| King of Masks - Bian Lian (1999)
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| Front Cover |
Actor |
Back Cover |
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| Zhigang Zhang |
Sulan, Luo
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| Zhigang Zhao |
Liang Sao Lang
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| Renying Zhou |
Gou Wa ("Doggie")
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| Xu Zhu |
Bianlian Wang
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| Chao Yim-Yin |
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| Chu Yuk |
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| Plot |
| The King of Masks tells a tale steeped in ancient tradition, simultaneously challenging the sociosexual inequity still plaguing China today. On the streets of Szechuan Province in the 1930s, the aged King of Masks, sole living master of "change-face" opera, delights and frightens audiences with the secret art of lightning-quick mask-shifting. His fondest wish is to pass on his skill to a male heir before he dies. Famous female impersonator Liang Sao Lang craves knowledge of the king's secret technique, offering to relieve the old man's poverty by taking him into his opera troupe. The king declines: what sort of heir would this half-female creature make? Instead, he buys an orphan on the black market, joyously showing him off as his grandson and heir. But soon the child is forced to disclose a dreaded secret--one that effectively renders him a person of no value according to Chinese custom. In the king's eyes, the kid goes from "beloved grandson" to "stupid crook," and both the old man and the child must pay dearly for his bigotry before they can know joy again. A deeply moving film, simply told and superbly acted. --Laura Mirsky |
| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Drama; Foreign |
| Director |
Tian-Ming Wu; Wu Tianming |
| Producer |
Mona Fong; Titus Ho; Wu Tianming |
| Writer |
Minglun Wei; Wei Minglun |
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| Studio |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
| Country |
China |
| Language |
Mandarin |
| Audience Rating |
PG |
| Running Time |
101 mins |
| Movie Release Date |
4/16/1999 |
| Color |
Color |
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| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
Yes |
| Index |
677 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
| Purchase Date |
10/9/2003 |
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| Product Details |
| Region |
 Region 1 |
| Screen Ratio |
 1.33:1 |
| Layers |
Single Side, Single Layer |
| UPC (Barcode) |
043396047419 |
| Chapters |
28 |
| Release Date |
3/7/2000 |
| Subtitles |
English; French; Spanish |
| Packaging |
Keep Case |
| Audio Tracks |
 MANDARIN: Dolby Digital Stereo [CC] |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
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Extra Features
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Theatrical Trailer.
Interactive Menus.
Production Notes.
Scene Selections. |
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