Hero (movie)
| Hero | |
|---|---|
Chinese theatrical release poster
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| Traditional | 英雄 |
| Simplified | 英雄 |
| Mandarin | Yīngxióng |
| Cantonese | Jing1 Hung4 |
| Directed by | Zhang Yimou |
| Produced by | Zhang Yimou |
| Written by | Feng Li Bin Wang Zhang Yimou |
| Starring |
Jet Li Tony Leung Maggie Cheung Chen Daoming Zhang Ziyi Donnie Yen |
| Music by | Tan Dun |
| Cinematography | Christopher Doyle |
| Edited by | Angie Lam |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Miramax Films (US) Beijing New Picture Film (China) EDKO Film (Hong Kong) |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $31 million |
| Box office | $177.4 million |
Hero is a 2002 Chinese wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC.
Hero was first released in China on 24 October 2002. At that time, it was the most expensive project and the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history.Miramax Films owned the American market distribution rights, but delayed the release of the film for nearly two years. It was finally presented by Quentin Tarantino to American theaters on 27 August 2004.
In ancient China during the Warring States period, Nameless, a Qin prefect, arrives at the Qin capital city to meet the king of Qin, who had survived an attempt on his life by the assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. As a result, the king has implemented extreme security measures: no visitors are to approach the king within 100 paces. Nameless claims that he has slain the three assassins and he displays their weapons before the king, who allows the former to approach within ten paces and tell him his story.
Nameless recounts first killing Long Sky, before traveling to meet Flying Snow and Broken Sword, who had taken refuge at a calligraphy school in the Zhao state. He tells Sword that he is there to commission a calligraphy scroll with the character for "Sword" (劍), secretly seeking to learn Sword's skill through his calligraphy. Nameless also learns that Snow and Sword, who are lovers, had gradually grown distant. Once the scroll is complete, Nameless reveals his identity and challenges both Snow and Sword to a duel the next day. Sword, who knows that the scroll has revealed his weaknesses to Nameless, makes love to his pupil Moon, but is seen by Snow. In revenge, Snow kills Sword, followed by Moon when she attempted to seek revenge for her master. The next day, Nameless kills the emotionally unstable Snow before the Qin army, and claims her sword. As the tale concludes, the king expresses disbelief and accuses Nameless of staging the duels with the assassins, as in the previous assassination attempt he had perceived Sword as an honourable man who would not stoop so low as to cheat on Snow. The king then suggests that what really happened was that the assassins volunteered their lives so that Nameless could gain the king's trust, which would allow Nameless to get close enough to the king to kill him. He then narrates his guess at what really happened.
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