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MOVIES / ON DVD / HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
House of Flying Daggers

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House of Flying Daggers (2004)

87%
95%
85%
N/A
N/A
N/A
87 %
Reviews Counted: 159 Fresh: 139  Rotten:20 Average Rating: 7.7/10
 
Consensus: The visual splendor of the movie makes up for the weak story. The visual splendor of the movie makes up for the weak story. more
 
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Theatrical Release: Dec 3, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $10,928,042
Synopsis:
It is 859AD, and the Tang Dynasty, one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history at its height, is in decline. The Emperor is incompetent and the government is corrupt. Unrest is spreading throughout the land, and many rebel armies are forming in protest. The largest, and most... [More]
It is 859AD, and the Tang Dynasty, one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history at its height, is in decline. The Emperor is incompetent and the government is corrupt. Unrest is spreading throughout the land, and many rebel armies are forming in protest. The largest, and most prestigious, is an underground alliance called the “House of Flying Daggers.” The House of Flying Daggers operates mysteriously, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Thus, they have earned the support and admiration of the people and expanded quickly. Based in Feng Tian County, close to the Imperial Capital, the House of Flying Daggers has long been a thorn in the side of the local deputies, their hated rivals. The deputies are enraged because, even after they fought and killed the leader of the House of Flying Daggers, the House continues to thrive. Under the leadership of a mysterious new leader, the House of Flying Daggers grows ever more powerful. Feng Tian County’s two local captains, Leo (ANDY LAU TAK WAH) and Jin (TAKESHI KANESHIRO) are ordered to capture the new leader within ten days. Captain Leo suspects that Mei (ZHANG ZIYI), the beautiful new dancer at the local Peony Pavilion, is actually the daughter of the old leader. He hatches a plan to arrest her and bring her in for questioning. When Mei refuses to divulge any information on the House of Flying Daggers, the two captains set up another plan. This time, Captain Jin will pretend to be a lone warrior called Wind and rescue Mei from prison, earning her trust and escorting her to the secret headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers. The plan works, and on their long journey to the House, Jin and Mei warm to each other. Before long, Mei has developed feelings for her enigmatic protector, and Jin is surprised to find himself falling for Mei’s headstrong charm. Both struggle to contain their feelings, but under the starry night, their irrepressible desire is almost beyond their control. Danger lurks in the forest surrounding them, and the wind is still, as if sensing the tension in the air. What lies ahead for Jin and Mei, these star-crossed lovers? If this is true love, then why are there plots in their heads…and secrets in their hearts? [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Lu Feng, Song Dandan

Director: Yimou Zhang
Screenwriter: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Bill Kong, Yimou Zhang
Composer: Shigeru Umebayashi

DVD Info

Release:

Jun 20, 2006

[DVD Details]

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Blue BD Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • PCM 5.1 - English, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurette - 1. "Creating the Visual Effects"

Text and Photo Galleries:

  • Storyboard Compiliations

Interactive Features:

  • "Seamless Menus"

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 03:15 AM
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:17 AM
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Moments of astonishing greatness followed by yawn-inducing romance.

Full Review | Comment
01/10/06 11:55 PM
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
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Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:12 PM
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
09/26/05 03:15 AM
Onion AV Club
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Though it’s full of action and suspense, House of Flying Daggers lacks the reverberations of Hero’s plot.

Full Review | Comment
09/16/05 03:15 AM
Jeremy C. Fox
Pajiba
Ratings Image

See it in a theater on the biggest screen you can find

Full Review | Comment
09/01/05 09:41 PM
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/25/05 03:17 AM
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Though it is by no means explicitly political, the film expresses a tragic exasperation with the tendency of politics to subsume the rights and lives of individuals.

Full Review | Comment
06/21/05 07:46 AM
Leo Goldsmith
Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Ratings Image

Wonderfully conveys how the act of loving another can be a game, a sacrifice, a ruse, a weapon, a betrayal, and, most of all, a political act.

Full Review | Comment
05/04/05 10:23 AM
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image

[Zhang] adopts a stylized but more naturalistic look for the visually sumptuous wuxia spectacle House of Flying Daggers.

Full Review | Comment
04/13/05 11:37 AM
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
Ratings Image

Assim que a história parece prestes a se entregar a um clímax emocionante, o roteiro decide mergulhar no pior dos melodramas.

Full Review | Comment
04/08/05 03:10 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

I'd rather sit through a slide show of scenes from this movie than revisit 99% of the fare churned out by Hollywood

Full Review | Comment
02/25/05 10:15 PM
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
Ratings Image

Made me long for the days when director Zhang Yimou made intimate movies with emotional depth.

Full Review | Comment
02/07/05 01:23 PM
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
Ratings Image

A soapy love story that gallops across a snowy Autumn Hallmark card.

Full Review | Comment
02/04/05 11:52 PM
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card
Ratings Image

Les fans du genre ne peuvent qu’être ravis, les sceptiques le seront encore davantage. Un drame épique d’arts martiaux réussi n’en demeure pas moins.

Full Review | Comment
01/26/05 09:28 PM
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Panorama
Ratings Image

It's a gorgeous celebration of movement for movement's sake, color for color's sake, and athleticism for athleticism's sake.

Full Review | Comment
01/24/05 10:15 PM
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
Ratings Image

Zhang Yimou's follow-up to Hero oddly feels more like a warm up.

Full Review | Comment
01/24/05 12:29 PM
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies
Ratings Image

Visually splendid, but anyone demanding more from a film than endless battles against overwhelming odds, fought by fellows who scamper through tree tops, is in for a letdown.

Full Review | Comment
01/19/05 01:47 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Ratings Image

Another stunning martial arts masterpiece from Yimou Zhang.

Full Review | Comment
01/19/05 12:48 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
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• House of Flying Daggers at AskMen
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