Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Emperor and the Assassin

The Emperor and the Assassin (a great review on this link) is an old movie I know (1998), but I'm giving it a mention because it's so very very good. We bought it on DVD on the weekend you see, after a failed attempt to go to a carpet & rug sale (there was absolutely no parking) and a successful search for a child safety gate (so The Little Madam doesn't fall down the steps when she tries to go outside), and I really wanted the boy to see it.

This came out around about the same time as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and at the time my tinny voice could be heard in film-watching circles asserting that Assassin was by far the better movie. It's not just better because it's based on Chinese history (about a king's desire to unite China, how it changes his character, and what his concubine tries to do to stop him), it's also an absorbing story with interesting characters, and one which doesn't try to pander to Western tastes more familiar with Jackie Chan buffoonery (not that I don't enjoy those) and Jet Li action flicks.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

That sounds great. I will add to the list of films to see.