The Guillotines (2012)

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

Director:

Andrew Lau Wai-Keung (as Andrew Lau)

Writers:

Oi Wah Lam (as Aubrey Lam), Joyce Chan

Stars:

Xiaoming Huang, Ethan Juan, Purba Rgyal

5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Xiaoming Huang	...	Wolf
Ethan Juan	...	Leng
Purba Rgyal	...	Chentai
Tian Gao	...	Hutu
Yiwei Zhou	...	Buka (as Zhou Yiwei)
Boran Jing	...	Shisan
Peng Guo	...	Su
Yuchun Li	...	Musen
Jimmy Wang Yu	...	Gong-E
Meng Li	...	Bai Lan (as Vivien Li)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sofia Gonzalez	...	Walla Child (voice)
Shih-Chieh King	...	Wan Jiang
Andrew Lau Wai-Keung	...	Yongzheng (as Wai-Keung Lau)
Kenzie Pallone	...	Walla Child (voice)
Stephy Tang

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 | Drama

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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:

Guilhotina

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,296, 14 June 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,290, 14 June 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media Asia Films, Polyface Entertainment, Starling Road Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In one scene where soldiers are firing muskets, bullets can be seen flying through the air, with and without a 'tracer' effect. As well as the fact that tracer bullets were not invented until the 20th Century, a bullet cannot be perceived in flight if fired from a gun at lethal velocity.

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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.