Curse of the Golden Flower (Movie Review) + Edko (HK) DVD Review

Curse of the Golden Flower :: Edko (HK)

Originally posted by: Hussain on Jun 16, 2007 - 12:33 AM

Zhang Yimou's latest epic drama. Film and DVD review inside...

Alternative Titles: Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Director: Zhang Yimou

Main Stars: Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou

Production Year: 2006

Studio: Edko

Packaging: Amaray

Extras: Documentary: Secrets Within..., Theatrical Trailers, Cast and Crew Filmographies, Photo Gallery

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1

Audio Tracks: Mandarin Dolby Digital 6.1, Mandarin DTS, Cantonese Dolby Digital 6.1

Subtitles: English, Simplified Chinese

Regional Coding: Region 3 NTSC

Running Time: 113 minutes

Rating / Certificate: IIB

Release Date: 14.02.2007

The Film

Zhang Yimou has internationally made a name for himself with his two epic dramas Hero and House of Flying Daggers. For his latest epic drama he gathered two old school stars, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li. Curse of the Golden Flower is the story of Chinese Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-fat) and his Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) who try to eliminate each other through secrets and betrayal. Like in a game of chess one twist follows the other. The audience learns more about the backgrounds of the emperor, the empress and their three sons. One of the three sons comes from a past relationship of the emperor.

If you are expecting unbelievable fight scenes - which the exciting trailer kind of promises - you will be really disappointed. Zhang Yimou hasn't completely abandoned spectacular kung fu-scenes from Curse of the Golden Flower, but he doesn't pay as much attention to them as he did with his two previous martial art epics. To me the most interesting fight scene was hence the relatively short one in the beginning of the film which shows that the emperor's fighting skills are superior to the ones of his enemies.

Zhang Yimou focusses more on the characters. Especially Gong Li is given regular close-ups in which she has the opportunity to show her different affections. However, after a while this becomes rather boring. Even Fulltime Review's favourite, uber-charismatic Chow Yun-fat fails to thrill with his role. Maybe his role is intended to appear so one-dimensional in terms of emotions. Without wanting to spoil the film I can say that only one certain scene in which he had an emotional moment stayed in my mind. The most disappointing actor in this film is Jay Chou, who plays Prince Jai. His acting is so bad in this film that you get the feeling he was cast for commercial reasons. If there is one stand-out actor in this film it is Mainland China actor Ye Liu who plays Crown Prince Wan.

However, I kept the real praise until the end. The detailed set design and costumes left me with my mouth open. The whole film is an absolute eye candy.

Curse of the Golden Flower is an interesting film that gives a bit of insight into the happenings of a Chinese palast 1000 years ago. It is far more of a drama with a tricky storyline and a great ending than a dramatic action film.

Story: 3.5/5

Action: 3/5

Humor: 0.5/5

Romance: 2/5

Eroticism: 1.5/5

Music: 3.5/5

Cinematography: 4/5

 TOTAL

The DVD

The first HK DVD release is this R3 release from Edko. Some might remember their first release of House of Flying Daggers which was just dreadful. However, it is in no way comparable with this very solid release of Curse of the Golden Flower. It presents the film in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Although it might be due to the colourful nature of the film, the image quality is very lively. Fore- and backgrounds are sharp and clear and very well worth the cheap price of this DVD release.

There are three audio tracks on this DVD. 2 Mandarin tracks (DD6.1 & DTS) and a Cantonese dub in 6.1. The audio quality is just awesome. Every speaker is made an exact use of and the sound effects are loud and powerful, but at the same very clear. A real pleasure for your ears. Subtitles are available in English and simplified Chinese.

 

The bonus material on this disc feature a making of documentary, which is narrated in English and also features English subtitles for the interview parts. If needed, there are also simplified Chinese subtitles available. Among the interviewees are Zhang Yimou, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Yee Chung Man (costume designer) and Ching Siu-tung (action director). The running time of the documentary is 21m 44s.

The two trailers that are on the disc feature no spoken language, so no English subtitles should be needed here. The English writings that appear in these trailers can be chosen to be subtitled in simplified Chinese.

The photo gallery features 15 production stills.

Furthermore you have selected filmographies of

- Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Ni Dahong, Li Man, Chen Jin, Qin Junjie

- Zhang Yimou (director), Wang Bin (screenplay), Bill Kong (producer), Zhao Xiaoding (director of photography), Ching Siu-tung (action director), Huo Tingxiao (production designer), Tao Jing,(sound supervisor), Shigeru Umebayashi (music composer), Yee Chung Man (costume designer), Cheng Long (editor).

DVD Menus: 3/5

Picture: 4/5

Audio: 5/5

Subtitles: 4/5

Special Features: 2.5/5