House of Flying Daggers
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| Shi mian mai fu House of Flying Daggers | |
| |
| Directed by | Yimou Zhang |
| Written by | George Axelrod Billy Wilder |
| Starring | Takeshi Kaneshiro Ziyi Zhang Andy Lau |
| Produced by | William Kong Yimou Zhang |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics (USA) |
| Release date | July 16, 2004 (China) December 3, 2004 (USA) |
| Runtime | 119 min |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | CNY 100,000,000 (est.) |
| IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/) | |
House of Flying Daggers (Chinese: 十面埋伏; pinyin: shí miàn mái fú), is a 2004 action/romance movie directed by Zhang Yimou. The Chinese title derives from a Chinese four-character idiom literally meaning "ambush from ten sides", but figuratively meaning "ambush from all sides". The English title, House of Flying Daggers, refers to a secret society (飛刀門) within the film. The film is in the wuxia genre, similar in style to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or the more recent Warriors of Heaven and Earth.
Like other wuxia movies, the fight scenes are the most important aspect of the film, coupled with the cinematography. House of Flying Daggers differs however, in that it is more of a love story than a typical martial arts film.
Use of strong colors again is a signature of Zhang in this movie. Several scenes in a bamboo forest completely filled the screen with green while the actors also dressed in green. Near the end of the movie, a fight scene is set in a blizzard. The actors and blood are greatly highlighted on a whiteout background. There is another scene where bright yellow was used as the strong color theme.
The film opened in limited release within the United States on December 3, 2004, in New York City and Los Angeles, and opened on additional screens throughout the country two weeks later.
Although well received by film critics in the U.S., the film and its director were fairly heavily criticized locally in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Many Chinese critics felt that the film lacked a strong storyline or message, that the dialogue was poor, and that Zhang was simply trying to appeal to Western audiences with heavily choreographed fight scenes and extensive use of computer-generated imagery. Zhang's previous films, including the critically acclaimed Raise the Red Lantern and The Story of Qiu Ju, were insightful and tragic dramas about the lives of everyday peasants in modern rural China, and even his previous foray into a martial arts film, Hero, had a strong underlying message about sacrifice and national identity.
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Plot
The film is set in 859 AD, and the Tang Dynasty is in decline. Numerous rebel groups have formed, the largest of which is the House of Flying Daggers, which is based in the Feng Tian county. The rebels have the support of the locals, as they steal from the rich and give to the poor.
The local deputies, rivals of the House of Flying Daggers, have managed to kill the leader of the rebel group, but they only succeed in making it stronger, due to a mysterious new leader. Two captains, Jin and Leo, are ordered to kill the new leader within ten days.
In order to accomplish this, the two men arrest Mei, a blind dancer who works at a popular teahouse and is suspected to be the daughter of the old leader. Mei refuses to reveal anything, so the two captains try another approach. Jin pretends to be a lone warrior called Wind, and rescues Mei from prison, gaining her trust and then escorting her to the Flying Daggers headquarters. The new plan works, but Mei warms to Jin, and vice versa.
Cast
- Takeshi Kaneshiro — Captain Jin (金捕頭)
- Andy Lau — Captain Leo (劉捕頭)
- Zhang Ziyi — Mei (小妹)
- Dandan Song — Yee
Anita Mui was originally cast for a major role in the film. She died before any of her scenes were filmed. The film was dedicated in her memory.
Crew
- Directed by Zhang Yimou
- Produced by Bill Kong, Zhang Yimou
- Executive Producer — Zhang Weiping
- Story by Zhang Yimou, Li Feng, Wang Bin
- Screenplay by Li Feng, Zhang Yimou, Wang Bin
- Director of Photography — Zhao Xiaoding
- Action Director — Tony Ching Siu-Tung
- Production Designed by Huo Tingxiao
- Sound Designed by Tao Jing
- Original Music Scored and Produced by Shigeru Umebayashi
- Theme Song Performed by Kathleen Battle
- Costume Designed by Emi Wada
- Edited by Cheng Long
- Associate Producer — Zhang Zhenyan
Production notes
Mandarin dialogue, available subtitled in English.
Running time: 119 minutes.
An Edko Films, Zhang Yimou Studio Production in collaboration with Beijing New Picture Film Co., Ltd.
Released by Sony Pictures Classics.
MPAA rating: PG-13, for sequences of stylized martial arts violence, and some sexuality
Trivia
Literary origins
The movie features the theme of a beauty that brought woe among two characters. This is borrowed from a famous poem written circa CE 800 by Li Yannian (李延年). The poem goes like this (these are Chinese characters with pinyin transcription added using ruby annotations; if you see words in parentheses like "(guó)", instead of on top of the characters, then your browser cannot handle ruby text):
| Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese |
|---|---|
|
北方有佳人，絕世而獨立。 |
北方有佳人，绝世而独立。 |
| Pinyin transcription | English translation from [1] (http://www.xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/sanga_pemci/melbi_ninmu_berti.html) |
|
Běifāng yǒu jiārén, juéshì ér dúlì. |
In the North there is a lady, stunning and singular. |
(See also external site with characters in images: simp. (http://www.hottopos.com.br/china/words139.htm) trad. (http://www.hottopos.com.br/china/words138.htm))
Miscellaneous
This was originally going to be Anita Mui's final appearance in film and she had already accepted the role but, because she was battling cervical cancer, her part wasn't going to be filmed until early 2004. After her death on 30 December 2003, director Yimou Zhang decided to alter the script rather than find a replacement.
The scene in the snow was filmed in the Ukraine. It actually snowed so early (October) that the makers had the change the script and the film. They did not want to wait because the leaves were still on the trees. Zhang Yimou was very happy with how it turned out however, because it set the perfect tone.
To prepare for her role, for two months Zhang Ziyi lived with a blind girl who had lost her sight at the age of twelve because of a brain tumour.
External links
- Official Site (http://www.houseofflyingdaggers.com/)
- HelloZiyi.us HoFD Page (http://www.helloziyi.us/Movies/HoFD.htm) — Fanpage with articles, pictures, video clips
- House of Flying Daggers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/) at the Internet Movie Database
- Zhang Ziyi CSC: House of Flying Daggers (http://csc.ziyi.org/filmography/flyingdaggers/index.html)
- theme poem in the movie. (http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/sanga_pemci/melbi_ninmu_berti.html)fr:Le Secret des poignards volants
it:La foresta dei Pugnali Volanti sv:Flying Daggers zh:十面埋伏
