Film Club Week 1 - Hero

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/

Will give everyone two weeks to watch and respond, before we move on to the next film. So that’ll be Monday 10th December.

The following are just very basic guidelines on what to talk about when you’ve watched the films.

First response:

Basically your immediate thoughts about the film, was it good, what you were expecting, surprised by ending, favourite character, would you recommend etc

Structure:

Main turning points, what you think of the setting, thoughts on the plot etc

Characters:

Who did you like, dislike, what were their motivations etc?

 

@The GOAT @Keano88 @Officer Doofy @Mr Shelby @V For Vendetta @Vertie @borobob @obafgkmlt @Idioteque

 

Is this available on Prime, Netflix or Sky?

 

@Zanderama

 

Seeen this in the Cinema, have it on DVD in the loft too lol.. looking forward to seeing it again remember it being stunningly shot..

 

I thought you were joking about the loft.

 

Naw..

 

Al give it a swatch if I can find a decent link tnite

 

Posted one in the other thread.

 

Coolio. I found it but no subs. Al check the other thread

 

Just watched last night.

Spoiler: Plot spoilers coming

While watching, the cinematography really stood out a lot to me, and I think it's a big part of what made Quentin Tarantino such a big proponent of its US release. The bright colors and wide-space framing give it almost a Wes Anderson quality in places.




In terms of plot, it took me until the end to realize that the plot of this movie is essentially a parable which very strongly follows Chinese philosophy - particularly Confucianism.

A topic which Confucius discusses in great detail in his writings, and holds in highest regard, is the rule of law. Particularly, he believes that the law should always be adhered to, and must be driven by the virtue of the leader; a powerful leader who rules with virtue would produce a truly peaceful society.

The movie begins with that clearly being not the case, set in the Period of the Warring States. The King of Qin is seeking to conquer China with military force, and has had to fend off great assassins as a result of his actions. The King therefore is most definitely not the Confucian ideal of a virtuous ruler - he uses his massive military and legendary archers to lay down everything in his path. It is a direct consequence of his ruthless actions that he is faced with assassination attempts, such as those from Snow and Broken Sword, and now the nameless assassin.

The nameless assassin, in contrast, embodies the Confucian ideal of a virtuous man, and his actions lead the King on a path to realization of how he should rule.

The nameless assassin's false stories feature elements which paint the other assassins in a non-virtuous light, particularly with his description of Snow and Broken Sword cheating on each other. I believe this false story is a test to see if the King can even recognize virtue where it apparently exists, and the King actually passes - he says the story is bunk because he recognized Snow and Broken Sword to be honest people, and they would never behave with such infidelity.

Good for the King in this case, he is capable of recognizing and beholding to virtue. But he then tells his own version of what he thinks happened to bring the nameless assassin to him with the swords of Snow and Broken Sword, which reveals his tendency towards ruthlessness. He believes that Snow and Broken Sword agree to die so that the nameless assassin could get close to the King, and use his secret technique which guarantees a kill within 10 paces, and the nameless assassin is therefore present to kill the King.

The nameless assassin admits that he can do this deadly technique, but then explains to the King the truth of why he is there, thereby revealing the flaws of King's mind. The mistake the King made was in underestimating the virtue of Broken Sword, who all along never wanted to kill the King. Rather, he believed that the King, if he could become virtuous, would be the only one capable of ending this period of war. This is why the nameless assassin has sought the King - not to kill him, but to educate him.

The King, examining the calligraphy scroll that Broken Sword created, then comes to understand where he has been lacking as a leader. He understands that the natural progression of a swordsman's power eventually ends at not needing to swing a sword at all, and that his own violence has been the source of all his hardships as a ruler. The nameless assassin cements this by performing his special technique, only to spare the King.

The King, with great internal conflict, realizes he has no choice but to kill the nameless assassin to maintain his power, but his heart has clearly been changed by this interaction; he even gives the nameless assassin a hero's burial.

We see in the end credits that going forward that the King becomes the first Emperor of China, and because of the nameless assassin and his words, acts as a virtuous, Confucian ruler.

Overall: 8/10
Great cinematography, and a story which very much reflects the history and culture of China.

 

Spent ages trying to watch it through ma fone to chromecast because no pc/laptop. Couldn't find copy with subs but eventually found a dubbed version. Looks quality but fell asleep. Ws too tired after trying to find it. Al watch it properly soon

 

This.

 

Watched it last night.

Beautifully shot. The use of colour in each flashback sequence was fantastic.

Some excellent and eh... weird fight scenes. A couple of plot twists or diversions chucked in as well.

Still unpacking it tbh. I’ve never been much of a fan of martial arts films. But this is much, much more than a martial arts film.

 

As has been mentioned, fantastic colour pallet and emphasis on each character having their own. Loved the impression of the vastness of the Emporers Court. Thought the story was intriguing and it kept me to the end. On a downside I thought the fighting was sometimes repetitive and not as good as others of the ilk.

7/10

 

Watched it again..

And it’s definitely the best of the genre around about that time.. better than Crouching Tiger and House of Flying Daggers.

Beautifully shot and choreographed.

8/10

 

Thouroughly enjoyed this, but I will say that, while it was visually stunning, it held its own in other ways too. The imagery suited the fantasy aspect of it impeccably. I find it refreshing to see non-hollywood films from time to time and this is up there with the best foreign films I've seen. Totally agree about the Wes Anderson esque framing of the shots (he's one of my favourite directors). A simple story, with a constant theme of drama, kept interesting by the mystique of the characters.

I love some of the trivia behind the film too; up to 18000 extras used, most of them members of the Chinese People Liberation Army, thousands of leaves collected for the red fight scene, Jet Li taking a paycut to be in the film. Once you've seen it, I always have a look on IMDB for this sort of thing. Helps me appreciate it even more.

 

Overall I am not a massive Martial Arts fan. Though I do appreciate a lot of foreign cinema and different cultures way of making films, and this is up there with some of the best to come from China (or HK). Very great use of colour and cinematography, beautifully shot landscapes and a simple, yet great way of telling the story overall.
The fight scenes were a bit hit or miss - maybe a time of it's age and just me not appreciating the genre fully - but overall the film was a good watch.

7/10 - but that's me being on the outside of the genre, I can see why some would edge it to an 8.

 

10/10 whoever chose this is a great man

 

Did you just assume my gender?