The Emperor and the Assassin

R

Released Sep 12, 1999

2 hr. 40 min.

History

Drama

List

81%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

78%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Set in the 20th Century BC, "The Emperor and the Assasin" tells the story of Ying Zheng, a power-hungry heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Qin, whose only goal is to conquer the other six kingdoms existing in China, and merge them into his own, and under his rule.

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Liam D

Director Chen Kaige (Killing Me Softly, The Battle at Lake Changjin) first entry to Wuxia movie is not one of the strongest but it still a solid movie

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/25/22

Full Review

william d

As beautifully filmed as it is, the story lacks coherence. There are superfluous plot lines and the story repeatedly jumps forward in time without warning or explanation.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

camille l

En matière de production design, The Emperor and the Assassin est magnifique. Entre les costumes, les batailles et les décors, le film de Chen Kaige est visuellement éblouissant. Malheureusement, The Emperor and the Assassin est aussi particulièrement lent, long et surtout ennuyeux à mourir. Les 3/4 du film se passent dans des pièces fermées, avec des dialogues particulièrement empesés, des séquences entières qui auraient pu être coupées du film et qui semblent être des personnages qui répètent ce que l'interlocuteur vient de dire. Chen Kaige nous prend par la main tout du long et nous guide dans un épisode de l'histoire dont on parle très peu souvent en Occident mais qui peut paraître simpliste pour un film de 2h42. C'est dommage, car cela affaiblit énormément le film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

awesome historical pic

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was a large scale Chinese historical epic. It was rather long at 162 mins. The story concerns the ancient struggle to consolidate China into one state or country. There are a few battles. There is a lot of palace intrigue. It was mildly interesting, here and there, in some scenes. The overall story did not hold my interest. There is a much better film about this same period, HERO. The sets, costuming, and cinematography were all very good. Gong Li, as the concubine, Lady Zhao, is very good; and easy-on-the-eyes. I would skip this movie and check out HERO instead.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

kevin w

Loads of costumer details, wartime battles, and a bit of Chinese history combine to make for an interesting couple of hours as the King of Qin ignominiously struggles to unite a divided China dead set against any grand uniting schemes or dreams (imagine as if Napolean tried uniting Europe, w/o all that annoying English spoiling interference!). Along the way there's spikes in the action, time for some fingerpointing drama, Dallas/Dynasty style, but not so much so as you lose track of the mostly unknown to the West story.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Chen Kaige

Director

Gong Li

Lady Zhao

Fengyi Zhang

Jing Ke

Xuejian Li

Ying Zheng

Sun Zhou

Dan, Prince of Yan

Wang Zhi Wen

Marquis Changxin

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Rated: C+

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Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 22, 2002

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Bob Graham

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Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Jules Brenner

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Rated: 4/4

Jan 16, 2007

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Rated: 3/5

Dec 6, 2005

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Rated: 4/5

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Synopsis

Set in the 20th Century BC, "The Emperor and the Assasin" tells the story of Ying Zheng, a power-hungry heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Qin, whose only goal is to conquer the other six kingdoms existing in China, and merge them into his own, and under his rule.

Director: Chen Kaige
Executive Producer: Chen Kaige, Hiromitsu Furukawa, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa
Screenwriter: Chen Kaige, Peigong Wang
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Pricel, NDF, Le Studio Canal +, China Film Co-Production Corporation, Shin Corporation, Beijing Film Studio, New Wave Company
Rating: R
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Sound Mix: Surround, DTS

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