Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (2006)

Director:

Yimou Zhang

Writers:

Yu Cao (play)
Yimou Zhang (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Unspeakable secrets are hidden within the Forbidden City.

Plot:

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Plot Keywords:

Emperor | Prince | China | Empress | Crown Prince

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Emperor Ping
Li Gong	...	Empress Phoenix
Jay Chou	...	Prince Jai
Ye Liu	...	Crown Prince Wan
Dahong Ni	...	Imperial Physician Jiang
Junjie Qin	...	Prince Yu
Man Li	...	Jiang Chan
Jin Chen	...	Mrs. Jiang

Also Known As:

Autumn Remembrance (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Curse of the Golden Flower (International: English title)
The City of Golden Armor (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

USA:114 min | Hong Kong:111 min | Argentina:114 min

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:15A | UK:15 (cut) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Norway:15 | Brazil:14 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | South Korea:15 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Beijing New Picture Film Co.

Trivia:

More than 1000 real soldiers were used in the final battle.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the Empress is dressing for the Chrysanthemum festival. Bobby pins and hair pins are visible in her hair. They were not produced until 1916. Chinese are noted with other decorative adornments to hold their hair in place such as combs and other trinkets seen in the movie.

Quotes:

Emperor Ping: It has been 25 years. I thought that I would never see you again.
[attempts to touch Mrs. Jiang's face]
Mrs. Jiang: [knocks the Emperor's hand away]
Emperor Ping: [grabs Mrs. Jiang] And you married the Imperial Doctor!
Mrs. Jiang: [slaps the Emperor roughly] At the time, you were only a lowly captain plotting day and night to become Emperor. You flattered the King of Liang into letting you marry his daughter. You planned meticulously to have my entire family put in prison. Later, I alone managed to escape. Far from home, I almost died. It was the Doctor who saved me. Who then, do you think I should have married?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-01-06)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Juhua Tai

Old time family drama in a stunning, extravagant setting

Despite the millions of chrysanthemum flowers, ten thousand soldiers and three prominent male cast (Chow Yun Fatt, Jay Chou and Liu Ye), one thing will capture your attention. Make that two.

Gong Li and her titillating assets have almost overshadowed everything else in the movie. While it may not be historically accurate for 10th Century Tang Dynasty palace females to dress so scantily, director Zhang Yimou obviously wants to make a stylistic statement right from the opening scene.

His play with colours was apparent from Hero. Curse of the Golden Flowers presents a kaleidoscope in its grandeur palace setting and elaborate costumes. The final fighting scene lead by Prince Jai (Jay Chou playing Jay?) the prince with golden armored warriors trampling over chrysanthemum is nothing short of impressive.

Jay Chou had a difficult time playing Prince Jai, which required more complexity than a cool rider in Initial D. While emotional scenes with Gong Li drew some laughter from the audience, his final scene was noteworthy and articulation has improved.

Kudos goes to Chow Yun Fatt and Gong Li. Chow has improved on his accent tremendously (which was very strange in Crouching Tiger) and portrayed the Emperor with magnitude and hysterical outrage. Look out for the scene as the usually mild mannered Chow punishes his son with both rising temper and hair.

While the film obviously banks on Gong Li's bosoms, they shouldn't distract audience from her exceptional acting. It may be over-the-top at times, but she shows that nobody else can play this vengeful and solitary empress better than her. At this moment, she is the queen of the Chinese cinema.

The story of betrayal, illicit affairs, chilled relations and dysfunctional families may be run on the mill and overdone. Drawing parallels with The Banquet by Zhang Ziyi is inevitable. Both are about an obsessed empress who craves for a relationship with the prince (Interestingly, both well-known for playing gay roles) and demands for more power from the emperor.

Curse of the Golden Flower is not just soap drama but a period epic to impress with colours, opulence and sheer indulgence.

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