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Chinese title
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Ci Ma
(The Assassination of Ma) |
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Alternative Chinese title |
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Tou Ming Zhuang (Application for joining a
brotherhood)) |
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English title |
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The Warlords |
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English working title |
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This Violent Land |
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Status |
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Post-production |
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Release date |
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Dec. 2007 (Asia) |
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Plot outline |
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Official website |
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Official Chinese website |
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Posters:
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THE WARLORDS Review
(MonkeyPeaches
Exclusive) |
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December 14, 2007 |
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(Image:
Media Asia, China Film Group Corp., Morgan & Chan, Warner
China Film HG) |
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The Warlords has
war scenes, lots of war scenes, which makes you shaking but does not
make you exited; it tells everything about brotherhood, which makes
you wondering why the brotherhood is so fragile; and it features a
love triangle, which makes you wise the triangle never formed in the
first place.
The story is set in the mid-19th Century. The
Chinese Qing Empire was deeply corrupted and the people were
suffering. The Taiping Rebellion (1851 – 1864) offered the people a
hope of ending the suffering. But the Taiping regime, controlled
many richest cities of China at that time, was equally corrupted and
the conflict between the empire and the Taiping made the people
suffered ever more.
Click here to continue...
More about
The Warlords
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390 Second
Trailer of Peter Chan's THE WARLORDS
(Sina.com) |
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November 26, 2007 |
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The only complain - quality of the video really sucks.
Click here for the trailer.
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THE WARLORDS Stills - Takeshi Kaneshiro
(Sina.com) |
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October 24 2007 |
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(Image:
Media Asia Films, Morgan & Chan Films, China Film Group) |
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In The Warlords, three men, imperial
Chinese general Pang (Jet Li), bandit leader Zhao and young outlaw
Jiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), form an odd brotherhood during the
chilling war against the Taiping Rebellion. Pang’s regiment is
growing strong and greed for more power is also making him ruthless.
Zhao, who believes deeply in code of honor, does not share Pang’s
ambition. The brotherhood eventually collapsed when Pang murders
Zhao and takes Zhao’s wife Lian away. At the inauguration of Pang’s
governorship, an assassin shows up. He is Jiang, the third brother.
The Warlords
reinvented the story told in martial-art director Chang Cheh’s Ci
Ma at a much bigger scale. In fact, the story of Ci Ma was
inspired by a true incident, the assassination of Governor Ma Xinyi
by Zhang Wenxiang in the summer of 1870. There have been many
theories for explaining the truth of the incident and none of them
is conclusive. But it has never stopped novelists and playwriters to
invent their own stories behind the assassination.
The Warlords
started with a remake of Ci Ma and ended with something
not-a-remake, according to director Peter Chan. Shot at remote
locations near Beijing, The Warlords is Chan’s most ambitious
project so far (His last one is Perhaps, Love, a musical with a love
triangle.) Chan intends to show the rawness of war. Thousands of
extras were asked to wear dirty and rusty uniforms to act in battle
scenes, which in nowadays are more often done by CG animation. From
the trailers we can see the imperial soldiers and the rebels are
fighting with a mix of weapons seems from different centuries,
swords, spears, bows, muskets and cannons. This is authentic for
that war between the crippled empire and the equally corrupted
Taiping from 1851 to 1864.
Click here for more pix of Takeshi Kaneshiro. |
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WARLORDS International
Teaser Posters
(Sina.com Exclusive) |
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September 8, 2007 |
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(Images:
Media Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
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THE WARLORDS Posters and Stills
(G-film.com) |
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August 26, 2007 |
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(Image:
Media Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
Posters:
A
B
Stills:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I J
K
L
M
N
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THE WARLORDS
New Official Chinese Website with an Brand New Trailer
(Sina.com) |
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July 11, 2007 |
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(Image:
Media Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
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The site address contains "sonypictures". Interesting.
Official Chinese site
Alternative location.
(Thanks to Jet Liang.)
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Posters - THE
WARLORDS, THE ASSEMBLY, BLOOD BROTHERS
(movieXclusive.com /
Sina.com) |
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June 17, 2007 |
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The Warlords |
The Assembly |
Blood Brothers |
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(Images:
Media
Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan,
HY. Brothers) |
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The Warlords
poster (left) is posted on Singapore-based movieXclusive.com.
It looks like a screen capture of the
official website.
Zhang Wenxiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), holding a man's head, stands in
the middle of a horrific battle fought between the imperial army and
the Taiping rebels.
The Assembly
poster (middle), from Sina.com, shows what "the assembly"
really means - a bugle call. It shows Gu Zidi (Zhang Hayu), who led
47 men to block the enemy's advance and in the end became the sole
survivor of a bloody fight. The lower part actually shows scenes of
two wars - the Chinese Civil War (1946 - 1949) and Korea War (1950 -
1953). The
Blood Brothers
poster (right), also from Sina.com, shows seven leads - (left
to right) Tony Yang, Li Xiaolu, Liu Ye, Sun Honglei, Daniel Wu, Shu
Qi and Chang Chen.
(Thanks to Jet Liang for
The Warlords
poster.)
Related Stories:
More about
Assembly
BLOOD BROTHERS Poster
(Sina.com)
June 7, 2007
Newer, Bigger and QuickTimer
Trailer of BLOOD BROTHERS
(Twitch)
May 30, 2007
Newer, Bigger and QuickTimer Trailer of BLOOD
BROTHERS
(Twitch)
May 30, 2007
BLOOD BROTHERS Stills
(...)
May 24, 2007
Fortissimo to Sell BLOOD BROTHERS
outside of Asia
(MonkeyPeaches
Exclusive)
February 2, 2007
Fortissimo bonds with 'Blood
Brothers'
(Variety)
February 1, 2007
John Woo Produced BLOOD, BROTHERS
Meets the Press
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
November 13, 2006
BLOOD BROTHERS Poster
(Twitch)
November 15, 2006
John Returns Home to Produce GATE TO
HEAVEN
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
May 24, 2006 |
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THE WARLORDS
Behind-the-Scene Clip - Part 1
(JetLicn.com /
Tudou.com) |
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June 14, 2007 |
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(Media
Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
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JetLicn.com has posted a clip
which, offers the first look at how the war scene we have seen in
the trailer was made. Looks pretty cool.
Click here.
(Thanks to Jet Liang.)
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THE WARLORDS
Official English Language Site Launched
(...) |
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May 20, 2007 |
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(Media
Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
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Click
here for a trailer (we
have seen), a plot outline, cast and character description, a
gallery and crew bios.
(Warning: the plot outline might be spoiling!)
(Thanks to Jet Liang.)
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THE WARLORDS International Teaser Poster
(MovieXclusive.com) |
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May 17, 2007 |
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(Media
Asia, China Film Group, Morgan & Chan) |
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Posted on Singapore-based MovieXclusive.com, this poorly
designed poster, appears to be made for international sales.
This website also got the official
synopsis.
(Thanks to Jet Liang.) |
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THE WARLORDS Promo
Reel Leaks out
(YouTube)
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April 24, 2007 |
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(Media Asia) |
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YouTube is the devil every studio hates, because it
frequently shows what studios are hiding from us. A trailer made for
potential international buyers to
The Warlords
has been made available on YouTube. Retelling the same true incident
inspired story told in Chang Cheh's
Ci Ma,
The Warlords
shows friendship, bedrail and revenge among three sworn brothers, played
by Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau, in the war-torn China during
the late 19th Century.
The clip shows three sworn brothers, in imperial uniforms, battling
the
Taiping rebels.
Click here. (Thanks to
Twitch.) |
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Peter Chan's CI MA (THE
WARLORDS / THE VIOLENT LAND) Is Now Called TOU MING ZHUANG in
Chinese
(MonkeyPeaches
Exclusive) |
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March 15, 2007 |
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The teaser poster |
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(Media Asia) |
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The Chinese title has been changed from Ci Ma (the
assassination of Ma) to Tou Ming Zhuang, which roughly means
an application to join an organization, usually outlawed
organization. The decision was made to distinguish this project from
the original Ci Ma, directed by Chang Cheh in the 1970s.
English title has recently been changed from The Violent Land
to The Warlords.
The new movie is loosely based by the assassination incident
in 1870 (late Qing Dynasty of China), which also inspired Chang
Cheh’s
Ci Ma
(1973). Jet Li plays Ma Xinyi, a men with great ambition, who become
a sworn brother with two bandits, Cao Erhu (Andy Lau) and Zhang
Wenxiang (joins the (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and joints the imperial
force to crack down the Taiping Rebellion with then. Ma is later
appointed to a governor. After murders Cao and takes Cao’s wife Mi
Lan (Xu Jinglei). Zhang swears to revenge his brother’s death. The
story of “Ci Ma” (The Assassination of Ma) has been featured in many
novels, Chinese operas, TV series and movies. Director Peter Chan
has said his movie was not a remake of Chang Cheh's classic.
(Thanks to Jet Liang of
JetLiCN.com for his
contribution to this story.)
Related stories:
Another CI
MA Location Photo
(Sina.com)
March 6, 2007
CI
MA Location Photos
(Media Asia)
March 4, 2007
Spy Report from Peter Chan's CI
MA Set
(Southern Metropolitan Weekly / Sina.com)
January 6, 2007
More about Peter Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 6, 2006
From the Press Conference for Peter
Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 4, 2006
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi
Kaneshiro for Peter Chan's Ci Ma Remake
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 28, 2006
Peter Chan Talks Future Projects -
PROT蒅?BLOOD BROTHER Remake and More of THE EYE Series
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
April 13, 2006
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Two More Photos of Jet Li
in CI MA
(JetLiCN.com) |
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March 8, 2007 |
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(JetLiCN.com) |
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Thanks to Jet Liang of
JetLiCN.com just sent me two
more photos of Jet Li working in Peter Chan's
Ci Ma
(aka.
The Violent Land
/
The Warlords). Li's
character, in imperial army uniform, is fighting with the
Taiping rebels.
Related stories:
Another CI
MA Location Photo
(Sina.com)
March 6, 2007
CI
MA Location Photos
(Media Asia)
March 4, 2007
Spy Report from Peter Chan's CI
MA Set
(Southern Metropolitan Weekly / Sina.com)
January 6, 2007
More about Peter Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 6, 2006
From the Press Conference for Peter
Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 4, 2006
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi
Kaneshiro for Peter Chan's Ci Ma Remake
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 28, 2006
Peter Chan Talks Future Projects -
PROTÉGÉ BLOOD BROTHER Remake and More of THE EYE Series
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
April 13, 2006
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CI
MA Location Photos
(Media Asia) |
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March 4, 2007 |
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Jet Li and director Peter Chan. |
Action director Ching Siu-Tung and Director Peter Chan. |
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(Media Asia) |
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Three photos take on the location (Yi County of China’s
Hebei Province?) of Peter Chan’s
Ci Ma
(aka. The
Violent Land / The
Warlords)
have been released by the project’s Hong Kong partner Media Asia.
Loosely based by the same assassination incident in 1870
(late Qing Dynasty of China), which also inspired Chang Cheh’s
Ci Ma
(1973). Jet Li plays Ma Xinyi, a men with great ambition, who become
a sworn brother with two bandits, Cao Erhu (Andy Lau) and Zhang
Wenxiang (joins the (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and joints the imperial
force to crack down the Taiping Rebellion with then. Ma is later
appointed to a governor. After murders Cao and takes Cao’s wife Mi
Lan (Xu Jinglei). Zhang swears to revenge his brother’s death. The
story of “Ci Ma” (The Assassination of Ma) has been featured in many
novels, Chinese operas, TV series and movies.
(Thanks to Claude Ronson.)
Related stories:
Spy Report from Peter Chan's CI
MA Set
(Southern Metropolitan Weekly / Sina.com)
January 6, 2007
More about Peter Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 6, 2006
From the Press Conference for Peter
Chan's CI MA
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
December 4, 2006
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi
Kaneshiro for Peter Chan's Ci Ma Remake
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 28, 2006
Peter Chan Talks Future Projects -
PROTÉGÉ, BLOOD BROTHER Remake and More of THE EYE Series
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
April 13, 2006
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Directed by |
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Peter CHAN |
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Writing credits |
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Peter CHAN (?) |
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Cast |
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Jet LI |
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Ma Xinyi |
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Takeshi
KANESHIRO |
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ZHANG Wenxiang |
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Andy LAU |
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CAO Erhu |
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XU Jinglei |
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Mi Lan |
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Produced by |
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Peter CHAN
Andre MORGAN |
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Cinematography
by |
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Arthur WONG |
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Production
design |
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YEE Chung-Man |
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Action director |
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CHING Siu-Tung |
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Production by |
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Media Asia |
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China
Film Group |
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Morgan & Chan |
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