Hero

1. Hero • Director: Yimou Zhang • (House of Flying Daggers, Raise the Red Lantern) • Year: 2002 • Genre: Action, adventure • Cast: • Nameless (Jet Li) • Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) • Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) • Long Sky (Donnie Yen) • Moon (Ziyi Zhang)

2. Genre - wuxia • Wu – martial arts • Xia – someone who will sacrifice himself for what is right • Wuxia films: • Red Cliff • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon • House of Flying Daggers

3. Box Office concerns • Miramax executives were concerned that the foreign-language film would not be successful at the box office with American audiences • Hero was the first foreign language film to open at #1 at the US box office

4. Historical basis for Hero • Based on the story of Jing Ke’s assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC • The real King of Qin ruthlessly tortured and killed people, and destroyed villages • The real, historical assassin, brought the decapitated head of another enemy to the king

5. The Red Story • Narrated by Nameless to explain how he defeated Sky, Sword, and Snow • For the red fight, the director had to wait for leaves in Mongolia to turn yellow • Additional yellow leaves were gathered to cover the ground • After each shot, the leaves were sorted so only perfect leaves were blown in front of the camera • The entire scene was shot in only 3 days because the leaves would not last longer • Special red cloth was Fed-ex’d from England

6. The Red Story • In this version, Nameless claims: • Nameless killed Sky • Snow killed Sword • Snow killed Moon • Nameless killed Snow

7. Subbing vs. Dubbing • Subtitles preserve the emotions expressed by the original actors in their tone of voice • Subtitles prevent the distracting phenomenon of people “speaking” out of sync with the motion of their mouths

8. The Blue Story • Narrated by the King of Qin • The fight on the lake was shot over a period of 22 days • Shooting could take place only during a 2-hour period each day – from 10 a.m. to noon – when the water was perfectly still • Crews began setting up at 5 each morning to be ready for the 10 a.m. window

9. The Blue Story • In this version, the King guesses: • Sky allowed Nameless to kill him • Snow wounded Sword to save his life • Snow allowed Nameless to kill her • Sky and Snow sacrificed themselves because Nameless is able to kill the King if he can get within 10 paces

10. The White Story • Narrated by Nameless • In this version Nameless claims: • Nameless has perfected a blow that will appear fatal, but damage no internal organs • Nameless used this maneuver to stage the “deaths” of Sky and Snow • Sword is opposed to killing the King of Qin • Snow wounds Sword to prevent him from thwarting the plan

11. The Green Story • Narrated by Sword • Sword explains to Nameless why he did not execute the King of Qin • 2 words: “Our Land” • Also translated as “All under Heaven”

12. What the King of Qin saw in Sword’s Calligraphy • 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.

13. Character Review • Sword: practices calligraphy, loves Snow, will not kill the King of Qin • Snow: loves Sword, but wounds him or kills him in every version; committed to killing the King of Qin • Moon: Sword’s servant • Sky: the first assassin Nameless defeats; plays chess, wields a spear