The Warlords
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| The Warlords | |
|---|---|
 The theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Peter Chan |
| Produced by | Peter Chan Andre Morgan |
| Written by | Xu Lan Chun Tin-Nam Aubery Lam Huang Jian Xin Jojo Hui He Jiping Guo Jun Li James Yuen |
| Starring | Jet Li Andy Lau Takeshi Kaneshiro Xu Jinglei |
| Music by | Chan Kwong-Wing Peter Kam Chatchai Pongprapaphan Leon Ko |
| Cinematography | Arthur Wong |
| Editing by | Wenders Li |
| Studio | Media Asia Films China Film Group Morgan & Chan Films |
| Distributed by | Hong Kong: Media Asia Distribution ARM Distribution China: Polybona Films Singapore: Shaw Organisation MediaCorp Raintree Pictures Innoform Media USA: Magnet Releasing |
| Release date(s) | China: 12 December 2007 Hong Kong: 13 December 2007 USA: 2 April 2010 [1] |
| Running time | 127 min. |
| Country | China Hong Kong |
| Language | Mandarin |
The Warlords, previously known as The Blood Brothers (simplified Chinese: 投名状; traditional Chinese: 投名狀; pinyin: tóu míng zhuàng), is a 2007 award-winning Chinese/Hong Kong epic war film directed by Peter Chan and starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei. The film was released on December 13, 2007 simultaneously in most of Asia, except Japan.[2] The film is set in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty in China and centers on the sworn brotherhood of three men.
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[edit] Plot
The film is set in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty in China. The story, based on an unresolved crime in 1870, tells of three sworn brothers (played by Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) who are forced to turn against one another due to the harsh realities of war and political intrigue.
The story begins with a vicious battle, after which Qing-Yun (Jet Li), a Qing Army General, is the only survivor of his entire army. In his aimless wanderings he encounters a girl named Lian Sheng [莲生] (Xu Jinglei), who nurses him back to health. Once he regains his strength, Qing-Yun soon meets Wu-Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), and later Er-Hu (Andy Lau); leaders of a bandit army that regularly steals food to survive — his participation in a successful raid on a rebel military convoy immediately earns Qing-Yun their friendship, who take him to their village. There he finds Lian Sheng again, who is revealed to be Er-Hu's wife, and they begin an illicit affair.
However, the Qing military learns of the raid and retake the stolen goods, plunging the village once again into famine. Qing-Yun thus convinces the bandits to join the Qing army to earn money and security to feed their families; Er-Hu and Wu-Yang are hesitant at first, and only agree after the three brothers swear a "Blood Oath", with which they affirm their fraternity to one another under pain of death. Qing-Yun then goes on to meet his old superiors, who are reluctant at first to reinstate him, but upon allowing him the task of conquering a major city, he proves his worth in a victorious battle against a numerically superior force — his subsequent promotion and increased support from the Qing lords spurs him to lead the brothers and his armies through a long but successful campaign against the rebels. His victories cause him to become ambitious in the process, during which he reveals his plan to quickly take Suzhou and Nanjing, including his dream of ridding the world of oppression.
Fearing Qing-Yun's growing power and influence, the Qing lords decide to deny Qing-Yun valuable reinforcements and provisions; without their support, Qing-Yun's prompt attack on Suzhou devolves into a year long siege, with both sides suffering from starvation. Desperate, Qing-Yun negotiates with a rival General for supplies, while Er-Hu sneaks into the city, hoping to negotiate with the official ruling Suzhou - he is surprised to find that the official has realized what the siege is doing to his people; hence the man allows Er-Hu to kill him and take the city, on the condition that his soldiers be spared. Moved by the official's sacrifice, Er-Hu agrees to the terms, but a returning Qing-Yun feels differently: even with the new provisions, food remains critically short, and the rebels would not agree to being conscripted. Instead, he orders the prisoners to be executed, enraging Er-Hu into considering desertion, but Qing-Yun manages to convince him to stay and help take Nanjing.
The Nanjing campaign becomes a grand success, and Qing-Yun is appointed as a provincial governor by the Empress for his services. Nonetheless, the war has caused a rift between the three brothers, most prominently with Er-Hu, who quietly defies Qing-Yun's orders by doling out soldier's pay from the imperial coffers; his offenses and popularity become known to the Qing lords, who cajole Qing-Yun into arranging his assassination. Meanwhile, Wu-Yang discovers Qing-Yun's affair with Lian Sheng, the wife of Er-Hu, and catches wind of the plot against Er-Hu. Believing that Qing-Yun wants Er-Hu killed over Lian Sheng, Wu-Yang murders her, but Er-Hu is already dead before Qing-Yun hears of Lian Sheng's death. Wu-Yang therefore strives to fulfill the blood oath and goes to kill Qing-Yun at his inauguration ceremony. As the two brothers fight, a hidden attacker armed with a rifle shoots Qing-Yun in the back multiple times as Wu-Yang stabs him in the chest, killing him.
Now alone, Wu-Yang reminisces upon the words of the oath that was taken long ago.
[edit] Cast
- Jet Li as Pang Qing-Yun
- Andy Lau as Zhao Er-hu
- Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jiang Wu-Yang
- Xu Jinglei as Lian Sheng
[edit] Production
The film was originally titled The Blood Brothers (simplified Chinese: 刺马; traditional Chinese: 刺馬). Director Peter Chan said it was influenced by the late Chang Cheh's 1973 film The Blood Brothers, which is itself based on a famous high profile assassination of a local governor in 1870, but denied that it is a remake. He also decided to change the title to The Warlords in order to avoid confusion.[2] (Note that there is another Chinese film with the English title Blood Brothers released in mid-2007.)
When asked why he chose to move away from his familiar turf of romance films, Chan said that The Warlords is actually not a martial arts film at its heart, though it contains elements of the martial arts. He added that he had made a wish to make a film depicting men's affections after watching John Woo's 1986 film A Better Tomorrow over twenty years ago, and has now finally gotten the chance.[3] His goal is thus to "lead [his] audience to reclaim [the same kind of passion]" as in A Better Tomorrow, which he said is lacking in recent films.[4]
Shooting began in early December 2006 in Beijing. Many outdoor scenes were shot in Beijing, Shanghai and the town of Hengdian in Zhejiang province.[5]
The film ran into copyright troubles on 19 March 2007 when Chinese artist Wang Kewei filed a lawsuit against the film company for using his work in the promotional artworks without his consent. Wang claimed that in a short promotional video shown during a press conference held on 11 December 2006 in Beijing, the film company used ten pieces of his work with minor alterations. The film company has not given an official response.[6]
Production of The Warlords officially wrapped up on 28 March 2007.[7] Post-production work was divided among Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Bangkok.[2]
Jet Li received US$15 million, while Andy Lau received US$6 million and Takeshi Kaneshiro received US$2 million for the film. The film had a budget of US$40 million. The producers explained the huge salary for Jet Li (over a third of the film's budget) by saying Jet Li's participation ensures an international distribution for the film.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] 27th Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Director (Peter Chan)
- Won: Best Actor (Jet Li)
- Won: Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong)
- Won: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung-Man, Yi Zheng-Zhou, Pater Wong)
- Won: Best Costume and Makeup Design (Yee Chung-Man, Jessie Dai, Lee Pik-Kwan)
- Won: Best Sound Design (Sunit Asvinikul, Nakorn Kositpaisal)
- Won: Best Visual Effects (Ng Yuen-Fai)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Andy Lau)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Chan Kwong-Wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Leon Ko)
- Nominated: Best Film Editing (Wenders Li)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Ching Siu-Tung)
[edit] 45th Golden Horse Awards
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Director (Peter Chan)
- Won: Best Visual Effects (Eddy Wong, Victor Wong, Ken Law)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Jet Li)
- Nominated: Best Original Screenplay (Xu Lan, Chun Tin Nam, Aubrey Lam, Huang Jian-Xin, Jojo Hui, He Ji Ping, Guo Jun Li, James Yuen)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong)
- Nominated: Best Film Editing (Wenders Li)
- Nominated: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung -Man, Yi Zheng-Zhou, Pater Wong)
- Nominated: Best Makeup & Costume Design (Yee Chung -Man, Jessie Dai, Lee Pik-Kwan)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Ching Siu-Tung)
- Nominated: Best Sound Effects (Sunit Asvinikul, Nakorn Kositpaisal)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Chan Kwong-Wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Leon Ko)
[edit] 2nd Asian Film Awards
- Won: Best Visual Effects (Ng Yuen Fai)
- Nominated: Best Film
- Nominated: Best Director (Peter Chan)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Jet Li)
- Nominated: Best Cinematographer (Arthur Wong)
- Nominated: Best Editor (Wenders Li)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.shockya.com/news/2009/12/07/the-warlords-movie-poster/
- ^ a b c Coonan, C. "Chan's 'Warlords' wraps", Variety, 2007-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Unknown. "Peter Chan steps away from romance", CCTV, 2006-12-25. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ (Chinese) Unknown. "A visit to the shooting of Warlords", Sina Entertainment, 2007-03-16. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ (Chinese) Unknown. "Blood Brothers begins shooting in Beijing", Nanfang Daily, 2006-12-05. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ (Chinese) Unknown. "Warlords in copyright troubles", Beijing Morning Post, 2007-03-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ (Chinese) Unknown. "Warlords wraps up, to be released simultaneously across Asia before New Year", Beijing Morning Post, 2007-04-02. Retrieved on 2004-04-02.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Warlords |
- Official Film Trailer with English subtitles
- Official site
- The Warlords at the Internet Movie Database
- The Warlords at Allmovie
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by After This Our Exile |
Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Film 2008 |
Succeeded by Ip Man |
| Preceded by Lust, Caution |
Golden Horse Awards for Best Film 2008 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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