China Film Journal

Browsing Eachnet for headlines I came across some news regarding an accidental fire on the set of John Woo’s upcoming historical action film Red Cliff.
One person died and six were injured, all in stable condition and expected to live. I just skimmed the articles but so far there’s been no thorough investigation of the matter (it only happened on June 9), but, according to John Woo, the film will still still premiere in Chengdu on July 3 and hit theaters in the rest of China on July 10, as planned. The person that died was some kind of effects technician. He was only 23 years old.

None of the recent wuxia martial art epics can seem to avoid the the endemic schlockiness of the genre, so as a viewer we are just content to find one that isn’t altogether too offensive in this regard. We think that Three Kingdoms manages to do that. There’s some good action, though nothing you haven’t seen before — the hail of spears and arrows, the beheaded enemies, the evil vixen (Maggie Q) playing pipa while men are being slaughtered, and of course, the de rigeur moral message about the evils of war and humanity’s inability to end violence with violence.

The film is based on one of the classics of Chinese literature, The Three Kingdoms> (三国演义), and focuses mostly on the
character of Zhao Zilong (赵子龙), one of the legendary warriors in the book. There’s nothing to deep or particularly memorable about his journey from being a nobody in the army to becoming legendary heartthrob general, but Andy Lau does a competent enough job of it, even though his perfect teeth don’t really jibe with the character.

There are great actors like Ti Lung, and then there are not so great actors, like Maggie Q, Van Ness Wu (he of F4 boy band fame), and Sammo Hung.We’ve been reading some reviews, and most of them seem to say something alone the lines of what we read in Cinema Online:

With “Kingdoms”, you feel that it could have been a five star film if a few things were improved here and there. Before John Woo’s “Red Cliff” hits the screens, it’s still a good bet for almost-there entertainment. One thing though – Vanness Wu should never be in the same picture as Lung Ti. Harshly said, boy band members have no place in war epics, at least not one with Shaw Brothers’ icons in it.

Twitch has a slightly more critical view of the film:

These days with so many period epics on the way or already released, you can literally create a checklist for their requisites. Beautiful costumes: check. Stylish weapons: check. Breathtaking landscapes: check. Armies of thousands: check. Exciting martial arts and action sequences?

This genre has really gone the way of “all style and no substance” which is somewhat ironic, given that the whole reason why the Three Kingdoms is such a classic in the Chinese world is not just because it’s a good yarn, but because it’s moving. The characters are moving. Their relationships, their words, deeds, and actions are memorable. People know so much of these stories by heart. That’s a challenge to any filmmaker, so believe us that we aren’t trying to slag off this director as not worthy of the challenge; few directors could be. However, you’d think that character development would not be as short-shrifted as it regularly is.

Fans of wuxia and Three Kingdoms might like this one, the rest of you should not encounter any existential crisis if you miss it.

Well, we think so. The question is whether or not they were even re-summoned to the censors in the first place. After what happened to Tang Wei over her Lust, Caution performance, filmmakers hoping for theatrical release in China have gotten nervous. The Independent reports on China’s new regulations regarding film content:

As so often, the index of censors’ dislikes provides a fascinating insight into the dark desires of the general populace. China is a deeply formal society, reserved, even prudish, on matters sexual, although growing openness in society has led to greater permissiveness. Directors must not produce films that depict hardcore sexual activity, rape, prostitution or nudity. “Vulgar dialogue or music and sound effects with a sexual connotation” are also out.Any content involving “murder, violence, horror, evil spirits and devils and excessively terrifying scenes, conversations, background music and sound effects” is banned. The list forbids films that “distort the civilisation and history of China or other nations … or … tarnish the image of revolutionary leaders, heroes, important historic characters, members of the armed forces, police and judicial bodies.”

Other banned subjects include the reconstruction of crimes or films that reveal police investigatory techniques. Movies that advocate nihilism, environmental damage, animal abuse and the capture or killing of rare animals will also be on the censor’s list.

Ah, what little the censors know about films and film culture. Just like having basketball courts open at midnight saved inner-city American youth from doing drugs and committing crimes, so quality movies — the kind that you tend to get more of when you’re free to make films the way you see fit — can keep Chinese teenagers from becoming nihilistic, capturing rare animals, and tarnishing the reputation of judicial bodies.

The two films in question, one a rape of Nanking movie helmed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Chow Yun-Fat and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and the other (Three Kingdoms：Resurrection of the Dragon that is) a historical action/drama with Andy Lau, have, according to this article not had to face the censors again, meaning that their same day release on April 3rd is still a goer.

Sorta related note: Did you know that “http://batgwa.com/story.php?id=706″>Chow Yun-fat is an amateur photographer and that some of his photographic works are on display at the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Hong Kong? Some of his pictures are, not surprisingly, behind-the-scenes looks at the movies that he’s been in.

Technorati Tags: chow yun-fat, huangshi, rapeofnanking, nanjing, films, historical, threekingdoms, andy lau, 劉德華, 三國演義, 黃石的孩子, 周潤發, 南京大屠殺

The China Daily reports that Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) is planning on establishing a film production company with the likes of Wendi Murdoch. Another partner the article mentions is Florence Sloan.One interesting tidbit that the article mentions is that one of the projects this company is working is a film about the Empress Wu (武则天), a film in which Zhang will not only act (as the lead we presume?) but also produce.