Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4726 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-12-13
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anybody hungering for a good old-fashioned Western needs to check out Warriors of Heaven and Earth, which--although it's set in 7th-century China--has all the valor and spectacle of a John Ford picture. It also has a goofy supernatural streak, for the chopsocky crowd. The opening 10 minutes or so offer an alarmingly convoluted plot, but it swiftly settles down. What's going on is that a long-exiled Japanese hit man (Kiichi Nakai), hired to kill a renegade Chinese warrior (Jiang Wen), temporarily teams up with his quarry in order to escort a camel caravan along the Spice Road. Of course, they are menaced by a brutal warlord, and beautiful Zhao Wei (So Close) is mixed in there too. Director He Ping (Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker) captures some magnificent vistas in the Gobi Desert, but more importantly he sketches the codes or honor and behavior essential to any such tale. --Robert Horton

Synopsis
He Ping, the director of the cult classic SWORDSMAN IN DOUBLE FLAG TOWN and the better-known RED FIRECRACKER, GREEN FIRECRACKER, enters the big time with WARRIORS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, an epic battle between two heroic figures fighting for themselves and for their countries. When Li (Jiang Wen) refuses to kill innocent women and children, he becomes a rogue soldier without a land. Master swordsman Lai Xi (Nakai Kiichi) is ordered to assassinate him if wants to get back to to his home in Japan and see his mother before she dies. But first they must join together to help a caravan with precious cargo make its way safely across the desert--with a beautiful woman, Wen Zhu (SHAOLIN SOCCER's Zhao Wei), caught in between them. The gorgeous cinematography is by Zhao Fei, who shot such Asian epics as RAISE THE RED LANTERN as well as such Woody Allen films as SWEET AND LOWDOWN and SMALL TIME CROOKS. The lush look of the film is echoed by A.R. Rahman's marvelous score and outstanding costuming and set design. Ping masterfully recreates seventh-century China as horses and camels lead the protagonists down the famous Silk Road during the time of the Tang Dynasty.

Customer Reviews

Not only for those interested in Asian cinema..
My brother told me I should watch "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" (2003). Truth to be told, I was somewhat sceptic, as his taste in movies is somewhat different to mine. All the same, I must say that in this case he was right.

This film is quite original, due to the fact that it is set in 7th-century China, but at times seems like a Western. To make it a little stranger, there are some supernatural elements that fit the plot and make this movie something that you are not likely to forget.

One of the main characters is a Japanese warrior (Kiichi Nakai) that has been in the service of the Chinese Emperor for a very long time, and that just wants to fulfill his last task before returning home. Unfortunately for him, that implies finding and killing a Chinese outlaw (Wen Jiang) that used to be a soldier, but that was condemned to death when he refused to kill a group of women and children. The two warriors play a game of cat and mouse, but decide to make a short truce in order to defend a caravan carrying a holy object, that is being attacked by bandits that want to steal it.

There are plenty of well-choreographed fights, but also opportunity to think about themes such as duty and honour. You will also appreciate the beautiful scenery of the Gobi Desert, and the brilliance with which the director (He Ping) was able to tell this story.

From my point of view, this is not a film that will only please those highly interested in Asian cinema. I think that everybody that is fond of an entertaining movie will appreciate "Warriors of Heaven and Earth", even though those who like epic films will certainly like it more. Recommended!

Belen Alcat

lyrical beauty
This is a fairly traditional film exploring the themes of duty, honour, respect and friendship. What is exceptional is the cinematography. It is beautifully filmed, depicting the wild western province of Giang Xi, with exquisitely choreographed fight sequences and set piece battles. A must for anyone with even a passing interest in asian or epic cinema.

World-leading epic cinema
Whether you're a seasoned Asian cinema fan who knows every line of every Kurosawa film in the original Japanese, or someone whose only experience of Asian cinema is 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon', you should make a space for this in your collection.

The story synopsis (two men, one sent to kill the other, put aside their differences to protect a monk carrying a secret artefact) doesn't really do the film justice .. this is a story of courage and honour. And big swords..

The film is superbly produced and acted, and the scenery does a good job of conveying the epicness of the tale (in the end, the soldiers realise they are fighting for more than their own lives).

The film deserves five stars, but only for the original language version. Hopefully, the DVD (not released at time of writing) will have the original version (subtitled) as well as the English dubbed version. Dubbing kills films like this .. the DVD deserves to have at least one star docked (and the DVD producers deserve a slapped wrist!!) if the original version is not present.