, 4 April 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$128,978, 16 May 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media Asia Films,Morgan & Chan Films,China Film Group Corporation (CFGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 113 min (international)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally titled "The Blood Brothers". Director Peter Chan said it was influenced by the late Chang Cheh's 1973 film "The Blood Brothers", which is itself based on a famous high profile assassination of a local governor in 1870, but denied that it is a remake. He also decided to change the title to The Warlords in order to avoid confusion.

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Goofs

During battles, the horses fall down without being hit. Clearly they were tripped by wire.

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Quotes

General Pang Qingyun: Remember my face, so you can seek vengeance in the next life.

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Alternate Versions

Cuts were required to the UK version to remove all sight of animal cruelty (horses being made to fall forward onto their necks), in accordance with the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.

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Connections

References Paths of Glory (1957)

User Reviews

An intricate epic on the complicated relationship between 3 'brothers'

This is not Crouching Tiger. It's as good as Hero,House of Flying daggers. You wont be amazed by the CGI special effects. You will be stunned by the intense constant evolution of the story line and relationships between 3 men who have much to learn from each other.

I don't wanna spoil further. I want to say that i am really disappointed in the west for turning a blind eye to eastern movies in general. This movie is an epic. It deserves 20 000 votes. I cannot believe some of the movies that reach Nr 1 at the Box Office when only a relative few informed bothering with movies like this.

This is some timeless movie making.