Curse of the Golden Flower/满成尽带黄金甲

[Surferket]

That includes the Night Banquet too. Same ending.
Really funny shows.

But what about the soft luscious heaving bosoms?

Obviously a fellow Singaporean!..how can the language be missed..ha ha..anyway....I read a similar story-telling style for The Promise at this forum...it was as funny and made the whole plot ridiculous..till today...I think I am not sure what the story of that was all about but I believe it could be as ridiculous as what was dscribed.

[Fearless]

Obviously a fellow Singaporean!..how can the language be missed..ha ha..anyway....I read a similar story-telling style for The Promise at this forum...it was as funny and made the whole plot ridiculous..till today...I think I am not sure what the story of that was all about but I believe it could be as ridiculous as what was dscribed.

hmm, i didnt know that you are a Singaporean as well. There are sure a lot of Singaporeans on this forum.

[ChestNut]

going to watch it soon.. but not putting much hope cos unfortunately in m'sia, it's in cantonese.. sigh...

[Lady Zhuge]

I just saw this movie and it was okay at best. I still don't understand why the Chicago Tribune film critic who reviewed it gave it 4 stars. The first half was rather dull, as most of the real action came toward the end. As for the heaving bosoms a certain horny male keeps inquiring about, they were reminiscent of Madame Wang's in DGSD 2003 and were pretty well taped into place.

[aiza11]

going to watch it soon.. but not putting much hope cos unfortunately in m'sia, it's in cantonese.. sigh...

Yep, it is in Cantonese, I would rather watch the mandarin version too like "A Battle of Wits"

[babyblues]

I watched this today and wasn't bored about it. Strangely I felt that the reviews I've read did not give this movie enough credit.

If people are looking for an action film then clearly this is the wrong film for you because any action you are looking at comes at the end.

This movie is meant more to showcase the intricacies in the imperial families and the internal plots and relationship within the family.

The presentation was excellent. The colours, costume and background were really impressive.

Spoiler:




Although all the sons died in the movie, I felt it was in a way, the best retribution on the emperor. Although I'm not sure if he felt any grief other than from the death of his 1st son. Being such a devious selfish man, he may not care about passing on any legacy. He lives for himself.

I felt most grief for the 2nd son. He was the most innocent son caught in between his feuding parents and he died for the one and only value he held dear, piety.

I thot Gong Li acted very well as a woman trapped in her status. Above all but beneath the one person she had to beat to survive. The indignation and yet helplessness in swallowing the poisonous medicine and the sorrow in having her sons beg her to take the same was shown very well during the first family reunion scene. When she confided the secret to her 2nd son, the breakdown in her perpetual facade of control and acceptance in front of him showed the unbearable weight in her heart she was carrying alone all this while.

I have always wondered why Gong Li was so respected in the industry. Now I understand at last.

[Lady Zhuge]

I guess I wasn't all that intrigued by the internal plotting and intricacies this film offered. I much prefer the interlace in Raise the Red Lantern.

Here's the link to Michael Wilmington's review for anyone's who's interested: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/m...,1606473.story

[Surferket]

WOW! Imagine a whole movie full of Mdm Wang's type of soft luscious heaving bosoms. Mah Heavan!!

[Ace High]

I just watched this movie. Alas, i could not keep my eyes open after 20 minutes into the story. Even the sexual attraction failed it charms.

[big master]

it was good!!!! chow was great! he was miles better here than in crouching tiger imo. gong li was also commendable although she really aged a lot. liu ye was fine as and i have to say that there was a great improvement on jay's acting here...he was rather raw in initial d but he was alright in here! the plot was unique in its own way...i like it much better than banquet!

[Surferket]

Chow had bad press coming off this movie. His wife demanded American superstar style treatment for Chow; most expensive suite in Beijing even though it's far from the studio, food was specially cooked for him, as well as his personal trailer on shooting site so he doesn't have to join toilet queue.
Seems his head swelled after he went to Hollywood and filmed flop after flop. His only hit was Croaching Tiger but that was back in Asia.
Note: Asia actors don't need to go to Hollywood. White boys will never treat you with respect. Ask Jackie who did shit movie after shit movie there.

[big master]

Chow had bad press coming off this movie. His wife demanded American superstar style treatment for Chow; most expensive suite in Beijing even though it's far from the studio, food was specially cooked for him, as well as his personal trailer on shooting site so he doesn't have to join toilet queue.
Seems his head swelled after he went to Hollywood and filmed flop after flop. His only hit was Croaching Tiger but that was back in Asia.
Note: Asia actors don't need to go to Hollywood. White boys will never treat you with respect. Ask Jackie who did shit movie after shit movie there.

does that mean he became so arrogant? what a waste! but i realy liked him in curse!

[wuxiagurl]

i thought it was an intense movie. i was clutching my hands the whole time. the story is pretty new to me, since i don't know chinese plays nor shakespeare stuff (which some reviewers mention the movie was based on). never watched raise the red lantern so i don't know how it compares. but i thought this was better than crouching tiger hidden dragon, hero, house of flying daggers, the promise, etc. gong li (empress) was great in here. so was liu ye (first prince). thought chow yun fat (emperor) had almost the same expression throughout the movie. so did jay chou (second prince) actually.

random thoughts: i kinda thought the first and third prince kinda resembled chen kun. were squeezed and exposed boobies really the fashion during the tang dynasty? seems like most stories i watched of the tang dynasty got them heaving/bouncing boobies. i thought the fighting scene with the shields, the arrows, soldiers in silver head armor with long white feathers really reminded me of the Battle of Helm Deep from Lord of the Rings. i can't understand why the empress wants the first prince in the first place, he seems like such a weakling. and though he is not true to her, and betrays her so she can be killed by the emperor, and etc, she still loves him so sincerely. why?! okay, end rant.

the visual effects were crazy. can't imagine the number of people it must take to produce this. the windows, curtains, and everything were colorful, and not only in solid blocks of colour, but in graduations that blend into each other. in conclusion, i thought this movie was worth my money.

[kidd]

random thoughts: i kinda thought the first and third prince kinda resembled chen kun. were squeezed and exposed boobies really the fashion during the tang dynasty? seems like most stories i watched of the tang dynasty got them heaving/bouncing boobies.

Yes, Liu Ye resembles Chen Kun a bit because they both have big soulful eyes. They have even co-starred together in the chinese movie Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress with Zhou Xun. The kid actor who played Prince #3 was chosen precisely because he resembles Liu Ye.

As for the costume. I read somewhere that Zhang Yimou specially asked the costume designer to sex up the costume. Tang Dynasty's women costume did have a considerably low neckline compared to other costume of other dynasties. But they didn't use push up bras back then. I read that, the costume was supposed to show off the wearer's beautiful shoulders instead of her bosoms.

[ChestNut]

Yep, it is in Cantonese, I would rather watch the mandarin version too like "A Battle of Wits"

haha, everone has been telling me how shit it was, esp in cantonese, hence i didn't end up going to the cinema.. watch pirated version instead.. mandarin version.. i reckon it's not bad.. good that the cinema in Msia is going to release the mandarin version on 25th due to numerous complains.. haha.. think i'll watch it again cos the dvd quality sucked BIGGGGG time..

[big master]

haha, everone has been telling me how shit it was, esp in cantonese, hence i didn't end up going to the cinema.. watch pirated version instead.. mandarin version.. i reckon it's not bad.. good that the cinema in Msia is going to release the mandarin version on 25th due to numerous complains.. haha.. think i'll watch it again cos the dvd quality sucked BIGGGGG time..

i liked it too...well, not really the best movie but it was quite entertaining...haha, same, watched the pirated dvd version...but im planning to rewatch it agen in the cinema

[0-0-0]

Watched this film just yesterday and have to say, it was not great, but it wasn't as bad as some of the people i heard from.

The costumes cracked me up though- pretty sure they weren't exactly true to the time period. They did have lower necklines, BUT certainly not breasts half falling out I cracked up everytime some woman was seen running i thought it was pretty hard not to do so.

I was actually pretty happy with Jay Chou's performance. I've seen him before and he was crap, but he was actually ok in this movie.

There was a bit of intrigue, similar to that in Raise the Red Lantern, and again, Gong Li did a pretty good job. I'd rather see Gong Li with the top roles than Zhang Zi Yi. She's shown that to me in a number of films.

Wait, so Zhang Yi Mou's doing the opening ceremony for Beijing Olympics? Wonder if he's "sexing up" the costumes for that

[yearning]

He already "sexed" them up for the ceremony introduction in Athens 2004 with the 12 girls.

[ghostdarTeal'c]

actually, this is one of my most favourite chinese movie up to date....i mean, the way they portrayed the hurt and helplesness of the empress is awesome....and not to mention Jay Chou... man...i love his character Prince Jai.sacrificing his own future and the throne for his mother is very much admired, when all the other people would betray their own families for fame and glory and riches.....
Chow is very convincing as the wickedly self-centered emperor...i never gave much thought of Chow's acting before this, never been his fan, but COGF is definitely one of his best performance....and Gong Li, must i comment anything on her excellent performance?aside from her luscious bosom, her appearance and facial expression are definitely most alluring....
as for the setting...i cant close my agape jaw looking at the dazzling interior design and decoration...it gave off this aura of a truly wealthy and prosperous nation.....you cant turn your face from from the full gold body armour of the emperor....and the last battle scene was one of the most awesome scene ive ever seen in a chinese movie....looking at the budget of course it should be....
anyway, despite of the negative review in this thread, i think it's one of the best film ive ever seen...a bit draggy and talky at the beginning, but cinematpgraphy was excellent and i stilll think it's worth every cent that i spent for it.......

[Bangs]

Great costumes, great scenery, great actors except Liu Ye who looks like a retard for some reason (just my opinion), and a very weak story line. Don't get me wrong, the story couldve been much more, its just that everything seems to be rushed, a series wouldve been better for this kind of story. Watching movies like this will have you end up wondering the why, what, and hows.