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House Of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004]
 
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House Of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004]

DVD ~ Ziyi Zhang
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Frequently Bought Together

House Of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004] + Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [DVD] [2001] + Quentin Tarantino Presents: Hero [DVD] [2004]
Total RRP: £59.97
Price For All Three: £18.33

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

House Of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004]
88% buy the item featured on this page:
House Of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004] 4.2 out of 5 stars (107)
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Product details

  • Actors: Ziyi Zhang, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro
  • Directors: Yimou Zhang
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language Mandarin Chinese
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Pathe Distribution
  • DVD Release Date: 2 May 2005
  • Run Time: 119 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0007RUSRG
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 14,522 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

No one uses colour like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honour. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendour and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Synopsis

Following up his award-winning martial-arts drama HERO, director Zhang Yimou (JU DOU, RAISE THE RED LANTERN) tells an intricately detailed love story in the swordfighting epic HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, set during the final days of the Tang Dynasty. A mysterious group called the Flying Daggers is a dangerous threat to the government, so police captain Leo (Andy Lau) sends his right-hand man, Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), undercover to try to find the rebels' location. Jin, a notorious playboy, pretends he is a roving warrior called 'Wind' and befriends Mei (Ziyi Zhang), a blind dancer who is believed to be the daughter of the former leader of the Daggers. As he leads her across the countryside, they are 'attacked' by government soldiers--but these battles are staged by Leo in order to convince Mei that Jin is on her side. But when a general orders that Mei must be captured at any cost, the fighting turns real, and Jin must decide between his loyalty to his job and his growing love for Mei. Meanwhile, Mei battles her feelings for Jin as well, trying to hide her true self. Zhang's gorgeous, compelling film is filled with beautiful singing and dancing, marvellous costumes, and wonderful locations; the scene in the Bamboo Forest is unforgettable, as is the Echo Game, which Leo and Mei play in the Peony Pavilion. There are also twists throughout the film and by the time the end comes, audiences will be spinning their heads in awe and amazement at the never ending wonders of this special movie. The film is dedicated to Anita Mui, who was to have a starring role before her unexpected death.

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Customer Reviews

107 Reviews
5 star:
 (60)
4 star:
 (28)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (10)
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 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (107 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Beware the falling bamboo leaves, 1 May 2005
By Amanda Richards "Hotpurplekoolaid" (ECD, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: House of Flying Daggers [DVD] [2004] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
The only similarity between this movie and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", is the breathtaking choreography of the aerial combat amongst the bamboo trees. Indeed, the best sequences in "House of Flying Daggers" begin with some quietly and gracefully pirouetting bamboo leaves, falling dramatically towards the lush green forest floor.

Totally different from "Hero" plot wise, the vivid use of color, light and fabric ties the two together, bringing Chinese action movies to an artistic level never before seen on a big or small screen.

Ziyi Zhang as Mei, the blind bombshell, illuminates every frame she's in, proving her capability to carry a major movie on her slim shoulders. Her supporting male leads Takeshi Kaneshiro (Jin) and Andy Lau (Leo) have to work double time just to keep up.

Jin and Leo are Government officers, who are trying to track down the elusive underground rebel group of the title. They suspect that Mei, a blind call girl, can lead them to the rebels' hideout, and decide to use the age old plan of deception and seduction. Handsome ladies man Jin gets the plum assignment of gaining Mei's confidence, and from here, the movie turns unexpectedly into a tempestuous love story, the plot twisting this way and that under the power of love.

There are certainly less fight scenes than "Hero", the love scenes are awkward to say the least, and the movie slows considerably in places, but the combination of Ziyi Zhang, the scenic shots and the sword, bamboo and knife play make it an extremely worthwhile way to spend 119 minutes.

Amanda Richards

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Beautiful Love Amidst Clandestine Operations/War, 22 Sep 2006
By Erika Borsos "pepper flower" (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: House Of Flying Daggers [2004] [DVD] (DVD)
Better than "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" this story gradually reveals an unexpected love triangle which contains amazing martial arts choreography woven into a stunning visual masterpiece of epic proportions. The unusual love-triangle is heart-stopping ... the fight scene at the conclusion of the film is a gut-wrenching and powerful. The close-up scenes of pure emotions reveal both artistic cinematography as well as superb acting: whether it is desire, bliss, lust, rage, doubt, torment, suffering or other emotions ... the visual effects are absolutely amazing.

This film has it all: gorgeous period costumes designed by Emi Wada, spectacular landscapes like delicate water colors and oil paintings on canvas and visually pleasing actors and actresses ... They are fairy-tale like in their magnificence. The mountain scenery is breath-taking as the fall foliage paints a collage of orange, red, fading green and brown leaves which are exceptionally stunning from a distance. The field of wild flowers where Jin and Mei playfully discover the depth of their true feelings for each other is a natural wonder. They express their feelings gently at first and then with passionate abandon ... The martial arts fighting scenes in the bamboo forest where the government soldiers ambush Jin and Mei during their escape is exceptionally creative and well filmed ...

This enhanced DVD has a great interview with the director Yimou Zhang who explains that bamboo forests have been symbolic of martial arts in films from long ago and he felt it must be included. Watching the interview, the viewer learns to appreciate the amount of planning and background work which is painstakingly done to perfection to film this artistic masterpiece ... Ziyi Zhang who plays Mei, lived with a blind girl for two months to learn the proper body and head movements in order to play a blind girl accurately. Also, she had studied traditional Chinese dance when a young girl which helped her learn the choreographed dance and martial arts movements in her outstanding performance in the scene for General Leo at the Peony Pavillion. The original music in the film is fantastic, Kathryn Battle sings the theme song which is sung by Mei during her dance performance for Captain Jin. It is a totally heart warming performance that captivates Jin and wins over the viewers ...

The story begins in a brothel called "Peony Pavillion" where government officers visit for a tryst with the ladies and to be entertained ... The visual effects of the establishment are extraordinairily authentic, the set design, bright colors, flowers, and weapons on the wall are all extremely balanced and harmonious ... After Mei, the blind dancing girl does a magnificent martial arts and dance performance for General Leo, she is taken prisoner. She is believed to be the blind daughter of the dead leader of a clandestine organization, called "House of Flying Daggers" who are resisting government authority and creating unrest and rebellion against the Tang Dynasty. General Leo's plan is to flush out the covert operatives ... but unexpected emotional relationships develop to confound his plans. How the love triangle is revealed and resolved is the stuff of which great films are made. The story line itself is deceptively simple ... but its execution is thoroughly unequalled. The film expresses how in the short time of three days true feelings of love can develop with unequalled depth and passion. It can grow into becoming one of the most complex human emotions ever put on film. Erika Borsos (pepper flower)
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFUL, 16 July 2006
This review is from: House Of Flying Daggers [2004] [DVD] (DVD)
Zhang Yimou directed, "The House of Flying Daggers" is dedicated to the memory of Anita Mui - an actress to whom the major role of "Mei" was created but who died of cancer before the filming began.

"The House of Flying Daggers" is a story of love in 859 AD China. In the past very powerful Tang Dynasty is weakened by rebellions, the Emperor is no longer competent and various rebellious groups are forming in villages. One of them is the secret society of "The House of Flying Daggers" whose purpose is to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Doing this they earn a great common people's support. This irritates the government and they try to stop them by killing the leader of "The House of Flying Daggers". After some time, however, the new leader appears but government doesn't know who he is and how to find him. Then the rumours spread that in the new Peony Pavilion (a brothel) there is a mysterious blind girl Mei (Zhang Ziyi) who could be "The House of Flying Daggers'" leader's daughter. Two captains Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) think of a plan that could help them to find the leader of the secret society and kill him. But to do this Jin has to seduce Mei. The film turns into a love triangle story when Jin fells for Mei and when Leo appears to have loved her for years...

"The House of Flying Daggers" isn't a typical martial arts/action film although it is beautifully choreographed, includes some special effects scenes which I personally don't like but in this case computerised moments made it a bit like an epic and gave the fantastic atmosphere. I especially liked the photography where earth colours brown and green dominate all the way and at the end we see white snow and red blood which are amazing contrasts. The Shigeru Umebayashi's soundtrack made everything even more sensual and mythological-like, gave the breathtaking sceneries the fantastic traditional sound. The film takes place in the locations like the police station, a brothel, wood, bamboo forest and fields (the scene with snow was filmed in the Ukraine). I found it quite a psychological film and there was quite a tension and mystery between the relationships among the characters. The acting was brilliant. This DVD is in Mandarin language with English subtitles. It is an amazing movie, outstanding and a bit transcendent. A love story in it's highest.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch it again and again
Stunning! Superb camera work. Amazing stunts.Beautiful scenery. Add the female star and what more could a man ask for?
Published 2 months ago by Mr. D. L. Eldridge

1.0 out of 5 stars flying turkey
This wasn't in English and there was no proper fighting ,just stuff that looked like dancing ? weird
Published 3 months ago by Joey

5.0 out of 5 stars Flying Daggers, I only have to hear the title to want to watch the film agai
- - - - and again and again and again. This truly has to be one of the best films ever made. Though I must admit to loving most of the really good Asian films. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Seligor

5.0 out of 5 stars beauty
a beautiful film ! people, music, and dance?albeit martial arts .the music espec.is worth the viewing.almost enough action to keep me awake all the way through . Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Stevens

3.0 out of 5 stars Visually superb, morally dubious
If I had to pick a film that I felt most ambivalent about House of Flying Daggers would be it. Visually stunning, with great choreography, wardrobes and settings it's a cinematic... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Andrew Riley

4.0 out of 5 stars A Visual Delight
And it certainly is just that.

The amazing photgraphy, locations and fight scenes are a feast for the eyes. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Young Stevie

2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly not accomplished
It is sad. Those beautiful landscapes are there, of course, the plot is fair enough, but this movie shows clearly that ain't enough to entertain you. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Guerra Ariel Gustavo

3.0 out of 5 stars Over Rated

Some people say this is a masterpiece. Only the last half an hour came close, the first hour is boring, unrealistic and tedious. Read more
Published 20 months ago by C. E. Cox

5.0 out of 5 stars House of Flying Daggers - No 13 - All Time List 2008
A quite simply exquisite piece of art - beautiful beyond words - House of Flying Daggers is a fantastic Martial Arts / Love story obviously drawing comparisons to Crouching Tiger,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Morris Day

1.0 out of 5 stars YAWN!
Don't believe the hype. Ok so it's pretty, so what! Takeshi Kaneshiro cannot use a sword to save his life...bummer for him. Read more
Published 22 months ago by A. Joseph

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