Barnes & Noble

Chinese director Chen Kaige's lavish yet oddly intimate epic set in 3rd century BC draws parallels to 20th China, giving it an immediacy and a resonance often lacking from conventional period. It tells the story of the King of Qin who sets out on a bloody campaign to unite the seven kingdoms of China. His purpose is to finally bring peace to the country, but personal rancor turns the emperor's noble goal into a quest for revenge. Spectacularly photographed by cinematographer Zhao Fei, the massive battle sequences are both thrilling and horrifying, utilizing thousands of actual Red Guard soldiers. In a film filled with memorable performances, Wang Zhiwen has the flashiest turn as the seemingly idiotic Marquis, whose smiling countenance hides his duplicitous nature. Kaige's recurring critique of the personal and societal effects of the excesses of power help to make The Emperor and the Assassin a personal statement against violence and tyranny; he even appears in the film as prime minister Lu Buwei. Amy Robinson

All Movie Guide

A lavishly produced historical drama from China, Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin tells the complex, multi-facetted story of the man who became the first Emperor of a unified China, another man who has sworn to kill him, and a woman who is loved by both men. Late in the Third Century B.C., when China was comprised of seven rival kingdoms, Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) was the leader of Qin. Ying Zheng had a dream in which he joined together the seven kingdoms into a single utopian state, and taking this as a mandate from God, he invaded the nearby state of Han as the first step toward this goal. However, not everyone in the neighboring states was happy with Ying Zheng's crusade, which seemed to indicate a lengthy war with many casualties. Lady Zhao (Gong Li), Ying's lover, devised a scheme to help Ying Zheng take over the nearby and uncooperative state of Yan; she fabricated a fake assassination plot against him, and framed the leader of Yan, once Ying Zheng's childhood friend, as the man behind the murderous plot. However, Lady Zhao did not choose the would-be assassin wisely; while Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi) loved her and was willing to do her bidding, Jing Ke's previous assassination assignment caused the unintended death of an innocent blind girl, which left him full of regret and a bit unstable. When Jing Ke learned a closely guarded secret about Ying Zheng's past, he became blindly determined to kill the would-be emperor, whatever the cost. Produced on a lavish budget by Chinese standards ($15 million), Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin was directed by Chen Kaige, best known to Western audiences for the international success Farewell My Concubine. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396050457
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround
• Language: Mandarin, Español
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 2:41:00
• Sales Rank: 34,416

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