The Warlords

by **pangjasmine** Sat Dec 08, 2007 12:18 pm

This is an movie that changed the perception of what foreigners had thought of ASIA/N.

Movie Name : The Warlords
Director : Peter Chan
Release Date : 13 December 2007 (Malaysia)
Genre : Action
Language : Mandarin
Main casts : Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu

Trailer

SYNOPSIS :
The Warlords, previously known as The Blood Brothers (simplified Chinese: 投名状; traditional Chinese: 投名狀), is a 2007 Chinese / Hong Kong martial arts / drama film directed by Peter Chan and starring Andy Lau, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be released on 13 December 2007 simultaneously in most of Asia, except Japan where it will screen later.
The film is set in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty in China.The film is set in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty in China. The story, based on an unresolved crime, tells of three sworn brothers (played by Andy Lau, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro) who turn against one another over a beautiful woman (Xu Jinglei).

Cast

* Andy Lau as Cao Erhu
* Jet Li as Ma Xinyi
* Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhang Wenxiang
* Xu Jinglei as Mi Lan

Director's thought :
The film was originally titled The Blood Brothers (simplified Chinese: 刺马; traditional Chinese: 刺馬). Director Peter Chan said it was influenced by the late Chang Cheh's 1973 film The Blood Brothers, but denied that it is a remake. He also decided to change the title to The Warlords in order to avoid confusion.(Note that there is another Chinese film with the English title Blood Brothers released in mid-2007.)

When asked why he chose to move away from his familiar turf of romance films, Chan said that The Warlords is actually not a martial arts film at its heart, though it contains elements of the martial arts. He added that he had made a wish to make a film depicting men's affections after watching John Woo's 1986 film A Better Tomorrow over twenty years ago, and has now finally gotten the chance.His goal is thus to "lead [his] audience to reclaim [the same kind of passion]" as in A Better Tomorrow, which he said is lacking in recent films.

Shooting began in early December 2006 in Beijing. Many outdoor scenes were shot in Beijing, Shanghai and the town of Hengdian in Zhejiang province.

The film ran into copyright troubles on 19 March 2007 when Chinese artist Wang Kewei filed a lawsuit against the film company for using his work in the promotional artworks without his consent. Wang claimed that in a short promotional video shown during a press conference held on 11 December 2006 in Beijing, the film company used ten pieces of his work with minor alterations. The film company has not given an official response.

Production of The Warlords officially wrapped up on 28 March 2007.Post-production work will be divided among Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Bangkok.