The Emperor and the Assassin

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Cast & Crew

Li Gong
Lady Zhao

Fengyi Zhang
Jing Ke

Xuejian Li
Ying Zheng

Sun Zhou
Dan, Prince of Yan

Wang Zhiwen
Marquis Changxin

Chen Kaige
Lu Buwei

Lu Xiaohe
General Fan Yuqi

Gu Yongfei
Queen Mother

Haifeng Ding
Qin Wuyang

Benshan Zhao
Gao Jianli

Kaige Chen
Director

Kaige Chen
Writer

Peigong Wang
Writer

Kaige Chen
Executive Producer

Hiromitsu Furukawa
Executive Producer

Sanping Han
Producer

Satoru Iseki
Producer

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa
Executive Producer

Bai Yu
Line Producer

Xia Zhang
Line Producer

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News & Interviews for The Emperor and the Assassin

Critic Reviews for The Emperor and the Assassin

Audience Reviews for The Emperor and the Assassin

• Feb 11, 2013

  Loads of costumer details, wartime battles, and a bit of Chinese history combine to make for an interesting couple of hours as the King of Qin ignominiously struggles to unite a divided China dead set against any grand uniting schemes or dreams (imagine as if Napolean tried uniting Europe, w/o all that annoying English spoiling interference!). Along the way there's spikes in the action, time for some fingerpointing drama, Dallas/Dynasty style, but not so much so as you lose track of the mostly unknown to the West story.
  Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
• Jan 04, 2010

  Loved it....although I admit to being a little confused through some of it. Just wait until Chinese directors turn their cameras on non period pieces.
  

  John B Super Reviewer
• May 16, 2009

  <i>The Emperor and the Assassin</i> is a historical drama, with a touch of Shakespeare, from writer and director Kaige Chen.<p>The plot does have its moments and it is interesting at times, but it is just too drawn out. The film is broken into chapters, which works out quite well with the story, however it isn't until the last chapter, which has the same title as the film, where things get really interesting. Unfortunately, this final chapter doesn't start until 2 hours and 20 minutes in. Yep, this is a long film. 2 hours and 40 minutes long. Despite having an interesting story, there needs to be more going on, like action or an upbeat tempo among other things. This film hardly has any of those, and the story, as deep as it is, can only hold for so long.</p><p>While the story does deal with the conquering of kingdoms throughout China, the action is very slim. There are no huge epic battles. Actually there are, but they are not shown. The film focuses more on the characters themselves.</p><p>The acting is good. Gong Li, Fengyi Zhang, and Xuejian Li all carry this film with ease. Kaige Chen even finds a role for himself to play. Also, be on the lookout for a young Zhou Xun.</p><p><i>The Emperor and the Assassin</i> isn't a waste of time, however fans that can appreciate a good story, with little in the way of action, may find this enjoyable.
  JY S Super Reviewer
• May 12, 2008

  gorgeous epic about china's first emperor, every bit as good as hero and said to be more historically accurate. also it's almost 3 hours long but it's a complicated story! and it's not really a wuxia film
  Stella D Super Reviewer

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