When you watch this movie, only big words come to mind: Ostentatious! Flamboyant! Luxurious! Lavish! Ornate!
I was very amazed with the costumes and production design of this film, which I feel have exceeded that of "House of the Flying Daggers," which I really thought cannot be topped. The costume designer deserves an award even for the ceremonial garb of the Emperor and Empress alone. This was truly the most remarkable feature of this movie. The colors are all in vivid display in all clothes and accessories and palace scenes and furniture. A questionable (and distracting) detail however was the design of the women's clothes with cleavage in full display, which did not seem congruent with what is traditional Chinese court wear we know.
The battle scenes between the black ninjas vs. the red and black soldiers with flying scythes and grapples; then later, the silver-armored and the gold-armored warriors with spears and arrows and swords were cinematographic achievements. Another unforgettable scene was that when the bloody dead bodies were systematically cleared off the courtyard of the palace to be replaced by carpets and what appeared to be thousands of pots of chrysanthemums, all of that in a smooth series of shots from various angles is an editing achievement.
With regards to acting, there is no doubting the ability of Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat. Gong Li really excelled in this kind of role playing a troubled woman. (Her best role for me was that in "Raise the Red Lantern.") Chow Yun Fat looked very different in this movie with his long hair and beard, very imposing as the Emperor. Both of them possessed the necessary regal bearing, aided much by their elaborate costumes. However, the acting of the three princes were unfortunately not up to par, especially the second son (played by pop star Jay Chou) who did not come across as noble despite his character and costume.
As an overall movie, I still preferred "House of Flying Daggers" over this one among the work of director Zhang Yi Mou.
The battle scenes between the black ninjas vs. the red and black soldiers with flying scythes and grapples; then later, the silver-armored and the gold-armored warriors with spears and arrows and swords were cinematographic achievements. Another unforgettable scene was that when the bloody dead bodies were systematically cleared off the courtyard of the palace to be replaced by carpets and what appeared to be thousands of pots of chrysanthemums, all of that in a smooth series of shots from various angles is an editing achievement.
With regards to acting, there is no doubting the ability of Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat. Gong Li really excelled in this kind of role playing a troubled woman. (Her best role for me was that in "Raise the Red Lantern.") Chow Yun Fat looked very different in this movie with his long hair and beard, very imposing as the Emperor. Both of them possessed the necessary regal bearing, aided much by their elaborate costumes. However, the acting of the three princes were unfortunately not up to par, especially the second son (played by pop star Jay Chou) who did not come across as noble despite his character and costume.
As an overall movie, I still preferred "House of Flying Daggers" over this one among the work of director Zhang Yi Mou.
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