Latest Zhang Ziyi Movie - The Banquet

Another big budget historical Chinese movie in the vein of Hero and House of Flying Daggers will be premiering in September 2006. And its The Banquet (YeYan) !!

It stars Zhang Ziyi (Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha), Ge You, Daniel Wu, Zhou Xun(who starred as Huang Rong in the Chinese mainland version of Legend of Condor Heroes) and Huang Xiaoming (Yang Guo in the recent Return of the Condor Heroes) and directed by Feng Xiaogang who also directed the Andy Lau vehicle A World Without Thieves.

The story is a loose adaptation of the Shakespearen play Hamlet and is about how the the main protagonists which include the Emperor (Ge You), Empress (Zhang Ziyi), Crown Prince (Daniel Wu), The Minister (Ma JingWu) and The Minister's Son (Huang Xiao Ming) (hey almost everyone :-P), try to rid themselves of their enemies at a lavish royal banquet.

I am not sure how good the movie is but it will be competing in the 63rd Annual Venice Film Festival so it should be pretty good :-) The final edited full-length movie will be premiering on September 3 in Venice and will be about 2 hours and 10 minutes long.

Check out the trailer here and the gorgeous movie posters here (Both Chinese sites at Sina.com).
Check out the cool Official Site too (you need to have a fast internet connection though cos the site is really Flash heavy)!

The lavish costumes look great in the posters and pictures. Will need to see if the film can live up to the public's high expectations in about a month's time ;-)

[Picture from http://www.bfg9000.com/toede/archives/2006_03.php]

Tags:
Chinese Movie
Zhang Ziyi
The Banquet