Curse of the Golden Flower

[Lady Rinoa]

Has anyone seen this movie yet? Awesome movie, I recommend it.

“One thousand years in the past, deep inside an imperial palace…exists a world where nothing is as it seems.”

“Gold and jade on the outside,
Rot and decay on the inside”

~It means beneath a beautiful exterior lies a dark and appalling truth.

A film about a flamboyant and extravagant period in China, all the glamour on the outside in which reflected an economic prosperity when such dynasties ruled; the regime was corrupt.

The story is very dark, it all happens in the imperial palace. However, it can be construed as a story about a feudal family.

“Feudalism” lasted for more than two thousand years in China. This culture evolved under extreme male domination. A story in when a time, men dominated society. Women were oppressed and there were repression of humanity.

As an emperor, you have dual personalities. You are the greatest and the strongest, but you will always be the loneliest. You will suffer the greatest defeat. That is your destiny. The higher you go, the lonelier you are. It is always colder at the top.

The empress is a tragic figure. In a male-dominating society, she is the central victim. For more than 10 years…she has to take the medicine every two hours. It would drive anyone crazy. She does not believe she’s is ill. It is a form of control and oppression…against another human being.

Even though she’s the Empress, she suffers the most. This story portrays first and most, a female victim. Also at the same time, it describes her rebellion. Glamorous and beautiful but no one knows what’s really inside.

Yes, I went all out in detail because these type of movies are worth it xD

[FFking]

No I haven't seen it but I have been looking for it without success. I think this film rocks...but not as much as 300

[Artorium]

I watched this movie in the cinima after you recomended that i did as you had seen it on dvd.
your write up is sopt on^^<3 and i love they way you described the familys situation in such a perfect way.
that the whole place is Gold and jade on the outside but Rot and decay on the inside. like the emporer said to the empress whilst mixing her medicine, that they play out there roles like a mask.
its very dark and sinister and usualy these type of movies dont appeal to me but for some reason this did. be it the way it looked so extravigant or what issues it covered it was art.
it realy convays feamle oppresion in such a way that you have to agknowledge the termiol.
i thought it was great and even though i would love to say i prefered flying daggers, you cant compare these two films or any other for that fact. it covers its own morals and issues.

[Larsa]

It was a very good movie but the english subtitles SUCKED BALLZ!!! I first saw it at the theater but then my father got it for me in China and the subtitles were much more accurate. I was also kind of disappointed because of when he made Hero. I thought that Hero was so much better than all his movies, esspecialy Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (you don't want to say you like that in China or they'll sink you to the floor. But the one thing that The Curse of the Golden Flower did do very good on was the culture of the people.

[Ragnarok]

Originally Posted by Larsa

But the one thing that The Curse of the Golden Flower did do very good on was the culture of the people.

It only portrayed the life of the Imperial family and the nobles. Peasant life was quite different.

The movie does have a wonderful theme and portrayed Imperial life somewhat accurate. Though the Empress' clothes were more European at some points then her native China. (Cleavage in Imperial China is a big no no!) Definately better then Hero but falls short on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Majestic execution of choreography but how it all went down in the end was a tad lackluster.

[Lady Rinoa]

Originally Posted by Ragnarok

Though the Empress' clothes were more European at some points then her native China. (Cleavage in Imperial China is a big no no!)

I did noticed it was a bit exaggerated, but honestly the whole movie was that way all around, extreme to the max which made it fantastic.

Originally Posted by Artorium

i thought it was great and even though i would love to say i prefered flying daggers, you cant compare these two films or any other for that fact. it covers its own morals and issues.

I absolutely adore that film House of Flying Daggers. another masterpiece indeed

[Larsa]

Originally Posted by Ragnarok

It only portrayed the life of the Imperial family and the nobles. Peasant life was quite different.

The movie does have a wonderful theme and portrayed Imperial life somewhat accurate. Though the Empress' clothes were more European at some points then her native China. (Cleavage in Imperial China is a big no no!) Definately better then Hero but falls short on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Majestic execution of choreography but how it all went down in the end was a tad lackluster.

Well I kind of saud that wrong. Here's what I meant to say- It really portrayed the culture of the imperial family.

[Blitzballer]

I picked it up a few weeks ago. I actually saw the trailer while i was siiting at the airport in Beijing and it looked stunning. After watching it, i think its an excellent movie as most people have said. I would have preferred more action but thats just my opinion- maybe it would have detracted from the plot

[Lady Rinoa]

More action? I thought it had enough for the story and events that it portrayed. Actually, this was more of a psychological thing; just done in a flamboyant way to make it look pretty. Twisted indeed.

[Blitzballer]

Dont get me wrong, i thouroughly enjoyed it!..xD

I thought Gong Li, beautiful woman, was outstanding. Zhang Yimou once again stuns and amazes with each passing frame. Theres so much intrigue going on between all of the characters mostly to do with the machinations of power play- an asian take on Shakespearean royal tragedy.

[Lady Rinoa]

Glad to see another soul to have methodically enjoyed such a great film. It deserves more appreciation from the public.

Gong Li said that it was so hard to wear those outfits because they were soo heavy and when they were going up the stairs, she almost fell backwards, lol.

[Blitzballer]

It did look ike she was having trouble didnt it?..Even before the daily 'medicine' she took every day...xD

[Ryder]

I saw it with a lady friend on friday and I have mixed opinions on it. I suppose I went there with the wrong sort of expectations after seeing Hero and House of flying daggers. I wanted to see some quality fighting scenes and while the one at the end was quite immense I think it overall failed to satisfy my lust for violence. The film more centered around the complex relationship of the family and I felt it took a long time to get going at all. Also, there was a lot of 'wtf?' sort of moments and incest much? Although since I was with a rather attractive young lady I just tried to dislodge something in her mouth with my tongue when I was bored. Speaking of that, I chose a pretty poor time to be playing tonsil hockey and missed the bit right at the end with the empress. I saw the drink go flying and then it burning but what exactly happened there?

[EoT]

I watched this on the weekend and I must say I was quite impressed. It was one of the better Asian movies I've seen in comparison to Heroes and The House of Flying Daggers. Though one thing I didn't enjoy was how much they dwelled on the empresses plan to kill the emperor and the fact that everyone hated him but honestly I didn't see alot of reason to hate him at all.