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Zhang Yimou was a very highly regarded filmmaker 5 years ago, before I had ever heard of him. Then he earned a place in my heart by directing both Hero and House of Flying Daggers. With those last two I felt like I was in martial arts movie heaven, so I would instantly be interested in any other future films that could approach those two in scope, talent, and action. Curse of the Golden Flower focuses mostly on the first two of those three traits, but besides, anything starring Chow Yun-Fat will earn my attention like a bullet to the head. I do own The Corrupter after all.

This is a film about a royal family, rather dysfunctional at that, in the 928 AD Tang Dynasty. Chow Yun-Fat is Emperor Ping, who from the way he handles his family and can anticipate any kind of attack or counterattack seems like quite the ruthless warlord. He has three sons: one is a teenager, who isn't given much regard but knows more than others think. The eldest of the three is the current crown prince, but doesn't seem to have any special talents, other than drawing the affections of the wrong women. The middle son is a great warrior and, of course, is now the favorite of the father. But these characters may be just pawns to Empress Phoenix (Gong Li), who is mother to the younger two brothers and step-mother to the eldest. Under normal circumstances she might be a great mother, wife, and Empress, but current circumstances, including a mystery illness, have forced her to take actions involving a secret plot to remove her husband from the throne.

This is not the action movie some might expect, though there is enough near the end to earn the R rating. It's basically a family drama, though in a rather fascinating and different setting for such a story. As you'd expect with a royal family, appearances are everything. Anything out of the ordinary has to happen in secret. All the normal everyday stuff is almost mechanical in nature. Whether you see dozens of servants getting up in the morning, or preparing food, or planting flowers, it all occurs in such a fiercely coordinated fashion. It would have been such a hard life, either being a royal or supporting one, but it would be a miserable life if one couldn't take any pride in what they did.

The filmmakers who designed and implemented all the sets and costumes should take a hell of a lot of pride in what they do. The family of this story, even while destroying themselves (and therefore their empire) from within, are living in the most lavish accommodations and outfits I've ever seen. I usually don't think much of costuming or set design, but I must say that after seeing Chow Yun-Fat's golden suit of armor, or anything Gong Li was in, or the design of their personal quarters, I really hope for some Oscar recognition. Perhaps the best I've ever seen in those areas.

Overall though, a good film, and a definite must for any Chow Yun-Fat fan to seem him play such a great villain, as with Sammo Hung in Sha Po Lang. It kept me interested throughout, but nothing too surprising happened in regards to story. It basically all went how I imagined it would.

10th Century , during China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest . On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou). His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress (Gong Li), this seems disingenuous . The control of emperor over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself . For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), her stepson, have had an illicit liaison and unspeakable secrets are hidden within the Forbidden City. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan (Li Man), the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong) is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, the emperor relocates the medic's family from the Palace to a remote area . While they are en route, mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi (Chen Jin) are forced back to the palace. At the night, thousands of soldiers are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace in a spectacular final battle .

This luxurious epic film was marvelously filmed with impressive production design , colorful cinematography and breathtaking scenes . The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with dark surprises , thrills , fierce combats and groundbreaking battles . Amid the glamour and grandeur of the scenarios is developed a familiar intrigue in Shakespeare's King Lear style , including betrayal , incest , crime and exploring the dark side of Chinese empire . Impressive and rousing fights with thousands of golden armored warriors reenacted by lots of extras . Overwhelming attack on the fortress where is relocated the doctor's family , being subsequently copied in ¨Kung Fu Panda¨ . Wonderfully photographed especially when against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace. The motion picture was glamorously directed by Yimou Zhang who often works with the actress Li Gong and as well as most of his films , it begins with the title displayed in Chinese calligraphy style. Zhang forms part of China's Fifth Generation of filmmakers, who began making films after the Cultural Revolution , others from this group include Chen Kaige and Jinzhan Zhang . He is an expert on Chinese epics such as ¨Shanghai Triad¨ , ¨Hero¨ ,¨House of Flying Daggers¨ , ¨The flowers of war¨ and of course the Oscarized and successful ¨Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon¨ . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching .

Despite the millions of chrysanthemum flowers, ten thousand soldiers and three prominent male cast (Chow Yun Fatt, Jay Chou and Liu Ye), one thing will capture your attention. Make that two.

Gong Li and her titillating assets have almost overshadowed everything else in the movie. While it may not be historically accurate for 10th Century Tang Dynasty palace females to dress so scantily, director Zhang Yimou obviously wants to make a stylistic statement right from the opening scene.

His play with colours was apparent from Hero. Curse of the Golden Flowers presents a kaleidoscope in its grandeur palace setting and elaborate costumes. The final fighting scene lead by Prince Jai (Jay Chou playing Jay?) the prince with golden armored warriors trampling over chrysanthemum is nothing short of impressive.

Jay Chou had a difficult time playing Prince Jai, which required more complexity than a cool rider in Initial D. While emotional scenes with Gong Li drew some laughter from the audience, his final scene was noteworthy and articulation has improved.

Kudos goes to Chow Yun Fatt and Gong Li. Chow has improved on his accent tremendously (which was very strange in Crouching Tiger) and portrayed the Emperor with magnitude and hysterical outrage. Look out for the scene as the usually mild mannered Chow punishes his son with both rising temper and hair.

While the film obviously banks on Gong Li's bosoms, they shouldn't distract audience from her exceptional acting. It may be over-the-top at times, but she shows that nobody else can play this vengeful and solitary empress better than her. At this moment, she is the queen of the Chinese cinema.

The story of betrayal, illicit affairs, chilled relations and dysfunctional families may be run on the mill and overdone. Drawing parallels with The Banquet by Zhang Ziyi is inevitable. Both are about an obsessed empress who craves for a relationship with the prince (Interestingly, both well-known for playing gay roles) and demands for more power from the emperor.

Curse of the Golden Flower is not just soap drama but a period epic to impress with colours, opulence and sheer indulgence.

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I had the pleasure of seeing this film with special personal appearances by Zhang Yimou and Gong Li... I have to say I was blown away by it! I was not expecting a story with such depth...The cinematography, the art direction, and the sheer enormity of the visuals were staggering. Great sword work... exquisite wire sequences... and HUGE battles - but all done with an intensity that's stunning. And even more, the acting was superb - Chow Yung Fat is a master, and his scenes together with Gong Li are beautifully emotional. Gong Li is more beautiful than ever in a role that demands huge range from the first scene and never lets up... She does her best work ever! I have nothing but praise for this film. I can't wait to see it again.

I just got back from watching the 8.30 pm show at Vivo City Gold Class and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the movie was.

I guess it could have been the bad press with the movie but I was really very impressed with Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat. They are true virtuosos, masters of their fields. Very impressed with the both of them.

Even that Jay Chou wasn't that bad although, although to be honest, he is just too green and inexperienced. He was miscast as the 2nd Prince because of his lack of good looks, but I can see that he tried his best.

But Gong Li, who acted opposite Jay as his mother was superb. Her convulsions (because of a long time illness no spoilers) were realistic.

Her varied range of emotions were a joy to watch. I didn't feel she was acting; you don't see the wheels moving. Chow Yun Fat's Mandarin wasn't that bad too. Not at all. He exudes the strength and power of the ruthless Emperor.

The only person whom I thought over acted was the actor, Ye Liu, who played the Crown Prince. I was not used to his acting. Now with him, you could see him acting.

The action scenes were not a lot since this is more of a political intrigue film BUT the two major action scenes were very impressive.

One happened at a small villa amidst the mountains.

The other is the one at the end which occurred at the Imperial Palace.

The only gripe I have with this film is the set decoration. It is quite garish.

The colors on the pillar walls were like these tie dye t-shirts which Rupert of Survivor wore. Really odd.

The costumes were not too bad. Even with my Chinese background, it was all alien to me.

I am not sure it's authentic but I will give the costumers the benefit of the doubt. They must have done they research to stand by the deep cleavage of the actresses.

Now I know where all the money went to. Though the set decoration can be a bit rainbow-brite for me, it certainly was opulent.

Go watch this film. It is a must see.