Zhang Ziyi - The Chinese Cinema

The Chinese Cinema

Sign in Subscribe

Zhang Ziyi

A collection of 7 posts

Zhang Ziyi Capsule Reviews

Zhang Ziyi Capsule Reviews

House of Flying Daggers (2004) — August 6, 2014 Wife: Why are you watching House of Flying Daggers again? Me: It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it. I’ve watched a lot of martial arts and Hong Kong movies in the last couple of years and I’m curious

Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)

Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)

There’s a little making-of featurette on the Miramax DVD of Hero⁠[1] that has some decent interviews with the cast and crew along with some breathless Hollywood narration. Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, and Donnie Yen speak impeccable English, which makes one wonder what might have been if Hollywood wasn’

The Wasted Times (Cheng Er, 2016)

The Wasted Times (Cheng Er, 2016)

The Wasted Times was originally slated to be released in October of 2015. The film’s trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH1HTm51lts] has been playing before presentations of Chinese-language films here in North America for at least that long, but the film kept getting pushed back. There was

The Crossing (John Woo, 2015)

The Crossing (John Woo, 2015)

Here are reviews of the two separately released parts of The Crossing. The Crossing — August 13, 2015 The first part of John Woo’s latest epic (the second part was recently released in China to little fanfare, but isn’t available here yet) is a romantic war movie in the

My Lucky Star (Dennie Gordon, 2013)

My Lucky Star (Dennie Gordon, 2013)

In 2009, Zhang Ziyi starred and produced the ultra-manic-pixie Sophie’s Revenge, a romcom in which she plays a cartoonist that nonetheless lacks a tenth of the nuance or emotional maturity of Caroline in the City. It was a big hit. In 2013, she made a prequel, sort of, in

Sophie’s Revenge (Eva Jin, 2009)

Sophie’s Revenge (Eva Jin, 2009)

Zhang Ziyi is the manic pixie at the center of a swirl of CGI whimsy in this romantic comedy, which is weird because while she’s no doubt a terrific actress, she’d previously shown no aptitude whatsoever for comedy. She fares OK all things considered, showing an admirable willingness

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)

I still think this is a pretty great movie, almost 15 years after it proved to be a surprise hit, thanks in no small part to Sony Pictures releasing it uncut in its intended form (ahem, Harvey Weinstein). That it lost Best Picture to Gladiator is one of the underrated