Curse of the Golden Flower
Short description
Set in China during the Tang dynasty, Curse of the Golden Flower centres on the imperial family and the tensions that surface when the Emperor returns to the palace for the Chong Yang Festival. His marriage to the Empress has grown cold, and the household she has held together in his absence is bound by secrets, illicit attachments and shifting loyalties among his sons. The Emperor's grip on his domain appears total, yet the court around him is thick with intrigue and competing ambitions.
Zhang Yimou directed and co-wrote the film with Bian Zhihong and Nan Wu. It is the twelfth of the twenty-five films he has directed in chronological order, following Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and preceding To Each His Own Cinema. Chow Yun-fat plays Emperor Ping and Gong Li plays Empress Phoenix, with Jay Chou as Prince Zhai, Liu Ye as Crown Prince Wan, Qin Junjie as Prince Yu and Li Man as Jiang Chan.
Produced by Bill Kong Chi-Keung, Zhang Weiping and Ronald Wong, the film had a budget of 45 million US dollars and took 76 million US dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from around 47,000 votes, while on TMDB it is rated 6.9 out of 10 from 852 votes. A critics' rating of 6.7 out of 10 from 124 reviews places it close to the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- With a budget of $45 million US dollars, this film was the most expensive Chinese film upon its release.
- In 2006, he was submitted as China's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but he was not nominated for the final stage of the competition in this category.
- Some of the costumes weighed over 40 kg.
- A team of 40 people sewed the costumes for the emperor and his consort for the festival, and it took over two months to create them.
- The emperor's headdress was created with incredible accuracy; it is a copy of a headdress from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).
- Over 1,000 real soldiers were involved in the final battle. Its filming lasted more than 20 days.
- The most expensive Chinese film at the time of its production.
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