The Founding of an Army
| The Founding of an Army | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Andrew Lau[1] |
| Written by | Dong Zhe Zhao Ningyu Han Sanping Huang Jianxin |
| Produced by | Han Sanping Huang Jianxin[1] |
Production companies | China Film Group Corporation Bona Film Group Nanchang Radio and TV Station August First Film Studio Shanghai Sanciyuan Entertainment Emperor Motion Pictures Sun Entertainment Culture Media Asia Film[2][1] |
| Distributed by | China Film Group Corporation Distribution Workshop |
Release date |
|
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
The Founding of an Army is a 2017 Chinese propaganda historical film commissioned by China's government to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army. Produced by Han Sanping and directed by Andrew Lau, it is the third installment of the trilogy called Founding of New China after The Founding of a Republic (2009) and The Founding of a Party (2011). The film features a star-studded cast of Chinese actors.[3] It was released on July 28, 2017 to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.[4][5]
Plot
The story begins in 1927 at the beginning of the Nanchang uprising, known as the first major Kuomintang–Communist engagement.
Cast
- Liu Ye as Mao Zedong
- Zhu Yawen as Zhou Enlai
- Huang Zhizhong as Zhu De
- Wang Jingchun as He Long
- Oho Ou as Ye Ting
- Liu Haoran as Su Yu
- Ma Tianyu as Lin Biao
- Xiao Ai as Ye Jianying
- Lay Zhang as Lu Deming
- Li Yifeng as He Changgong
- Bai Yu as Cai Qingchuan
- Liang Dawei as Chen Geng
- Yu Hewei as Chen Duxiu
- Wu Yue as Zhang Guotao
- Bai Ke as Di Qiubai
- Liu Xun Zi Mo as Cai Hesen
- Dong Zijian as Deng Xiaoping
- Chen Xiao as Ren Bishi
- Zhang Dapeng as Liu Bocheng
- Bao Jianfeng as Tan Pingchuan
- Song Yang as Wang Shouhua
- Ye Xiaowei as Chen Yi
- Ashton Chen as Nie Rongzhen
- Li Xian as Luo Ronghang
- Li Mincheng as Zhou Yiqun
- Wang Zhao as Tan Zheng
- Li Qin as Yang Kaihui
- Song Jia as Soong Ching-ling
- Guan Xiaotong as Deng Yingchao
- Ma Yili as Xiang Jingyu
- Zhou Dongyu as Fan Jiaxia
- Feng Wenjuan as Peng Yuanhua
- Wang Qinxiang as Zhang Zuolin
- Han Geng as Zhang Xueliang
- Wang Ting as Si Lie
- Michael Chen as Si Li
- Cao Kefan
- Daniel Wu as Hu Hanming
- Wallace Huo as Chiang Kai-shek
- Zhang Tianai as Soong Mei-ling
- Zhang Junhan as Chen Lifu
- Yu Shaoqun as Wang Jingwei
- William Chan as Triad boss
- Zhang Hanyu as Du Yuesheng
- Zhou Yiwei
- Yu Ailei as Zhang Fakui
- Marc Ma as Zhao Fusheng
- Tony Yang as Qian Dajun
- Huang Shang-Ho
- Joseph Cheng as Yu Jishi
- Lu Han as Lian luo yuan (Liaison Officer)
- Tong Ruihuan as Zeng Zhongming
- Zheng Kai
- Winston Chao
- Liu Zhibing
- Alex Fong
- Tang Baoqiang
- Ma Zhengqiang
- Wang Zhifei
Release
Critical response
On July 25, 2017, film director Ye Daying (叶大鹰), the grandson of General Ye Ting, criticized the film on his sina weibo as follows: "The revolutionary history is seriously entertaining. It is a reproach and distortion of the revolutionary history."[6] Ye Daying also sent an open letter to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), which was signed by more than 25 revolutionary successors, many of them are generations of higher military officials.[7] They demanded an apology to their family from the producer.[7]
The page of the film on Douban, the leading film review website in China, has forbidden any rating or comment by its users since July 2017.[8]
Asian Release
This film was only released in Southeast Asia within Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Estonia before the ASEAN international film exhibit.
Awards and nominations
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Macau International Movie Festival | Best Picture | The Founding of an Army | Nominated | [9] |
| Best Director | Andrew Lau | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Zhang Yixing | Nominated | ||
| 9th China Film Director's Guild Awards | Best Film | The Founding of an Army | Nominated | [10] |
| 37th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Visual Effects | Victor Wong, Eman Tse | Nominated | [11] |
| 23rd Huading Awards | Best Film | The Founding of an Army | Nominated | [12] |
| 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Jury Award | Nominated | [13] | |
| 14th Changchun Film Festival | Best Original Music Score | Chen Guangrong | Won | [14] |
| 34th Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Picture | The Founding of an Army | Nominated | [15][16] |
| Outstanding Picture | Won | |||
| Best Writing | Han Sanping, Huang Jianxin, Dong Zhe, Zhao Ningyu | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Zhu Yawen | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Li Qin | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Ma Tianyu | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Zhang Tian'ai | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b c d "《建军大业》新春惊喜亮相 "热血之师"气势昂扬". ifeng.com. 27 January 2017.
- ^ "战争史诗巨制《建军大业》今日开机 全明星阵容再现领袖救国壮举". ifeng.com. 1 August 2016.
- ^ "刘烨、董子健、霍建华、张艺兴、李易峰、刘昊然、韩庚 《建军大业》45位角色海报曝光". People.cn. 12 April 2017.
- ^ "献礼片《建军大业》定档建军节". Hainan Ribao. 3 February 2017.
- ^ "War epic to mark founding of Chinese army". China.org.cn. 2 August 2016.
- ^ 叶挺将军孙子叶大鹰不满《建军大业》叶挺一角：羞辱谁呢？. xinmin (in Chinese). 2017-07-26.
- ^ a b 叶挺之孙发公开信要求《建军大业》片方道歉. 163.com (in Chinese). 2017-07-27.
- ^ 建军大业. Douban.
- ^ "2017年第九屆澳門國際電影節獎項提名名單". Macau International Movie Festival Official Website (in Chinese).
- ^ "电影导演协会2017年度入围名单揭晓 吴京入围最佳导演". ifeng (in Chinese). February 27, 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong Film Awards nominations 2018: Ann Hui's Our Time Will Come leads race with 11 nods". South China Morning Post. February 6, 2018.
- ^ "第23届华鼎奖提名：《战狼2》、《芳华》双雄逐鹿". Sina (in Chinese). March 20, 2018.
- ^ "第二十五届北京大学生电影节闭幕式暨颁奖典礼圆满落幕". Tencent (in Chinese). May 7, 2018.
- ^ "《红海行动》《我不是药神》获长春电影节最佳故事片奖". Xinhua (in Chinese). September 8, 2018.
- ^ "第34届大众电影百花奖提名名单公布". Netease (in Chinese). November 7, 2018.
- ^ "《红海行动》斩获百花奖五项大奖 吴京拿下最佳男主角 成龙黄晓明亮相红毯". Mtime (in Chinese). November 10, 2018.
External links
- The Founding of an Army at IMDb
- The Founding of an Army at Douban (in Chinese)
- The Founding of an Army at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)
- 2017 films
- Chinese films
- Mandarin-language films
- Chinese historical films
- Chinese propaganda films
- Films set in the 1920s
- Films directed by Andrew Lau
- China Film Group Corporation films
- Cultural depictions of Mao Zedong
- Cultural depictions of Zhou Enlai
- Cultural depictions of Deng Xiaoping
- Cultural depictions of Chiang Kai-shek