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Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007]
 
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Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Yun-Fat Chow
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007] + House Of Flying Daggers [2004] [DVD] + Quentin Tarantino Presents: Hero [DVD] [2004]
Total RRP: £57.97
Price For All Three: £13.53

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007]
68% buy the item featured on this page:
Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007] 3.5 out of 5 stars (52)
£3.97
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Product details

  • Actors: Yun-Fat Chow, Li Gong, Jay Chou, Ye Liu
  • Format: PAL
  • Language Mandarin Chinese
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Universal Pictures Video
  • DVD Release Date: 3 Sep 2007
  • Run Time: 114 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000ION4JC
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,495 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in these categories:

    #26 in  DVD > Action & Adventure > Martial Arts
    #55 in  DVD > World Cinema

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Chinese director Zhang Yimou ends his bid to outfly Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with Curse Of The Golden Flower, the third in his Wuxia (the Chinese style of flying and fighting) films. Much like Hero and House Of Flying Daggers, it is drenched in colours so dazzling, and boasts action scenes so exhilarating, that you can almost forgive any shortcomings in the story. Almost. Despite its grandeur, this film is in many ways the least rewarding of the three.

Set in China’s tenth century Tang dynasty, the story sees Chow Yun Fat’s emperor trying to poison his wife, a trussed-up and progressively unstable Gong Li, who is having an affair with her step-son Wan, and trying to manoeuvre her other son Jai against his tyrannical father. Let’s just say that it gets more complicated from there on in, and involves lots of running through endless corridors, but really, it’s best to just sit back and let that intense visual style work its magic.

Swapping action for dramatic intrigue might have been Yimou’s mistake, but there’s no mistaking his knack for breath-taking cinematography. Even if purely on a visual scale, Golden Flower still manages to captivate, and the final battle scene is at least worth the slightly overlong wait. Die hard fans of these films might feel a bit stiffed, but everyone else won’t be short of eye candy. --Luke Mawson

Synopsis

In 2004, Zhang Yimou caused a sensation with his astonishing House of Flying Daggers, and his Curse of the Golden Flower is yet another dazzling, visually stunning film. Calling again upon the talents of the striking Gong Li, Yimou tells an epic tale of lust and power set in the opulent world of the Later Tang dynasty. The plot follows the story of the Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his Empress (Li) and the tragic disintegration of their royal family--whose problems go far beyond the merely dysfunctional. For starters, the ailing Empress has long been having an affair with her stepson, the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye). Unbeknownst to her, Wan has been dallying with the Imperial Doctor's daughter (Li Man), and has plans to escape the palace with her. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself has just returned from a long trip, and while relations with his wife are obviously icy, it becomes clear that his plans for her are far more ominous than she could ever imagine. Everyone involved has a secret plan for either escape or domination, resulting in an explosive ending wherein the darkest family secrets are revealed and horrifically bloody battles are waged both inside and outside the walls of the sparkling, gold-encrusted palace. Yimou appears to be trying to balance his flair for telling an emotional story with his talent for thrilling, detail-driven action sequences, and while Curse's plot does at times seem close to that of a soap opera, the phenomenal performances and breathtaking visuals are more than enough to power the film forward. Fans of Yimou's quieter work (Riding Along For Thousands of Miles) are likely to enjoy the dramatic exploration of family relationships, while there are still plenty of hissing ninjas to satisfy Daggers enthusiasts.

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Customer Reviews

52 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
 (11)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (52 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, 24 April 2007
By I. Brown "archaicsage" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Curse of the Golden Flower [DVD] [2007] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Curse of the Golden Flower is a subtle mix of the oppression of women, revenge, martial arts and stunning beauty. It is clear from the early stages of the film that the film is going to have some amazing visuals, and at no point within the entire film are we disappointed by the direction of the art. With each new room, we can see a palace that is full of decadence and tradition. With gold an incredibly important part of the film, it is understandable to see why every last item is gold plated, gold brushed or just gold in colour.

The storyline itself is also rather complicated if you have no prior knowledge to the backstabbing Chinese Royal Family's history. The film is centred around the Empress, played by Gong Li (recently seen in Memoir's of a Geisha), and throughout the opening passages of the film we are shown the tradition that governs the Forbidden City's way of life, her struggle with the Emperor and her increasingly deadly illness.

After an hour or so of almost period drama styling, where we are slowly introduced to some of the more complicated power struggles, we are thrown into the action sequence of the film. Where there are Ninjas, Imperial Guards and masked men en-mass. All of which are fighting for different factions within the Royal Family.

The film ends on a powerful high note, and we're left to guess whether or not the Empress will suffer for the attempted coup d'état.

One must not forget the soundtrack to the film either, throughout the entire film there is a strong soundtrack being played, there are only a few scenes without the music composed by Shigeru Umebayashi. The composition adds depth and emotion to the film, which is only heightened by the stunning performance from Gong Li.

If you are expecting something similar to House of Flying Daggers then you will be slightly disappointed, although the visuals are far more impressive than Daggers, the action is far more sparse and you get the feeling that the action was meant to be more of a sideline aspect of the film. As the story surrounds the coup d'état and the relationships between the characters, in which there is in abundance and a few cross character relationships as well.

This film is easily worth the viewing if you enjoy powerful visuals, with a strong story and you can read subtitles at a quick speed.
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally stunning, poetry on celluoid!, 19 July 2007
By Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Firstly lets be clear about thing, this is not a martial arts movie though it has some incredible martial arts scenes that will take your breath away and leave you looking on in stunned wonder.

Also it is a foreign language film, fortunately not dubbed but with subtitles, not everyone's cup of tea but this will not stop you from enjoying ever single second of it, from the opening credits to the blood splattered ending.

The Curse of the Golden Flower is a sumptuous tale about family secrets, revenge, lust, desire, incest, adultery, power, and corruption, all wrapped up in a beautiful but very flawed package that is the Forbidden City of 10th century China.

Never before has one come across such a dysfunctional family as the Tang dynasty, the exquisite but deadly Empress Phoenix, played by the gorgeous Li Gong, the thoroughly amoral Emperor Ping, a glorious Yun Fat Chow in his element, his three sons, the weak Crown Prince Wan (Ye Liu)who has been having an affair with his stepmother, the Empress, Prince Jai, (Jay Chou) brilliant solider, and loyal son to his mother, torn between duty and love, he will make a fateful decision that will herald the beginning of the end for his family. And last but certainly not least the spoilt and unloved Prince Yu, (Junjie Qin) whose hatred of his family is cunningly disguised by his seemingly placid nature and acceptance of his lowly third son status.

Add to this mix, an Imperial Physician (Dahong Ni) with a wife (Jin Chen) whose connection to the royal household is a closely guarded secret, her daughter the lovely Chan (Man Li) who is is in love with the Crown Prince and you have the ingredients for a tragedy on a scale that can only be imagined.

With breathtaking scenery, the carpet of golden chrysanthemums has to be seen to be believed, fantastic costumes, atmospheric background music, coupled with stunning fight sequences between assassins and royal guards you will be left with your jaw hanging down as you witness the golden warriors go into battle against the Emperor and the twists and turns in a film that is none stop action and intrigue throughout.

The overall acting is without doubt perfection on celluloid, its a shame it didn't win an Oscar but sometimes Hollywood gets it wrong, and boy did they get it wrong this time!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars caution, 12 April 2008
By Bm Goodwin (Catford, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Curse of the Golden Flower [Blu-ray] [2007] [US Import] [2006] (Blu-ray)
this item is listed as region free, but on closer examination of the third party sellers it is shown as region 1 only. there is no multi region ability in a blu ray disc player as the codes are embedded in the discs. beware of what you see listed on blue ray regional discs.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRAGEDY TO RIVAL SHAKESPEARE
This is not a martial arts film, although the box cover presents it this way to push this angle to the normal market. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Michael JR Jose

3.0 out of 5 stars I really had high hopes...
...but these were sadly let down. The first half is beautifully shot but incredibly slow so much so that I almost left it for another day. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Poirot

5.0 out of 5 stars Digital Shakespeare for the 22nd Century
Does this film say anything?

You would have to have the emotional sensitivity of a serial killer not to understand what this film is screaming. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles

4.0 out of 5 stars Wicked - literally!
This movie spectacular is not so much for martial arts fans as it is for those who just love a great story. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Sheikh

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning...
A stunning film, brilliant acting and cinema photography. Chinese history again, but on a very personal level. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. R. C. Auty

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic
I really enjoyed this movie. The costumes and sets were absolutely amazing, one of the best I've ever seen in a movie. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Robyn

2.0 out of 5 stars Much that glitters, little that's gold
Curse of the Golden Flower is a step up in budget from Zhang Yimou's Hero and House of Flying Daggers, but it's a step back in terms of drama: much that glitters, little that's... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

1.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic film - BUT once again from Amazon Market Place sellers, region problems
I first saw this film on a plane and loved it. Genuinely some of the best set design and cinematography that I have seen. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. M. R. Gunn

2.0 out of 5 stars curse of the golden flower
This was so slow, that it was painfull to watch, it sent my stepson into the other room within 10 minutes,
we watched as the film plodded on and on..... Read more
Published 10 months ago by chris purple

1.0 out of 5 stars Glorious waste of time
Gorgeous costumes and scenery, locations in the Forbidden City, cast of thousands. You can see where the effort went, rather than into the plot and character. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Inner City Resident

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