Zhang Fengyi Movies
- 2009
- NR
Too epic in scope to be contained in just one film, the historical saga that began in John Woo's Red Cliff heats up as Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) leads the Emperor's army southward to do battle with a small but resolute coalition led by fierce opponent Zhou Yu (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai). Incensed at the rebellion displayed by southern warlords Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen), Emperor Xian (Wang Ning) grants his trusted General Cao Cao permission to crush their outspoken opponents. But the journey south isn't easy for Emperor Xian's massive military, and before long, the soldiers are tiring from lack of water and sheer exhaustion. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu's army draws a line in the sand and prepares to defend it with their lives. When typhoid breaks out among Cao Cao's troops, the quick-thinking strategist successfully infects Zhou's army with the disease, causing the latter to realize that psychological warfare has finally come into play. Subsequently deserted by Liu Bei, Zhou prepares to lead an army of approximately 30,000 men against Cao Cao's massive force of several hundred thousand. The battle drawing near, Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) resorts to some clever tactics in order to undermine Cao Cao, and undercover princess Sun Shangxiang (Vicki Zhao) delivers secret messages from the Cao Cao's camp. As violence erupts on the Yangtze River, Zhou Yu's wife (Lin Chi-Ling) emerges to play an unexpectedly crucial role in the historical proceedings. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, (more)
- 2008
- R
Legendary Hong Kong action specialist John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for their first feature film together since 1992's Hard-Boiled with this historical drama set during the decisive 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. Adapted in part from the beloved Chinese tome Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff opens in the year 208 A.D., just as prime minister-turned-general Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeks permission from Han Dynasty emperor Xian (Wang Ning) to organize a southward-bound mission designed to silence troublesome warlords Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing the latter to retreat and convincing Liu Bei's military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) that their only hope for victory is to form an alliance with Sun Quan. Increasingly aware of the monumental struggle ahead, both sides begin preparing for the battle that will ultimately shape the future of an entire nation. Originally envisioned as a single epic, Red Cliff was eventually split into two parts due to an excessive running time that approached five hours. Red Cliff, Part I and Red Cliff, Part II were edited together for theatrical release in the United States as a stand-alone film running nearly two and a half hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, (more)
A lavishly produced historical drama from China, Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin tells the complex, multi-facetted story of the man who became the first Emperor of a unified China, another man who has sworn to kill him, and a woman who is loved by both men. Late in the Third Century B.C., when China was comprised of seven rival kingdoms, Ying Zheng (Li Xuejian) was the leader of Qin. Ying Zheng had a dream in which he joined together the seven kingdoms into a single utopian state, and taking this as a mandate from God, he invaded the nearby state of Han as the first step toward this goal. However, not everyone in the neighboring states was happy with Ying Zheng's crusade, which seemed to indicate a lengthy war with many casualties. Lady Zhao (Gong Li), Ying's lover, devised a scheme to help Ying Zheng take over the nearby and uncooperative state of Yan; she fabricated a fake assassination plot against him, and framed the leader of Yan, once Ying Zheng's childhood friend, as the man behind the murderous plot. However, Lady Zhao did not choose the would-be assassin wisely; while Jing Ke (Zhang Fengyi) loved her and was willing to do her bidding, Jing Ke's previous assassination assignment caused the unintended death of an innocent blind girl, which left him full of regret and a bit unstable. When Jing Ke learned a closely guarded secret about Ying Zheng's past, he became blindly determined to kill the would-be emperor, whatever the cost. Produced on a lavish budget by Chinese standards ($15 million), Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang/The Emperor and the Assassin was directed by Chen Kaige, best known to Western audiences for the international success Farewell My Concubine. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, (more)
- 1996
A notable entry among the many action films released in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, this is director He Ping's homage to swashbuckling epics and American westerns. Most of the film occurs in the canyon of the title, rendered in Mandarin as Riguang Xiagu. A traveling mercenary known as the Avenger arrives in the valley to settle an old score. He befriends the widowed owner of the local inn and her son while waiting for his enemy to arrive. The Avenger also meets up with Crazy Man (Ku Feng), an old warrior who has been waiting for years for his enemies to come to the canyon and in the meantime has become a devout Buddhist. Crazy Man's foes arrive, and the Avenger joins in the battle on his behalf. His experiences in the valley lead the Avenger to question the purpose of his life as a fighter. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- 1995
An ex-con returns to Shanghai after seven year's incarceration and finds that his previous life has disintegrated. His wife has divorced him and married another. She brought a son to the marriage. Believing the son to be his, the con tries to see him, but his ex-wife's brother refuses to allow this. This Hong-Kong drama follows what happens after Ma, the desperate ex-con, kidnaps the boy and begins a journey in the north of the city. Ma and the boy soon become quite close until a railroad accident puts the lad in mortal danger. His mother and the others arrive and it is then that Ma learns the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1994
The true story of a major turning point in ancient Chinese history is presented in this epic drama covering the destruction of the Qin Dynasty in the late third century B.C. Most specifically the film focuses upon the battle between the Qin and Chu forces in the first half, and in the second it focuses upon the personal competition between the Chu leaders as they fight for control of the territory. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1993
- NR
This melodramatic epic martial arts outing from Hong Kong filmmaker Clara Law is set in 7th-century China and center's on a disgraced warrior's quest for redemption. Formerly a general, he trustingly made a devil's bargain with a rival general that resulted in the assassination of his troops and the prince he was sworn to protect. Though every part of him aches for bloody vengeance, the fallen fighter follows his mother's advice and becomes a peaceful wanderer. He tries, but things don't go the way he hoped for everywhere he goes. His nemesis attacks, and, before long, kills everyone the good general cares about, including his lover, a beautiful princess. He finally finds solace in a remote Buddhist temple where he undergoes instruction from elderly monks. This time trouble comes in the form of a beautiful widow, a woman who looks exactly like his slain love. On the heels of her betrayal comes the wicked general and before the heroic warrior can find lasting peace, he must survive one last battle. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joan Chen, Wu Hsing-Kuo, (more)
Hong Kong filmmaker Chung Siu-hung directed this gory historical fantasy which relies on colorful visuals and bloody violence to carry its straightforward plot line. Mainland actor Zhang Fengyi stars as Tong Po-ka, who is captured by a group of soldiers along with his lover Yiu (Rosamund Kwan). Yiu is taken from Tong and he is charged with kidnapping, tortured, and finally has his eyelids sewn shut as punishment. When he is forced to battle several other prisoners to the death, Tong nevertheless emerges victorious and is renamed Tong Chop and given the task of chief assassin for the entire kingdom. With his partner Wong Kau (Max Mok), Tong carries out a number of gruesome assassinations, frequently ending with the victim's graphic dismemberment. Like the reluctant hit man in Andy Warhol's Bad, however, Tong finally draws the line at killing a child, and leaves his post to find Yiu, who has married and given birth to a baby in the interim. As might be expected, neither his superiors nor his former partner are very happy about Tong's retirement, and it isn't long before he finds himself having to fight to save his own life once again. With wire-enhanced stunts of the type popularized in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and a category II-level of bloodshed more typical of Kenji Misumi's ultraviolent Japanese epics, The Assassin is more for fans of sensory excess than story, but it is a rousing example of the form. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
Until Farewell, My Concubine (Ba Wang Bie Ji), not many people were aware that most members of the Peking Opera were originally orphans or illegitimate castaways with nowhere else to turn. Such is the case of the film's protagonists, Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) and Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung), two homeless outcasts, trained from childhood in the grueling rigors of the Opera by master Lu Qui. The film traces the 52-year friendship between Xiaolou and Dieyi, a friendship pockmarked with fiery conflicts and tender reconciliations. Though the delicate Dieyi specializes in female roles and the gutsy Xiaolou plays noble warriors, theirs is an essentially heterosexual relationship; still, when Xiaolou takes upon himself a prostitute bride (the magnificent Gong Li), Dieyi is as petty and jealous as an outcast mistress. Farewell, My Concubine holds the viewer in thrall from start to finish; as such, it is thoroughly deserving of its many international film awards and nominations. Surprisingly, this worldwide success was something of a flop in its home country of China; perhaps it hit too close to home for those viewers who'd lived through the same years so painstakingly recreated in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, (more)
- 1983
- R
In this look back on the 1930s when Beijing ("northern capital") was spelled Peking, when Mao and the Kuomingtang were fighting, and Japanese forces were making inroads on Chinese soil, a Taiwanese-born woman remembers the difficult times. She recalls how children were sold off by their poverty-stricken parents, how students were killed by the police, and how people stole to survive. But against this background is a romantic love affair that flourishes in spite of the decade's many crises. This film won the top prize at the 1983 Manila Film Festival, although for many Western viewers, its characters may seem one-dimensional. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shen Jie, Zheng Zhenyao, (more)
Based on the novel by Lao She, Rickshaw Boy tells the story of a peasant who toils for three long years in order to reach the Chinese capital. Finally arriving at his destination and setting up his own business, the young man finds that his turmoil is still far from over, for the class distinctions of ancient China are still too strong to be broken, even for love. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zhang Fengyi, Siqin Gaowa, (more)
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