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The Emperor and the Assassin - Jing ke ci qin wang (1999)
IMDb Rating 7.3
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Gong Li Lady Zhao
Zhang Fengyi Jing Ke
Li Xuejian Ying Zheng, King Of Qin
Sun Zhou Dan, Prince Of Yan
Wang Zhiwen Marquis Changxin
Chen Kaige Lu Buwei
Lu Xiaohe Gen. Fan Yuqi
Gu Yongfei Queen Mother
Ding Haifeng Qin Wuyang
Zhao Benshan Gao Jianli
Li Gong Lady Zhao
Fengyi Zhang Jing Ke
Zhou Sun Dan, Prince of Yan
Plot
A lavishly produced historical drama from China, Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin tells the complex, multi-facetted story of the man who became the first Emperor of a unified China, another man who has sworn to kill him, and a woman who is loved by both men. Late in the Third Century B.C., when China was comprised of seven rival kingdoms, Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) was the leader of Qin. Ying Zheng had a dream in which he joined together the seven kingdoms into a single utopian state, and taking this as a mandate from God, he invaded the nearby state of Han as the first step toward this goal. However, not everyone in the neighboring states was happy with Ying Zheng's crusade, which seemed to indicate a lengthy war with many casualties. Lady Zhao (Gong Li), Ying's lover, devised a scheme to help Ying Zheng take over the nearby and uncooperative state of Yan; she fabricated a fake assassination plot against him, and framed the leader of Yan, once Ying Zheng's childhood friend, as the man behind the murderous plot. However, Lady Zhao did not choose the would-be assassin wisely; while Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi) loved her and was willing to do her bidding, Jing Ke's previous assassination assignment caused the unintended death of an innocent blind girl, which left him full of regret and a bit unstable. When Jing Ke learned a closely guarded secret about Ying Zheng's past, he became blindly determined to kill the would-be emperor, whatever the cost. Produced on a lavish budget by Chinese standards ($15 million), Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin was directed by Chen Kaige, best known to Western audiences for the international success Farewell My Concubine. — Mark Deming
Movie Details
Genre Drama; Foreign
Director Chen Kaige; Kaige Chen
Producer Satoru Iseki; Chen Kaige; Sanping Han; Shirley Kao
Writer Chen Kaige; Wang Peigong; Kaige Chen; Peigong Wang
Studio Sony Pictures
Country France
Language Mandarin
Audience Rating R
Running Time 160 mins
Movie Release Date 12/17/1999
Color Color
Personal Details
Format DVD
Seen It No
Index 350
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Date 10/29/2004
Product Details
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 043396050457
Chapters 28
Release Date 6/13/2000
Subtitles English; French; Spanish
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks MANDARIN: Dolby Digital Surround
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Surround
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Director's Commentary
Theatrical Trailers
Talent Files
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Selections
Links
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