Hero
1 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
What critics thought
Zhang Yimou's wuxia epic earned near-universal admiration for its ravishing cinematography, choreography, and the emotional intensity of its performers — but the film's political undercurrent proved genuinely divisive. Many critics treated it as a pinnacle of the martial arts genre, while a vocal minority argued that its climactic endorsement of centralized power amounted to an apologia for autocracy, comparing its ideology to propaganda filmmaking. That tension — between undeniable visual beauty and a conclusion that validates the tyrant's logic — is what gives the film its afterlife as a conversation piece.
“Filled with meticulous set pieces, including a showdown between Snow and Moon set among swirls of golden-yellow leaves, Hero is easy on the eyes, but it's too segmented to gather much momentum and too art-directed to convey much urgency”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“The movie, spectacular as it is, in the end confronts what must be called the tyrant's creed, and declares itself in agreement with the tyrant”
Stephen Hunter·The Washington Post
“its state-approved story of unification feels like a sellout, no matter how ravishing it is”
Scott Tobias·The A.V. Club
“A dazzlingly lensed, highly stylized meditation on heroism”
Derek Elley·Variety
Genres
Action, Adventure, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorZhang Yimou
StarringJet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi
ComposerTan Dun
Hero
1 Oscar Nominations
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
What critics thought
Zhang Yimou's wuxia epic earned near-universal admiration for its ravishing cinematography, choreography, and the emotional intensity of its performers — but the film's political undercurrent proved genuinely divisive. Many critics treated it as a pinnacle of the martial arts genre, while a vocal minority argued that its climactic endorsement of centralized power amounted to an apologia for autocracy, comparing its ideology to propaganda filmmaking. That tension — between undeniable visual beauty and a conclusion that validates the tyrant's logic — is what gives the film its afterlife as a conversation piece.
“Filled with meticulous set pieces, including a showdown between Snow and Moon set among swirls of golden-yellow leaves, Hero is easy on the eyes, but it's too segmented to gather much momentum and too art-directed to convey much urgency”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“The movie, spectacular as it is, in the end confronts what must be called the tyrant's creed, and declares itself in agreement with the tyrant”
Stephen Hunter·The Washington Post
“its state-approved story of unification feels like a sellout, no matter how ravishing it is”
Scott Tobias·The A.V. Club
“A dazzlingly lensed, highly stylized meditation on heroism”
Derek Elley·Variety
Genres
Action, Adventure, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorZhang Yimou
StarringJet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi
ComposerTan Dun
Rent/Purchase