Hero

Grimster74

I can't beleive no one has posted anything on this movie yet. I purchased it yesterday but have not watched it yet. I'm hoping to get around to seeing this tonight. I'll repost as soon as I see it.

gmorris

I went to Blockbuster last night after work to pick this up, along with SpiderMan 2. Needless to say, those assclowns at Blockbuster only had about 20 copies of Hero, all of which were of course rented by the time I got there. I was able to pick up Spiderman 2 because they must have had 900 copies.

Demiurge

I posted about it in another thread and I did pick it up yesterday. It's an awesome movie, IMO, but I can see how some people might not like the story line all that much. Great visuals and it's just an all around good movie, IMO.

reeltrouble1

Hmmm........... saw it on sale at my local Wal-mart for under 15.00, considered it but passed for the moment, it said it was in both chinese and english sound tracks, now I do enjoy a good martial arts flick, and did like Crouching Tiger, is it something along those lines, is it going to be like Godzilla where the actors are speaking Japanese but English is dubbed into the film, except in case Chinese?

dlew308

just pick the chinese soundtrack and eng subs

begbie

Originally posted by Grimster74
I can't beleive no one has posted anything on this movie yet........

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21445&highlight=hero

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11281&highlight=hero

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19018&highlight=hero

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23858&highlight=hero

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/showcase/view.php?userid=33363

Enjoy !!!

Billm57

there was a thread here awhile back on it. I have had the region 3 copy of this since last spring. Its an excellent movie. From the few reviews I have read on the reg 1 release is that the vid quality not all that hot.

datalogik

Hero has been out for over 2 years, but was not released in the U.S until recently.

I've had the foreign DVD which was in some Chinese language, but it had English subs. It truely was an amazing movie.

mantis

I own it and haven't watched it yeat. I plan on it tonight or one night this week.

Toxis

probably the best display of motion picture art to date IMO. Phenominal picture and sound quality! Well worth the bucks...

audiobliss

I saw just two scenes of this, but I'm hooked!! I love action stuff like Steven Seagall, Arnold Swartzenegger, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stalone......I'm glad I have now been introduced to Jet Li.....great martial arts....

gmorris

I finally got to see this last night.

I think the term I'm looking for here is "Cinematography", or whatever term is used to describe the scenery. It was just awesome. I've never been aware of color in a movie this much.

The sound was also tremendous. The occasional low bass effect was well placed, and not boomy mush. Surround channels were also very active, a plus in my book. The scene when the two women (Flying Snow & Moon, I think) are fighting in the forrest with yellow leaves on the trees is just great as far as surround usage.

BUT, as great as the visual effects & sound effects were, I think the movie itself was a little lame. I am not a fan of artsy fartsy movies, and I make no apologies for it. I like brainless action films as much as the next red meat eating American.

Sure, the underlying story was touching, heroic, and so on. But, to me, the movie was a little boring. Great action scenes a great movie does not make.

And it was too short. But, overall very entertaining, and I do recommend it as a rental.

landry_p2000

BUT, as great as the visual effects & sound effects were, I think the movie itself was a little lame.
Sure, the underlying story was touching, heroic, and so on. But, to me, the movie was a little boring. Great action scenes a great movie does not make.And it was too short. But, overall very entertaining, and I do recommend it as a rental. [/B]

Agreed. I have yet to finish this film. I keep falling asleep. Beautiful scenery and cinematography. The storyline ?......:eek:
I want to own QTs movies anyway, so I am not mad about the purchase. Still got to get Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.:)

jdhdiggs

Thank you Landry and Gmorris. I was really pumped to see this movie but was sorely dissapointed by the pacing and execution of the plot.

One other complaint would be to make the fight scenes a little less "magical" and it would have brought me into the movie much more. I mean, when you make matrix fight scenes look realistic by comparison, you have some issues. (Not all scenes were like this, but several were)

begbie

This movie isn't for everyone. If you're expecting wall to wall action than this movie isn't for you. Guess you can blame Miramax studios for how they marketed this movie. :mad:

Anyways, I liked the "magical" feel, there's enough reality out for there for me. So coming into a film that represents a different time and place is a welcome.

This story is non-linear told and more of a"roshomon" style. The plot is refreshing and had unexpected twists from beginning to end.

I too thought it was "artsy-fartsy" but after multiple viewings, it went further that that - the simple yet profound storyline, the symbolism, the haunting musical score, the conviction the actors portrayed, the Eastern philosophy present in the film.

All in all, a blockbuster world-wide; critcally acclaimed; among the top 250 movies of all time voted by fans (imdb); a cult like status before it finally was recognized from it's American distributor;.... and a foreign movie w/english subtitles that topped the box office for two weekends in a row arcoss N.America - not bad at all.

Oh yeah....if you look closely at the credits you'll see who really directed it !!

dcarlson

I watched it a few times and saw it in the theatre. I liked the movie very much. It was great that it wasn't mindless watching rather thought provoking.

It's a joke that Tarantino's name was attached to it.

Ron-P

Bought this blind and really enjoyed it. It ended too soon, wished it was longer. Very well done. Here's looking forward to "The House of Flying Daggers".

PhantomOG

Originally posted by landry_p2000
Agreed. I have yet to finish this film. I keep falling asleep. Beautiful scenery and cinematography. The storyline ?......:eek:
I want to own QTs movies anyway, so I am not mad about the purchase. Still got to get Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.:)

this is not a QT movie. as much as I do like his movies I can't stand the fact that somehow his name gets attached to this movie. it really pisses me off because it is like he is taking credit for someone else's work.

like i said, i do like his movies, but i lost alot of respect for him for taking credit for foreign films that he had squat to do with.

gmorris

Originally posted by PhantomOG
this is not a QT movie. as much as I do like his movies I can't stand the fact that somehow his name gets attached to this movie. it really pisses me off because it is like he is taking credit for someone else's work.

like i said, i do like his movies, but i lost alot of respect for him for taking credit for foreign films that he had squat to do with.

Good point, but why is his name assosciated with this movie? All I can figure is he had something to do with the movie coming to this country. Or did he have something to do with the actual production? (I'm guessing he did not)

landry_p2000

Originally posted by PhantomOG
this is not a QT movie. as much as I do like his movies I can't stand the fact that somehow his name gets attached to this movie. it really pisses me off because it is like he is taking credit for someone else's work.

like i said, i do like his movies, but i lost alot of respect for him for taking credit for foreign films that he had squat to do with.

Oops! My bad. I just went by what I read on the cover of the dvd. Why would he put "Quentin Tarantino presents" on the front of the dvd if he had no part in this movie?

PhantomOG

i don't know the whole story, i think it has something to do with him somehow being in the process of the U.S. release. i'm pretty sure he had absolutely no part whatsoever in making the movie.

i'm sure the company that released it in the U.S. also doesn't mind attaching a well-known name to a movie just to grab people's attention, even though that name has nothing to do with the movie whatsoever. it is deceitful and should not have been done. if i was the director of the movie i don't think i would have allowed it to happen, but i guess the almighty dollar is most important.

landry_p2000

Originally posted by PhantomOG
i don't know the whole story, i think it has something to do with him somehow being in the process of the U.S. release. i'm pretty sure he had absolutely no part whatsoever in making the movie.

i'm sure the company that released it in the U.S. also doesn't mind attaching a well-known name to a movie just to grab people's attention, even though that name has nothing to do with the movie whatsoever. it is deceitful and should not have been done. if i was the director of the movie i don't think i would have allowed it to happen, but i guess the almighty dollar is most important.

I had no idea that was the case!:o He shouldn't be allowed to do that. The thing that bothers me the most is that it had me fooled as well as many others. Thanks for the info guys. I still don't want to take anything from him as a director. :eek:
Who is the guy that actually directed this film?

PhantomOG

directred by Zhang Yimou , an accomplished director and one that doesn't need QT's name to release a film in the U.S.

if only the U.S. studios felt the same way.

gmorris

Originally posted by PhantomOG
directred by Zhang Yimou , an accomplished director and one that doesn't need QT's name to release a film in the U.S.

if only the U.S. studios felt the same way.

If Tarantino's name was shamelessly plastered on this movie for the purpose of having a known directors name assosciated with the movie, I can understand that. I've never heard of Zhang Yimou.

Although, I would have still watched the movie if Tanatino's name had not been tied to it, just based on the previews I saw on the boob tube. The previews looked cool. That would have been enough for me. But you have to admit, that by having Tarantino's name (no matter how inappropriately) attached to the movie, it gave the movie more appeal to a broader American audience.

PhantomOG

i guess it just depends on whether you think the ends justify the means.

i think it is a good thing that more people saw the movie, but do no think it is good that alot of those people will credit QT with the work. in fact, that more people saw it is the *only* good thing i can think of.

begbie

Here's the jist of it.

HERO was fresh off the press in late 2002 but was submitted for Oscar eligibilty that same year with virtually no marketing behind it. It didn't screen at your local multiplex, only a handfull of critics seen it at maybe one movie festival and Miramax spent more on promotions with their other foreign movie "Pinnochio" starring Roberto Benieni - remember that stinker ?

HERO had more going for it than just the Foreign Film award, there was Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Score, even Best supporting actor for Tony Leung ?! It all goes unnoticed if you don't promote it.

When it didn't win the Best Foreign Film award, Harvey Weinstein (Miramax) gave up on it and delayed its release 3-5 times, wanted to rename the movie "Jet Li's HERO" instead of just "HERO", and wanted to cut another 10-15 minutes from an already trimmed movie !

After Kill Bill 2 took HERO's release date last April, a lot of fans were pissed off at that and somehow that message got to Tarantino.

When Quentin saw the film he loved it, calling it a masterpeice. Though Miramax still didn't know how to market it and wanted to "Americanize" it. Quentin said not to cut up the movie and if he could help than he would allow his name on it to get better notice.

It helped and HERO became a sleeper hit in the late summer.

Even though it never got chopped up, HERO did go through some changes for its American debut- notably is the subtitling , it's trailer that lead to believe it was brain dead action flick, and the continued use of Quentin's name on the dvd cover without the real director's name "Zhang Yimou" !!! :mad:

begbie

Oh and one more thing about the Miramax trailer- the major spoiler that told you Jet li was on a mission to kill the King.

A major twist that turns the movie upside down and spins the tale of truths and lies against each other ---- was given away ! :mad:

dorokusai

Originally posted by PhantomOG
directred by Zhang Yimou , an accomplished director and one that doesn't need QT's name to release a film in the U.S.

if only the U.S. studios felt the same way.

Unfortunately, the majority of Americans aren't cultured enough in movie genre to identify to something foreign unless a known name is attached to it....it's nothing new however.

I've requested it for a X-Mas gift, and look forward to watching it very much.

P.S. And that is based on this forums recommendation alone, not Quentin Tarantino's, ha!

landry_p2000

Well guys, I have to eat my words. This movie was a lot better than I thought it to be. I was able to finally watch it all the way through last night. I am truly impressed. This was a pretty good movie. I was able to pay better attention to the story, and like mentioned earlier there were a lot of twists and turns to this film. I would tell anyone this one is worth owning. I WAS WRONG!:o

If getting QTs name on it helped, what the hell. It certainly made me go get it.:D

Jstas

I actualy saw this on a friend's Japanese DVD. He brought it to work and we had it running while working. It was quite good although all the different stories got confusing and hard to keep straight. Some impressive cinematics though! Defintly a must-see and a very serious consideration for owning.

Toxis

Originally posted by Jstas
I actualy saw this on a friend's Japanese DVD. He brought it to work and we had it running while working. It was quite good although all the different stories got confusing and hard to keep straight. Some impressive cinematics though! Defintly a must-see and a very serious consideration for owning.

probably confusing seeing you were at work and didn't give it your 100% attention. Give it another go at home sometime and you'll see it's not that bad.