The Opium War (film)

The Opium War
Japanese film poster
Traditional	鴉片戰爭
Simplified	鸦片战争
Mandarin	Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng
Directed by	Xie Jin
Produced by	Chen Zhigu
Written by	Zhu Sujin Ni Zhen Zong Fuxian Mai Tianshu
Starring	Bao Guo'an Lin Liankun Sihung Lung Bob Peck Simon Williams Shao Hsin Su Min
Music by	Jin Fuzai Huang Hanqi
Cinematography	Hou Yong Shang Yong
Edited by	David Wu Qian Lili Zhang Longgen
Production company	Emei Film Studio Xie Jin / Heng Tong Film & TV Co.
Distributed by	Golden Harvest
Release date	1997 (1997)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin English

The Opium War is a 1997 Chinese historical epic film directed by Xie Jin. The winner of the 1997 Golden Rooster and 1998 Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Picture, the film was screened in several international film festivals, notably Cannes and Montreal. The film tells the story of the First Opium War of 1839–1842, which was fought between the Qing Empire of China and the British Empire, from the perspectives of key figures such as the Chinese viceroy Lin Zexu and the British naval diplomat Charles Elliot.

Unlike many of its contemporaries, The Opium War was strongly supported by the state apparatus. Despite its clear political message, many Western commentators found the treatment of the historical events to be generally even-handed.

At the time of its release, The Opium War, with a budget of $15 million (USD), was the most expensive film produced in China. It was released to coincide with the Hong Kong handover ceremony in July 1997.

The film was shot in the Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang province, a common filming site for historical films which has been dubbed "Chinawood." In order to recreate the streets of 19th-century Guangzhou, nearly 120 construction teams from surrounding villages were assembled. In contrast, nearly all post-production took place in Japan.

Despite its clear political background (and its release on the eve of the return of Hong Kong to China), the film was generally well received by Western critics as a workable example of the big-budget historical film. Variety, in one review, begins with the fact that despite the film's "unashamedly political message," The Opium War was nevertheless "comparatively even-handed," while the film itself had excellent production values.The Guardian recognised that the film, despite its official backing, "was relatively nuanced," and praised the performance of Bob Peck as the venal opium trader Denton.