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Curse of the Golden Flower [2007] | ![Curse of the Golden Flower [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CbTALjNXL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Actors: Yun-fat Chow, Li Gong, Jay Chou, Ye Liu
Studio: Universal Pictures Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £2.30
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Rating:  35 reviews
Format: Pal
Language: Mandarin Chinese (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.6
EAN: 5050582485080
ASIN: B000ION4JC
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: September 3, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Despatched same day if payment is received before 3pm. Fast delivery from the UK. International delivery is available. A trusted long established Amazon seller.
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| Editorial 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
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| Customer Reviews:
 Totally stunning, poetry on celluoid! July 19, 2007
Kali (United Kingdom)
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
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!
Throne of Blood January 10, 2007
MICHAEL ACUNA (Southern California United States)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
As depraved and corrupt as the House of Thebes, as morally bankrupt as the Hubbard/Giddens family in Lillian Hellman's "Little Foxes" or George and Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf," (all of which this film calls to mind) Zhang Yimou's "The Curse of the Golden Flower," though huge in scale is at it's core an intimate family (albeit a majorly dysfunctional family) drama which unfolds during the Later Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD), a time of corruption, dictatorship and warfare--with a mind-blowing, color-soaked brilliance and an almost insane excess that does over-ripe justice to the passions and intrigues that are raging full throttle inside the palace.
The sinister ensemble cast includes an evil emperor (Chow Yun Fat), his desperate wife (Gong Li), his three wildly contrasting sons and heirs (Liu Ye, Jay Chou and Qin Junjie), the troubled imperial doctor (Ni Dahong) and the doctor's bitter wife (Chen Jin) and naive daughter (Li Man), both of whom have secrets that could destroy an empire.
Though all of the performances are first rate, Gong Li as the pathetic consort to the Emperor and Jay Chou as Prince Jai show us the pain and heartbreak behind all the bravura acting: these are brave performances that not only come from the mind but also from heart and the soul of these performers; a particularly difficult task based on all the grandeur and grandiosity surrounding them.
"The Curse of the Golden Flower" is eye-poppingly gorgeous to look at yet Zhang Yimou nonetheless has managed to, in the midst of the thousands of extras, millions of flowers and opulent and decadent costumes, produce a very thoughtful and tragic drama about a family that can't help but demolish and destroy itself.
 Spectacular Chinese Film April 21, 2007
L. Davidson (Belfast, N.Ireland)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
"The Curse of the Golden Flower" comes from the same stable as "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero" and it is fair to say that it is of a similar quality to these memorable films. The dazzling costumes, sumptuous sets and the breathtaking choreography of the fight scenes are quite astounding . There are thousands of extras and millions of flowers (golden chrysanthemums) in this film which tells the tale of political intrigue in the Imperial Palace in the latter years of the Tang Dynasty. Everyone seems to be plotting against each other in the film and admittedly at times it can be hard to work out exactly why . I can only fault this film for being quite slow moving initially and slow to catch fire , but catch fire it certainly does in the last half hour of amazing action. "The Curse of the Golden Flower" is a film to savour , but one that I think would be best appreciated on the big screen rather than on DVD.
 Glorious, but sadly unrewarding epic September 5, 2007
IJ (Liverpool, UK)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
After viewing `Curse of the Golden Flower' for the first time the immediate aspect of the film you feel required to comment on is the look - the glorious uses of colour, immaculate set-design and stunning costumes, which are as other reviewers have noted quite spectacular, not that you would expect anything less from a Zhang Yimou film. He continues to raise the beauty bar to new heights for this martial-arts/drama genre and has set himself a very high standard for future projects. This film possesses in abundance quality and quantity of visual spectacle, almost overwhelmingly so, although towards the end of the film when fireworks are released over the palace there are some obvious uses of blue-screen backgrounds that seemed out of place to me, although that's really a minor criticism.
Obviously the director doesn't want to repeat himself and so it would be unfair to complain that in `Curse of the Golden Flower' he doesn't bring to the screen a host of heroic characters and fight scenes specifically tailored to them, as he did in `Hero' or that this film lacks the touching romantic chemistry and heartbreak in `House of Flying Daggers'. Comparatively with this movie Yimou explores court intrigue and the various loyalties and betrayals within a royal family, relationships that are well thought out and engaging. I hesitate to call this a purely martial arts film however because for over an hour there is no fighting whatsoever and while I don't think it's necessary to see duelling and hand-to-hand combat in every scene, I did feel it was too long a duration without action and as a result I found the eventual clash of swords somewhat anti-climactic.
The story in `Curse of the Golden Flower' is often emotional, the developments in the story are quite surprising and the tragedies endured by the characters are depicted with suitable emotion, so that you feel the appropriate empathy for the Empress, her sons and even the Emperor himself. However, the criticism of this film I have to make is that the film almost becomes farcical towards the end as the body-count increases exponentially and those left alive find themselves in much the same position as when the story began, only with fewer adulterous relatives sitting beside them. Also, while this is a film billed as a colossal confrontation between two opposing, albeit miss-matched forces, King and Queen, Ying and Yang...there are actually very few satisfying meetings between Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat and the toxic relationship between them is in the end quite unresolved. I enjoyed the film, but I didn't find it anywhere near as moving or involving as `Hero' or `House of Flying Daggers' and while unexpected, personally I found the ending quite flat and uninspired.
 Beware the view (copy) protection September 13, 2007
Mr. S. Penn (Hampshire, UK)
9 out of 23 found this review helpful
Fortunately I borrowed the DVD before buying it, because it refuses to play in any of my DVD players (standalone or computer). It appears there is some dodgy copy protection on this DVD which can cause problems on some players - so be aware of this before buying. I definitely won't be buying it.
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