Curse of the Golden Flower (www.the-usher.com)

10th Century China, during Tang Dynasty, on the eve of the Chrysanthemum Festival, the Emperor (Yun-Fat) unexpectedly returns to the Forbidden City with this second born son, Prince Jai (Chou) to unite his family in celebration but he returns to a palace of discontent. The Empress (Li) has become consumed with anger, as the medicine she has been ordered to take by her husband for over ten years has not cured her illness, plots to make her son Prince Jai the next emperor. To do this she plans to reveal a secret that will force the Emperor to abdicate in shame, if not her army will take the palace by force.

Zhang Yimou concludes his 'Wuxia' trilogy but is 'Curse of the Golden Flower' the best of the three?

After brilliantly mixing Chinese fables and martial arts in the visual stunning and superbly realised period movie epics 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers', writer/director Yimou Zhang finishes his trilogy with probably his most ambitious project yet. Based on the play Yu Cao, 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is a very different from the first two films in the series. This time the drama takes centre stage with the martial arts used sparingly until the jaw dropping final third of the movie.

The movie is all about power and the political and emotion movements needed to gain control of the empire. The two powerhouses facing off are the Emperor and the Empress, play with great gusto by Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li. Each have their own agenda for the future of the empire and their destiny lies in gaining the allegiances of the Princes. The Crown Prince Wan, played by Ye Liu, the eldest brother and stepson of the Empress, holds the key to the Empress's plan but he is torn between duty to his father and his country. Prince Jai, up and coming Asian superstar Jay Chou, adores his father and is destined to be Emperor but the illness of his mother at the hands of the Emperor means that his loyalties lay with the Empress. Prince Yu (Junjie Qin), the youngest is the forgotten son, who is seen to have no influence still has an important role to play. This emphasis on drama means that action that complimented the two previous movies in the trilogy so well, takes a back seat but this is to the determent of the movie.

While the drama of the Forbidden City is the main thrust of the movie, the few action scenes that mainly take place during the final third of the movie are simply stunning. The ninja attack scenes will have you on the edge of your seat but it is the final battle inside the Forbidden City itself that will have you riveted throughout. These scenes are truly astonishing as the two armies face off against each other in the palace and can easily compete with anything that Hollywood has produced over the last few years. The battle scenes make the look of the film. Yimou Zhang and his creative team have surpassed even 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers', drenching you in a cavalcade of colour and a parade of costumes that are simply dazzling. Each frame of this film, as with the rest of the trilogy, could be used as a piece of art and hung on your wall, proving again that the production design on these movies are one of the best you will ever see.

'Curse of the Golden Flower' is an Asian period drama that has too much drama for its own good. While epics 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers', mixed martial arts and drama with astonishing results, the third movie in the series doesn't have the same mix and the story itself isn't strong enough to be the main focus of the movie. This doesn't mean that this isn't still a fascinating movie and one that will sit well in its accomplished in the resurgence in Asian epic cinema.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

'Secrets within�' Documentary (21.45 mins)
Director Zhang Yimou, costume designer Yee Chung Man, action director Tony Chung Siu Tang and stars Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li and Jay Chou take you behind the scenes of the making of 'Curse of the Golden Flower'. The filmmaker and his cast and crew talk about the Tong Dynasty in Feudal China and recreating that time, through costumes and extremely authentic set design and construction. The actors also talk about their roles and working with Zhang Yimou, as well as the elaborate action sequences with the finale requiring one thousand real soldiers. This is a fascinating featurette that shows how much work went into producing this beautiful film.

The Emperor Featurette (3.33 mins)
Chow Yun Fat talks about his character in the movie, the difficulty in speaking Mandarin and what he had to go through to prepare himself for the role.

The Empress Featurette (4.02 mins)
Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat talk about the character, the costumes, sets and the Phoenix gown that the Empress was so elaborately dressed in.

Trailers
Watch the teaser and the theatrical trailers for the movie

Photo Gallery (1.57 mins)
Watch a montage of images from the movie

Previews
Trailers for 'Atonement' and 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Curse of the Golden Flower' is one that will please fans. The featurettes are good and it is a shame that a director's commentary wasn't included but for a foreign language movie, the bonus features are good. Fans should be pleased with this release.

DVD

Hero

House of Flying Daggers

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2007