| | |
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1) Dts, Dolby Surround Sound, Deleted Scenes, Featurette, Storyboards, English, Spanish Subtitled
Master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino presents Hero--starring martial arts legend Jet Li in a visually stunning martial arts epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation! With supernatural skill...and no fear...a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire's most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat! Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, Hero was nominated for both an Oscar (2002 Best Foreign Language Film) and a Golden Globe!
"The result is both thrilling and thoughtful." Hank Sartin, Chicago Reader
"Breathtaking masterpiece." Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte OBserver
"Swooningly beautiful, furious and thrilling, Zhang Yimou's Hero is an action movie for the ages." Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Editor's Note
Zhang Yimou, the director of such Chinese epics as RED SORGHUM, RAISE THE RED LANTERN, JU DOU, and SHANGHAI TRIAD, takes his first stab at a period martial arts film and succeeds wildly, making an intelligent, carefully crafted drama that pays tribute to the genre while taking it to another level. The story is set 2,000 years ago, during the time of the Warring States, when seven kindgoms were battling for dominance, and one leader--the king of Qin (Chen Dao Ming)--was determined to end up victorious and unite all of China as one nation. The proud king is forced to live trapped alone in his palace as a remarkable trio of villains--Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk), and Sky (Donnie Yen)--are out to kill him. But one day a simple country prefect (Jet Li) shows up, announcing that he has killed all three assassins. Identifying himself as Nameless, the prefect tells in great detail how he got rid of the king's sworn enemies. However, once Nameless is finished, the king has some interesting questions for him, pointing out holes in his tale. The cat-and-mouse story continues as Nameless and the king seek to find out the truth about the assassins and the future of China. Zhang Yimou's marvelous film is enhanced by Christopher Doyle's lush photography, Tan Dunn's percussive score (with Itzhak Perlman adding violin and fiddle), exciting special effects from SHAOLIN SOCCER veteran Tony Ching Siu-Tung, and excellent acting.
| Features | Hero Defined Featurette | | Audio: English, French, Chinese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; DTS 5.1 | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Dts Surround Sound | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Inside The Action: A Conversation With Quentin Tarantino & Jet Li | | HERO Defined | | Storyboards |
| Technical Info
|
Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 5/11/2007 |
| Running Time: 99 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2004 | | Catalog ID: 38012 | | UPC: 00786936259223 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Mandarin | | Available Audio Tracks: English Dubbed, French Dubbed, Chinese, Mandarin | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
|
| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"HERO is one of the most beautiful and involving films of the year." 07/01/2004 p.24Entertainment Weekly
"The extravagant visual beauty of HERO is, in a way, its own reward....The cast is a parade of action stars in full charisma..." 09/03/2004 p.56 New York Times
"Filled with meticulous set pieces, including a showdown between Snow and Moon set among swirls of golden-yellow leaves, HERO is easy on the eyes." 08/27/2004 p.E10 USA Today
"HERO is a visual feast." 09/03/2004 p.10E Rolling Stone
"Director Zhang Yimou packs this visual feast with fierce action and breathtaking beauty." 09/30/2004 p.205 Uncut
"HERO is dazzling....A visually sublime, thematically simple and universally appealing work of art?.A landmark piece of cinema." 10/01/2004 p.142 Chicago Sun-Times
"HERO is beautiful and beguiling, a martial arts extravaganza defining the styles and lives of its fighters within Chinese tradition." 08/27/2004 p.29 Los Angeles Times 10 of 10
Led by director Zhang Yimou and dazzling cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the unseen Hero p - Kenneth Turan
Time 10 of 10
Hero is the masterpiece. It employs unparalleled visual splendor to show why men must make wa - Richard Corliss
LA Weekly 9 of 10
Hero is an epic, evocative of another epoch and of landscapes beyond time. It's overwhelming. - Tim Appelo
|
| |
|
|
|
