Curse of the Golden Flower
Year: 2006
Studio: Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd., Elite Group Enterprises, Film Partner International, Sony Pictures Classics, Edko Films, Focus Features, Picasso Pictures
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Qin Junjie, Li Man
Crew: Bill Kong Chi-Keung (Producer), Frankie Chung (Visual Effects), Shigeru Umebayashi (Original Music Composer), Tingxiao Huo (Production Design), Cheng Long (Editor), Zhang Yimou (Director)
Runtime: 114 minutes
Release: Dec 14, 2006
IMDb: 6.90/10 by 755 users
Popularity: 4
Country: China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States of America
Language: 普通话
Budget: 45,000,000
Revenue: 78,568,977

Now that's awesome! Where to start with 'Curse of the Golden Flower'? Firstly, I need to show some appreciation for the score - incredible! From the very first scene I knew I was in for a treat in that department, it sets the tone perfectly throughout. This also features outstanding performances from Gong Li (!), Chow Yun-fat, Chen Jin and Jay Chou, among some others. I was particularly impressed by Gong, she truly is terrific from beginning to end - as what is a memorable character. I know I say this a lot with actors, but I'm gonna need to try and check out more of her filmography! Chow is the only actor in this that I'm familiar with, but this clearly tops what I've seen (not enough, granted) of him thus far - still a fan of him as Sao Feng in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End', though. The rest of those onscreen, despite the commanding presence of the aforementioned, still manage to standout in my memory as well, from earlier noted Chen and Chou to Li Man to Liu Ye. The costumes, the sets... I personally do not think this film really put a foot wrong in terms of how it's made. How about those battle sequences too? Visually stunning, but also audibly so. The ending didn't go the way I was expecting, which is very much a positive thing. Admittedly, this film hit an unwritten cheat code for me. As in: Give me strong performances and a great score and I am hook, line, and sinker. This Zhang Yimou flick gave me that in abundance. Overall, in my opinion: top notch!