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'Flowers of War' Trailer - Christian Bale Stars In China's Most Expensive Film Ever

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U

Unknown Soldier

Member
Mammoth Jones said:
Didn't Iris Chang get so depressed from writing that book and documenting all the atrocities that occurred that she eventually killed herself?
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Yes, she committed suicide some years after finishing The Rape of Nanking, but it was during research for another book. The Rape of Nanking was published in 1997, she committed suicide in 2004.
 
T

TheKaeptain

Banned
Peru said:
Btw, last year's "Under the Hawthorne Tree" is an amazingly tear-jerky tear-jerker and I happen to love his tear-jerking (The Road Home is one of my favorite movies - period); plus he once again pulls an unknown, wildly charismatic actress out of nowhere
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Is more like his older movies than his later ones?
 
P

Peru

Member
Unknown Soldier said:
This is Zhang Yimou we're talking about. He directed Curse of the Golden Flower. I'll never forgive him for that. Even his "good" movies weren't really very good. He's the most overrated big-name Asian director working today by a wide margin, especially after John Woo made Red Cliff actually pretty damn good and redeemed his Hollywood career.
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This is very much wrong. Red Lantern, Ju Dou are great - low-key, visually arresting, heartbreaking tales. Then there's his other mode, with "Hero", an amazingly bombastic, pompous 'every word is life or death' poem, like modern dance mixed with opera on the most expensive stage ever. It's silly and beautiful and worth ten times its reputation as the chinese Jet Li flick that made it in the west.

He's had some clunkers, but even his Shakespeare cheesecakes were entertaining and visually interesting if only for the gall of it all. And as I've mentioned before, when he goes love story sentimental he really goes for it. He's responsible for nurturing Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi as well - give the man an Oscar for that if nothing else.


CaptYamato said:
Is more like his older movies than his later ones?
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It's basically like The Road Home. Nothing big happens but the fact that two lovers face peril.
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Kinyou said:
Sounds interesting.

(somehow the thread title made me think that this would be a government funded propaganda flick)
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I can't help it, but whenever I see any sort of Roman Catholic priest depicted in Chinese media ... My mind always assumed it is government funded propaganda.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_China#People.27s_Republic_of_China

But if this is set in 1937... then, well, probably free from the typical propaganda surrounding the RCC in China.
 
L

lupinko

Member
Unknown Soldier said:
This is Zhang Yimou we're talking about. He directed Curse of the Golden Flower. I'll never forgive him for that. Even his "good" movies weren't really very good. He's the most overrated big-name Asian director working today by a wide margin, especially after John Woo made Red Cliff actually pretty damn good and redeemed his Hollywood career.
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That is true, Hero bored the fuck out of me, and I fell asleep in House of Flying Daggers.

Really traditional Wuxia movies have sucked hard ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which I didn't think much of too, ugh Ang Lee).

But this movie is not a Wuxia flick, and it has Bale, so I'm willing to give Zhang Yimou another chance. Not to mention the last Nanjing related movie to come out of China was fantastic (albeit hard to watch like Schindler's List) in City of Life and Death/Nanjing Nanjing. Well, that doesn't say much since it's not the same director or story, but Batman so far has been doing well, so let's hope he can help Yimou with a little Prestige.
 
L

linsivvi

Member
Hasphat'sAnts said:
Raise the Red Lantern. Red Sorghum. Ju Dou. All fantastic films.

He's sold out a long time ago, but it doesn't mean he can't put out something good.
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I agree. I don't like his big budget martial arts movies, but that doesn't mean he can't make a good movie again. Under a Hawthorn Tree was pretty good though not a classic like those you mentioned.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Peru said:
This is very much wrong. Red Lantern, Ju Dou are great - low-key, visually arresting, heartbreaking tales. Then there's his other mode, with "Hero", an amazingly bombastic, pompous 'every word is life or death' poem, like modern dance mixed with opera on the most expensive stage ever. It's silly and beautiful and worth ten times its reputation as the chinese Jet Li flick that made it in the west.

He's had some clunkers, but even his Shakespeare cheesecakes were entertaining and visually interesting if only for the gall of it all. And as I've mentioned before, when he goes love story sentimental he really goes for it. He's responsible for nurturing Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi as well - give the man an Oscar for that if nothing else.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think it's really hard to understand the point behind Hero unless you're of Chinese origin and studied Chinese history to any detail.
 
E

Expendable.

Member
zoah1.jpg
 
K

Kikujiro

Member
I agree that the present Zhang Yimou doesn't hold a candle to the past Zhang Yimou, but you can't call him an overrated director, during the late '80 and throughout the '90 he made some great movies (Raise the Red Lantern is one of the greatest movie of the '90).

I'm not really hyped for this movie, trailer looked like an oscar bait, but I'll watch it for sure.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
Hasphat'sAnts said:
Raise the Red Lantern. Red Sorghum. Ju Dou. All fantastic films.

He's sold out a long time ago, but it doesn't mean he can't put out something good.
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You missed my point. I was just pointing out that he's made some real stinkers. I didn't say he was terrible, just that he was overrated. Also, if a director made good movies a long time ago and then has made not good ones since then, I'm sorry, that's absolutely a definition of overrated.
 
B

BobsRevenge

I do not avoid women, GAF, but I do deny them my essence.
Most oscar baitey trailer ever. Looks like it's trying too hard with the battle scenes too. Whoever choreographed or directed the action scenes seems to have gotten carried away.
 
T

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
If there's any justice in the world, Christian Bale would take the lead in that Steve Jobs biopic Sony's cooking up.
 
L

lupinko

Member
richiek said:
Isn't this the second film this year to deal with the Nanjing massacre?
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I don't believe so, City of Life and Death (Chinese movie) and John Rabbe (German movie) both came out a couple of years ago.

Those are the two most notable recent ones too.

twinturbo2 said:
If there's any justice in the world, Christian Bale would take the lead in that Steve Jobs biopic Sony's cooking up.
Click to expand...

Nah, if there was any real justice in the world, Noah Wyle should just play Jobs again, I mean he did already in Pirates of Silicon Valley, and Jobs himself liked it.
 
S

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
This film will be very hard to watch so I won't watch it. I have read enough about this.

edit: lol, is it a real poster??
 
S

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
by the way, there is a chinese film about Nanking which was shot not so long ago (00s) and it is very naturalistic. Also features very large crowd scenes.
 
T

TheKaeptain

Banned
lupinko said:
I don't believe so, City of Life and Death (Chinese movie) and John Rabbe (German movie) both came out a couple of years ago.

Those are the two most notable recent ones too.
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Isn't City of Life and Death coming out on Blu-ray next week? That is probably what the guy is talking about.
 
G

Gully State

Member
lupinko said:
That is true, Hero bored the fuck out of me, and I fell asleep in House of Flying Daggers.

Really traditional Wuxia movies have sucked hard ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which I didn't think much of too, ugh Ang Lee).
Click to expand...

Tell me about it...I went to watch Detective Dee about a month ago and it felt like the same shit over again. The genre has stagnated TBH...
 
H

Hasphat'sAnts

Member
Unknown Soldier said:
You missed my point. I was just pointing out that he's made some real stinkers. I didn't say he was terrible, just that he was overrated. Also, if a director made good movies a long time ago and then has made not good ones since then, I'm sorry, that's absolutely a definition of overrated.
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Marty Scorsese made Kundun. Does that mean he's overrated too?
 
E

effzee

Member
Is this the movie he shot earlier this year right before the shoot for Batman started? I remember reading how close it was to the Batman production.
 
L

lupinko

Member
CaptYamato said:
Isn't City of Life and Death coming out on Blu-ray next week? That is probably what the guy is talking about.
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I dunno, I don't follow domestic releases, I go when it's newly released. XD

HK BD for City of Life and Death is also amazing too.

<3 Importing
 
E

Expendable.

Member
effzee said:
Is this the movie he shot earlier this year right before the shoot for Batman started? I remember reading how close it was to the Batman production.
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Yeah, he pretty much jumped directly in TDKR. He might have had few week break.
 
T

TheKaeptain

Banned
lupinko said:
I dunno, I don't follow domestic releases, I go when it's newly released. XD

HK BD for City of Life and Death is also amazing too.

<3 Importing
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That blu is expensive. It's the only reason I never imported.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
Lionel Mandrake said:
Everyone's making fun of the poster. Did you watch the trailer? What the hell was with those goofy expressions he was making there?
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It's Christian Bale, dude. That's how he acts!

CaptYamato said:
That blu is expensive. It's the only reason I never imported.
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You gotta be selective when importing! Pick and choose!
 
D

DesertEater

Member
"John (Bale) and 13 courtesans as they seek refuge in a church compound together with a group of innocent schoolgirls from the church."
when will the porno spin-off come out?
 
R

Recon

Banned
DesertEater said:
"John (Bale) and 13 courtesans as they seek refuge in a church compound together with a group of innocent schoolgirls from the church."
when will the porno spin-off come out?
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"The De-Flowering of War"
 
Angry Fork

Angry Fork

Member
I knew people would laugh at Bale's face in the poster, I did the same. Also I will take the brunt of being post 100 on page 2, carry on gaf.
 
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