A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 46 wins & 48 nominations total
- Broken Sword
- (as Tony Leung Chiu-Wai)
- Flying Snow
- (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk)
- Moon
- (as Zhang Ziyi)
- King
- (as Chen Dao Ming)
- Scholar
- (as Liu Zhong Yuan)
- Old Servant
- (as Zheng Tian Yong)
- Commander
- (as Zhang Ya Kun)
- Seven Qin Guards
- (as Hei Zi)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe "red fight" between Moon and Flying-Snow was filmed in a forest in Mongolia. Director Yimou Zhang had to wait until the leaves turn yellow, and hired local nomads to gather even more yellow leaves in order to cover the ground completely. In fact, he was so fanatic about the leaves, that he had his crew separate the leaves into four different "classes" which were each put at increasingly farther lengths from the camera.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the movie, subtitles state that China was divided into seven warring states. At the end, the subtitles then state that "the King of Qin" unified China, without specifying which one. Historically, the king that was the one to unite all of the Chinese states was Ying Zheng (later changed name to Shi Huang Di) who inherited the throne from his deceased father at age 13 (as opposed to the age of the king in the movie). At the time, Ying Zheng began to rule China, the seven states were already reduced to two larger states (Qin and Chu) which was later dominated by Qin when Ying Zheng was 22 years old. It is therefore impossible for the same king shown in the movie to be the king that united all the Chinese states, although the end-note is semantically correct.
- Quotes
King of Qin: I have just come to a realization! This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship. What this reveals is his highest ideal. In the first state, man and sword become one and each other. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart. Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains.
- Alternate versionsThe Director's Cut was 107:15 minutes, compared to the theatrical version at 96:23 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Ying xiong: Cause - The Birth of Hero (2002)
Comprising, but not limited to outstanding duelling with a variety of razor sharp implements and tongues, a kaleidoscopic background of intense colour and beauty, several tangents to keep you on your toes, an immense scale that befits the telling of such a story with an elegance seldom encountered in Western culture when it comes to films of this time and age, buttressed through outstanding performances by the lead actors all round - outstanding.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $31,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $53,710,019
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $17,800,000
- Aug 29, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $177,395,557
- Runtime2 hours
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1