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IMDbPro

Hero

Original title: Ying xiong
  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
181K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,171
421
Hero (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer1:52
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
181K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,171
421
  • Director
    • Yimou Zhang
  • Writers
    • Feng Li(screenplay)
    • Yimou Zhang(screenplay)
    • Bin Wang(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jet Li
    • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Maggie Cheung
Top credits
  • Director
    • Yimou Zhang
  • Writers
    • Feng Li(screenplay)
    • Yimou Zhang(screenplay)
    • Bin Wang(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Jet Li
    • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Maggie Cheung
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 895User reviews
    • 158Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 46 wins & 48 nominations total

    Videos3

    Hero
    Trailer 1:52
    Hero
    Hero
    Trailer 1:45
    Hero
    Hero
    Trailer 1:52
    Hero

    Photos451

    Maggie Cheung and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung in Hero (2002)
    Ziyi Zhang in Hero (2002)
    Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
    Jet Li in Hero (2002)
    Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
    Jet Li in Hero (2002)
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung in Hero (2002)
    Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
    Donnie Yen at an event for Hero (2002)
    Clive Owen at an event for Hero (2002)
    Clive Owen at an event for Hero (2002)
    David Carradine at an event for Hero (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jet Li
    Jet Li
    • Nameless
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Broken Sword
    • (as Tony Leung Chiu-Wai)
    Maggie Cheung
    Maggie Cheung
    • Flying Snow
    • (as Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk)
    Ziyi Zhang
    Ziyi Zhang
    • Moon
    • (as Zhang Ziyi)
    Daoming Chen
    Daoming Chen
    • King
    • (as Chen Dao Ming)
    Donnie Yen
    Donnie Yen
    • Sky
    Zhongyuan Liu
    • Scholar
    • (as Liu Zhong Yuan)
    Tianyong Zheng
    • Old Servant
    • (as Zheng Tian Yong)
    Yan Qin
    Yan Qin
    • Prime Minister
    Chang Xiao Yang
    • General
    Yakun Zhang
    • Commander
    • (as Zhang Ya Kun)
    Ma Wen Hua
    • Head Eunuch
    Jin Ming
    • Eunuch
    Xu Kuang Hua
    • Pianist
    Shou Xin Wang
    • Musician
    Heizi
    • Seven Qin Guards
    • (as Hei Zi)
    Hua Cao
    • Seven Qin Guards
    Lei Li
    • Seven Qin Guards
    • Director
      • Yimou Zhang
    • Writers
      • Feng Li(screenplay)
      • Yimou Zhang(screenplay)
      • Bin Wang(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The "red fight" between Moon and Flying-Snow was filmed in a forest in Mongolia. Director Yimou Zhang had to wait until the leaves turn yellow, and hired local nomads to gather even more yellow leaves in order to cover the ground completely. In fact, he was so fanatic about the leaves, that he had his crew separate the leaves into four different "classes" which were each put at increasingly farther lengths from the camera.
    • Goofs
      At the beginning of the movie, subtitles state that China was divided into seven warring states. At the end, the subtitles then state that "the King of Qin" unified China, without specifying which one. Historically, the king that was the one to unite all of the Chinese states was Ying Zheng (later changed name to Shi Huang Di) who inherited the throne from his deceased father at age 13 (as opposed to the age of the king in the movie). At the time, Ying Zheng began to rule China, the seven states were already reduced to two larger states (Qin and Chu) which was later dominated by Qin when Ying Zheng was 22 years old. It is therefore impossible for the same king shown in the movie to be the king that united all the Chinese states, although the end-note is semantically correct.
    • Quotes

      King of Qin: I have just come to a realization! This scroll by Broken Sword contains no secrets of his swordsmanship. What this reveals is his highest ideal. In the first state, man and sword become one and each other. Here, even a blade of grass can be used as a lethal weapon. In the next stage, the sword resides not in the hand but in the heart. Even without a weapon, the warrior can slay his enemy from a hundred paces. But the ultimate ideal is when the sword disappears altogether. The warrior embraces all around him. The desire to kill no longer exists. Only peace remains.

    • Alternate versions
      The Director's Cut was 107:15 minutes, compared to the theatrical version at 96:23 minutes.
    • Connections
      Edited into Ying xiong: Cause - The Birth of Hero (2002)

    User reviews895

    Review
    Top review
    Space
    Two things interesting about this project. First, the sad news, at least for the Chinese, that the Japanese have finally won. This is a Japanese film in all important respects: the theming by lush color, the rather modern notion of benevolent conquest (genuinely originating in the Persians but only used since as justification for selfish empire, specifically in this case Japanese conquest - and adopted by the Chinese only since the war) and of course the wholesale swallowing of Kurosawa.

    Kurosawa is here obviously in the story: it is half 'Rashomon' and half 'Ran.' But more important is Kurosawa's theory of film as a device to capture space. As with Parisian impressionist painters, the thing painted is not the point. It provides an origin only; the painting is about all the magical things that happen in the space between the subject and the viewers eye. The paintings, and Kurosawa's films are about that space.

    Kurosawa invented the technique of shooting from very far away with a telephoto so as to flatten space, and at the same time creating (usually three) layers of space. Often, he would engage the space directly.

    This masterful film is obsessive about the point and may be the most lush swim in dimensional space you are likely to find with the technology we have. Every shot is oriented around not the action, but the space that contains the action. Falling water, dust, lots of blown fabric and hair, feathers, arrows, even book tablets and those leaves! With lots of bamboo screens, all these are used to show the space, plus the usual fantastic mountains, clouds and forests - even at the end the Great Wall and of course the moving waves of soldiers and courtiers.

    Many of the architectural shots are lifted from Welles' "Othello."

    The matter is not lost in the copious allusions to mental space: the game of Go, music, calligraphy, politics, and love. All these are defined, exercised and conflated with one another in terms of space and the intrigue of space with a little more effort in the latter items on the list. Then, waving lamps are used to make 'murderous intent' spatial.

    Unlike 'Crouching Tiger' which this resembles not at all, the camera is static, not dancing. Where Lee emphasized the ballet of the fight by engaging his camera, Zhang stands back in the space. Where Lee conceives fights not among the participants but their masters, Zhang shows us not the fights, but the battles among the true worlds of the fights - the worlds of different colors.

    What we see could be the imaged Go game, or the imaged fight within it, or the imaged story Nameless tells, or the one the King tells and on and on with nestings of imaginations.

    Every nation creates their own movie to explain themselves. We in the US seem to like more militarist stuff. Except for the thuggish motive (my war for my kind of peace), we would do well to have stories about stories like this one through four layers until they reflect back on the origin. Complex story space in rich real space.

    If you are going to see this, you really must see 'In the Mood for Love,' which features Broken Sword and Flying Snow in something of the same relationship they have here. It is one of the best films ever made and truly spatial in a purely Chinese manner. It will completely transform your enjoyment of this.

    Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
    helpful•119
    88
    • tedg
    • Sep 8, 2004

    FAQ11

    • Why did the king tell his own version of events if he didn't even know what happened until just a few moments ago when he realized Nameless' plan?
    • Was the king a dictator?
    • Did the king really had to kill Nameless at the end?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 27, 2004 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • China
      • Hong Kong
    • Official site
      • Miramax (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Jet Li's Hero
    • Filming locations
      • Dunhuang, Gansu, China
    • Production companies
      • Edko Films
      • Zhang Yimou Studio
      • China Film Co-Production Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $31,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $53,710,019
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $17,800,000
      • Aug 29, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $177,395,557
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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