Hero

China's most expensive and highest grossing film, and a 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film, Hero sat on the shelf for two years before Miramax cautiously released it in the USA. Originally dismissed as a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon knockoff, it effortlessly eclipses that slow, stuffy film and establishes itself as one of the two or three most exceptional, spectacular, and beautiful martial arts movies ever made. Jet Li stars as an assassin (referred to as "Nameless") suspected of plotting to kill the King of Qin (Chen Daoming), who grants an audience to Nameless only because he carries proof of having slain the king's sworn enemies Long Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). Although initially persuaded, the king is later skeptical of Nameless' tales of victory, and the film cleverly interweaves--Rashomon-like--sequences depicting Nameless's versions of the truth and those illustrating the king's deductions. Director Zhang Yimou and cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Ashes of Time) present each action-filled tale drenched in its own bold color: red, blue, green, and gold (the extraordinary fight scenes include a duel in a forest full of swirling dead leaves, and a battle in which the combatants sprint and dance across the surface of a serenely beautiful lake). Hero masterfully combines deft storytelling, striking action, a bold use of color, and a touch of poetry to create a true contemporary cinema classic. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras include the 24-minute partially subtitled “making-of” featurette “Hero: Defined,” the 14-minute featurette “Inside the Action: A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li,” four storyboard comparison segments (5 min.), and a soundtrack spot. Bottom line: a small extras package for a grand film.] (J.M. Anderson)[Blu-ray Review—Sept. 15, 2009—Miramax, 99 min., in Mandarin w/English subtitles, PG-13, $44.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2002's Hero sports a great transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras include the partially subtitled “making-of” featurette “Hero: Defined” (24 min.), “Inside the Action: A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li” with the presenter and the star (14 min.), a “Close Up of a Fight Scene” featurette (9 min.), four storyboard comparison segments (5 min.), a soundtrack spot, and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a beautiful Blu-ray debut for a cinematically dazzling martial arts classic.]