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Title:
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Qian Li Zou Dan Ji |
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Literal title: |
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Riding alone for
thousands of lis
(1 li equals to 0.31 mile) |
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English title: |
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n/a |
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Synopsis: |
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It tells a Japanese fisherman, who travels thousands of mile to the
Chinese countryside to documenting a rare form of local opera for his
ailing son, hoping to win back his son's heart. |
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Asian release: |
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December, 2005 |
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North American
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September 1,
2006 |
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Zhang Yimou's
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES Opens Today in North America
(...) |
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September 1, 2006 |
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(Sony Pictures Classics) |
Zhang Yimou's low budget family drama Riding Alone
for Thousands of Miles opens today in North America.
Click here for reviews collected by Rotten
Tomatoes.
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RIDING ALONE
FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES North American Trailer
(Apple.com) |
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June 29, 2006 |
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(Sony Pictures Classics) |
Sony Pictures Classics just put a QuickTime trailer
of Zhang Yimou's
Riding alone for Thousands of Miles
on Apple.com. The date for a theatrical release is aimed at
September 1, 2006. Released last December in China,
this film's box-office revenue is the highest among all domestic made
"artistic films." It tells a Japanese fisherman, who travels thousands
of mile to the Chinese countryside to documenting a rare form of local
opera for his ailing son, hoping to win back his son's heart. Sony
Pictures Classics has just acquired the North and South American rights
to Zhang Yimou's third period epic
The Curse of Golden Flower,
now in production in China.
Click here for the trailer. |
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Opening This
Week: December 10 - 16 (MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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December 9,
2005 |
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Director Zhang Yimou (l) with Japanese star
Takakura Ken (m). |
A 300 meter long dinner table prepared for
the guests. |
The city of Lijiang raised red lanterns
for the première. |
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(Sina.com) |
Chinese director Zhang Yimou's newest film
Riding alone for Thousands of Miles
had an unique première yesterday in China's southwestern town of Lijiang,
where the film was partially shot. The popular tourist town was filled
with hundreds of guests came for the premiere, regular tourists and
local residents. In fact, the entire town was mobilized for the event. a
300 meter long feast table was placed in a street with food catered by
30 local restaurants and hotels. a 450 seat tent theater was built for a
concert show with singers and local performers. Producer Zhang Weiping
said the première was worth about US$2.85 million, which count 40% of
the total cost of the film.
The star of Riding alone for Thousands of Miles is 74 year old veteran
Japanese actor
Takakura Ken. Director Zhang Yimou said he had been an admirer of
Ken for 30 years and he created the film just for work with Ken once.
The film begins with
a Japanese fisherman (Takakura Ken)
arrived in Tokyo to see his ailing son (Kiichi Nakai) but his son refuse
to meet him because of something unforgivable his father did many years
ago. The fisherman's daughter-in-law shows him a video, hoping he could
know more about his own son. The video shows
an Chinese actor performing an opera unique unique China's southwestern
province of Yunnan and the play is called Riding alone for Thousands of
Miles. The fisherman decides to travel to Yunnan to tape the play, which
he considers the least he can do for his son. Of cause, this is only the
beginning of the film.
Riding alone for Thousands of Miles has been
hailed, both in China and in Japan, as a touching human story. It had
its worldwide première at
the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival the past
October. It will be release in the mainland China next Thursday and in
Japan January 26, 2006. Sony
Pictures Classics has picked up the film's North American rights with no
date set.
Videos:
The grand entrance
The concert show
The street feast
Photos:
A
B
C
D
E
F
Review, by Russell Edwards, Variety
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The-Making-of Featurette and Trailers: RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF
MILES (Sina.com) |
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December 8, 2005 |
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(Beijing
New Picture Film Co.) |
A 30 minute making-of and two trailers
Riding
Alone for Thousands of Miles featurette is available on
Sina.com. It was part of a press kit for the international
distributors, originally made in English and dubbed with Chinese.
Click here (Please click the numbers below the screen to select.)
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Zhang Yimou’s RIDING ALONE FOR
THOUSANDS OF MILES Première in Tokyo
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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October 24,
2005 |
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Zhang Yimou (L) and Ken Takakura (R).
(Sina.com)
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Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s new film Riding
Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qianli Zhou Danji) just
premièred yesterday as the opening film of the 18th Tokyo International
Film Festival. Starring veteran Japanese actor Takakura Ken, the film
tells Takada, a Japanese fisherman, to fulfill the last wish of his
dying son, travels thousands of miles to the China’s southeastern
province of Yunnan to search for the secret behind a local opera play,
called Riding along for Thousands of Miles. Zhang Yimou, who has been
Ken Takakura’s admirer for almost thirty years, wrote this film just to
fulfill his own wish of working with Ken Takakura.
Clip from the première
Snapshots from the première:
A
B
Making-of featurette
Page by Tokyo International Film Festival
Official Japanese site
Teaser trailer
Full trailer |
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Poster: RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF
MILES (BigStar) |
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August 10, 2005 |
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(Beijing
New Picture Film Co.) |
The poster, designed for the mainland Chinese market, shows 74 year old
veteran Japanese actor
Ken Takakura and an unknown little
Chinese boy.
In the new drama from director
Zhang Yimou, Ken Takakura plays Takada,
a Japanese fisherman, who accompanies his ailing son Takada to Yunnan
Province of China to search for the secret behind a local opera.
Riding alone for Thousands of Miles
is the direct translation from its original Chinese title Qin Li Zou
Dan Ji. The film has been scheduled for a world premiere at the
Tokyo International Film Festival
this fall and the release in China has been aimed at December.
Reportedly, the film's North American rights have been sold to an
undisclosed Hollywood studio.
Zhang Yimou's next project will be another period feature (English
working tile: Autumn Remembrance), with Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li.
Producer
Zhang Weiping
told Beijing-based tabloid BigStar that 80% of the film
would be shot indoor and it would contain a small amount of fight
scenes. Zhang's second upcoming project will an untitled epic with
Jackie Chan.
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Stills: QIAN LI ZOU DAN JI / RIDING
ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES
(Sina.com / HuaXia.com / TIFF) |
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August 7, 2005 |
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Takakura Ken |
(L to R)
Jiang Wen,
Takakura Ken
and two cast members. |
Takakura Ken (R) and a cast member (L). |
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(Beijing
New Picture Film Co.) |
In the new drama from director
Zhang Yimou, 74 year old veteran
Japanese actor
Ken Takakura plays Takada,
a Japanese fisherman, who accompanies his ailing son Takada to Yunnan
Province of China to search for the secret behind a local opera..
Qian Li Zou Dan Ji,
which literally means Riding
Alone for Thousands of Miles, will première at the coming
Tokyo International Film Festival
this fall and director Zhang Yimou will head the festival's jury.
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Production Stills from Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN
JI
(BigStar)
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April
28, 2005 |
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Beijing based tabloid BigStar has posted three official production
stills from director Zhang Yimou's Qian Li Zou Dan Ji:
Takakura Ken (L) and Jiang Wen
Takakura Ken
Jiang Wen
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Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN
JI and Chen Kaige's WU JI / THE PROMISE Will Clash In December
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
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March 30, 2005 |
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Zhang Yimou |
Chen Kaige |
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(Sina.com) |
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According to newspaper Chinese Business View,
both Zhang Yimou's Qian Li Zou Dan Ji and Chen Kaige's Wu
Ji had been aimed at December in China. Qian Li Zou Dan Ji,
literally means
"riding alone for thousands of lis (1 li equals to 0.31 mile),"
is a relatively low-budget film, in which Japanese veteran actor
Takakura Ken plays an old man
traveling to the southwestern China for fulfilling the last wish of
his son dying back in Japan. Zhang made this film after shooting
Hero
and
House of Flying Daggers
back-in-back.
Chen Kaige's
Wu Ji
(literally title: Infinity, English title: The
Promise), is a mega budget
fantasy film with an all-star cast - Cecilia Cheung, Jang Dong-Kun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Liu Ye, Nicholas Tse, Chen Hong
and Cheng Qian.
Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are two most active
figures among China's Fifth Generation Directors. They both
graduated from Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980s. Zhang worked
as the cinematographer in Chen's directorial début Yellow Earth
and the follow-up The Big Parade. Although remain as close
friends, they have not worked together for almost two decades.
More about
Wu Ji / The Promise
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Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU
DAN JI Had First New Conference In Tokyo (Various) |
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February 23, 2005 |
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(Sohu.com) |
A news conference for
director's Zhang Yimou's Qian Li Zou Dan Ji was held
yesterday in Tokyo. The film tells a story of a Japanese man travels
to China's Southwest to complete a scholarly project on a local
opera, for his dying son.
Related story: Chinese auteur Zhang directs Japanese actor in
new film
(AP via Yahoo! Asia News)
More photos from the news
conference:
A
B
C
Photos: (L to R) a Japanese producer, producer Bill Kong, director
Zhang Yimou, actor Ken Takakura, director Yasuo
Furuhata, actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Shinobu Terajima.
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First Official Image of
Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN JI
(Sina.com) |
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January 20, 2005 |
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(Beijing New Picture Films) |
It does not feature any scene from the film but rather shows
director Zhang Yimou (right) and
Takakura Ken (left) walking together.
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Zhang Yimou Wrapped Up QIAN LI ZOU DAN
JI Begins Today
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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January 12, 2005 |
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Zhang Yimou |
Takakura Ken |
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(Sina.com) |
(Chengdu Economics Daily) |
According to Chinese media, director Zhang Yimou just ended the
production of Qian Li Zou Dan Ji
in the "Earth Forest" of China's Yunnan
Province. Produced with a much smaller budget, comparing to those of
Zhang's Hero and House of Flying Daggers, the film
features Japanese veteran actor Takakura Ken as an old man accompanying
his dying son to China whose last wish is to study a local opera.
Shooting will restart in Japan after the Chinese New Year (February 9).
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Kiichi
Nakai And Shinobu Terajima Join
Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN
JI
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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November 24, 2004 |
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Kiichi Nakai |
Shinobu Terajima |
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(PhotoCome) |
According to Chinese newspaper The Beijing News, two Japanese actors
Kiichi
Nakai And
Shinobu Terajima
have just joined Zhang Yimou's
Qian Li Zou Dan Ji
(literal title: Lone ride over a thousand
lis / 1 li equals to 0.31 mile). They will play the son and
daughter-in-law of
Ken Takakura's character in this US$
7.2 million Chinese production. Both of them are winners of the 27th
Japanese Academy Awards (2004) for their leading performances.
Reportedly, Kiichi
Nakai is a private pupil of
Ken Takakura.
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A Brief Look At
The Shuhe Location Of
Zhang Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN JI
(Shuhe
Tour) |
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November 16, 2004 |
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The town of Shuhe located in Lijiang County of China's southwestern
Yunnan Province.
For more photos: click
here and
here.
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Production Of Zhang
Yimou's QIAN LI ZOU DAN JI Is Set To Begin
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
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November 14, 2004 |
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Zhang Yimou |
Ken Takakura |
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(Sina.com) |
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Chinese director Zhang Yimou's Qian Li
Zou Dan Ji will go into production next Friday. The film will mark
the first cooperation between Zhang Yimou and veteran Japanese actor
Ken Takakura and reportedly,
this will be Ken's last. Set in the 1920's, Qian Li Zou Dan Ji
tells a story of a Japanese man (Takakura Ken), accompanies his dying
son to learn the local opera in China's Yunnan, where they meets a local girl.
The girl will be played by Jiang Wen, a graduate student from Beijing Film
Academy. Literally, Qian Li Zou Dan Ji means "lone ride
over a thousand lis" (1 "li" equals to 0.31 mile). Just like the title
of Zhang's last film, Shi Mian Mai Fu (English title: House Of
Flying Daggers), which means "ambushed from ten sides", Qian Li
Zou Dan Ji has a metaphor meaning as well. The film is budgeted at US$ 7.2 million,
much smaller than Zhang's last two films, Hero and House Of
Flying Daggers. Shooting will take place in Lijiang, Yunnan Province
of southwestern China.
Related Story:
Japanese Vet Actor Takakura Ken
Joins Zhang Yimou's Upcoming Feature?
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
July 25, 2004
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Japanese Vet Actor Takakura Ken
Joins Zhang Yimou's Upcoming Feature?
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
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July 25, 2004 |
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After two pieces of martial art actions,
director Zhang Yimou will return to his art film roots. His upcoming
project, still untitled, will feature 73 year old Japanese veteran
actor
Takakura Ken, according to
Sichuan Daily. This relatively small production will tell a story
set in the southwestern region of China during the 1920's. To fulfill
the last wish of his dying son, a Japanese old man (Takakura Ken)
accompanied him to learn the local opera in China, where they met a
local girl. Shooting will begin in Yunnan Province this September.
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Director Zhang Yimou May
Work With Japanese Vet Actor Takakura Ken
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
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March 21, 2004 |
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Zhang Yimou's Next Project
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According to Beijing based weekly entertainment
newspaper Big Star, director Zhang Yimou may is eyeing on
73 year old Japanese actor
Takakura Ken for
his upcoming project. We do not know any detail on the film except
that it has a contemporary setting. |
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SHI MIAN MAI FU Is Ready
For Final Assembling While Director Zhang Yimou Eyes On His Next One
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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March 4, 2004 |
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Takeshi Kaneshiro (Beijing Youth Daily) |
Producer Zhang Weiping told Beijing Youth Daily
that he just watched the complete rough cut of the film with
director Zhang Yimou and the final remixing process was about to begin.
Meanwhile he told another paper, Youth Times, that the script of
Zhang Yimou's next project was almost done. This one, in a genre other
than martial-art, will have Zhang Yimou and Andy Lau for the second
time.
More cover on Shi Mian Mai Fu
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Cast |
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Takakura Ken |
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Jiang Wen |
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Kiichi Nakai |
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Shinobu Terajima |
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Crew |
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Director |
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Zhang Yimou |
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Screenplay by |
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Zou Jingzhi |
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Producer |
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Zhang Weiping |
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