Hero | 
 enlarge | Director: Yimou Zhang
Actors: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Daoming Chen
Studio: Miramax
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $2.40
You Save: $12.59 (84%)
New (60) Used (79) Collectible (8) from $2.40
Rating:  307 reviews
Sales Rank: 1480
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Cantonese (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 786936259223
UPC: 786936259223
EAN: 0786936259223
ASIN: B00030590I
Theatrical Release Date: August 27, 2004
Release Date: November 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: **NO ARTWORK - NEW BLANK CASE** Guaranteed to play. Normal case wear with stickers, very slight scratches. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Director Zhang Yimou brings the sumptuous visual style of his previous films (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to the high-kicking kung fu genre. A nameless warrior (Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Once Upon a Time in China) arrives at an emperor's palace with three weapons, each belonging to a famous assassin who had sworn to kill the emperor. As the nameless man spins out his story--and the emperor presents his own interpretation of what might really have happened--each episode is drenched in red, blue, white or another dominant color. Hero combines sweeping cinematography and superb performances from the cream of the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, Irma Vep, Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, In the Mood for Love, Hard Boiled; and Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The result is stunning, a dazzling action movie with an emotional richness that deepens with every step. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Set in China's past, before the first emperor, the film tells the story of a town magistrate who is summoned by the king of Qin to tell the story of how he defeated those who plotted to kill him.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 2-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD
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| Customer Reviews: Read 302 more reviews...
 Truly beautiful June 29, 2008
B. George (SA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This one of the most truly beautiful movies I have laid my eyes on. And not just from a visual feast, but the musical score by Tan Dun and epic storyline all together makes for a remarkable, unique combination. The clever use of different colours with the martial arts in different moods of the movie was breathtaking. Its one of those rare gems that can be watched many times and gives a cleansing effect to the soul.
My favorite of the new martial arts flicks. June 23, 2008
B. Nallick (Mpls, MN)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Crouching Tiger was awesome, this one is even better.
A superb story line, great acting, and excellent directing make Hero one of the best foreign films I have seen.
Beautiful to watch, the special effects are jaw dropping good.
Do yourself a favor and rent this, just make sure you watch it with the subtitles on as the English voiceovers are horrid.
Recommended!!!!!!
Overall, excellent movie June 18, 2008
Patricia Pierce
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Complex storyline, engaging characters, beautiful cinematography, action galore, this is perhaps the best action movie ever made. LOVE the way color is used in this film to set the mood and establish points of view.
 Glorifying Fascism June 8, 2008
Emil Sinclair (San Francisco, CA)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Zhang Yimou lost whatever credibility he possessed by making this film, which glorifies the Chinese ideology of totalitarianism. Hero attempts to portray the Qin emperor Shi Huang Di (Ying Zheng) as some kind of benevolent philosopher-king and downplays the enormous suffering and death caused by his selfish war of conquest. In actuality, Ying practiced a brutal form of national government called legalism, which ancient Chinese scholars considered especially barbaric, and in a testament to its unpopularity, his dynasty lasted only 11 years. Moreover, the Yan assassin Jing Ke perished because he failed to kill Ying and not because he chose to sacrifice himself in favor of some fallacious notion of prosperity under the banner of forced unity. Lastly, despite the chaos and upheaval, the Warring States period was noted for its social, economic, and intellectual vibrancy, in which the Qin contributed little.
Artistically, the film suffers from a narrative morass and does a terrible job of imitating Rashomon. It relies too heavily upon computer-generated special effects and hence lacks the intense physicality of well-crafted wuxia films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero is the 21st century's version of Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will, metaphorical justifications for the oppression of the weak and innocent at the hands of their self-serving leaders.
People just don't get the story.... May 5, 2008
Chet Lee (Los Angeles, CA United States)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
It is really frustrating reading the reviews on this movie.
**SPOILERS**
If you haven't watched the movie, go watch it. If you don't get it because the translations are so bad, then you can come read this and watch it again. IF you still don't get it, email me...
**SPOILERS**
First of all, this IS a martial arts movie. For anybody who has spent any serious time study martial arts, martial arts isn't just about kicking and punching. With particular attention to Chinese martial arts, martial arts is very much more about the lifelong pursuit of peace. There is a graduation from being the fastest, strongest, most able to destroy, focusing on the narcissistic self, to being a sacrificial humble person who seeks to spread morality through influence rather than the sword.
The first "mind" fighting scene should be a HUGE clue into what's coming. That martial arts is performed more in the mind than with the body.
Next, I read a lot of people talking about the "fantasy" like aspect of the movie. This is in tradition of many of the literary novels of this period. The whole movie is about what is going on in the minds of people. It is the perfect for that purpose.
As far as the "Dances" and all this, it is so frustrating what I read on the reviews here. The characters who are fighting with each other, if nothing else, have deep respect for each other. As the stories are retold, they are being retold with admiration and respect for their peers. The point of the sequences are one to be a retelling of a story, and two, to speak of those that they respect. They aren't supposed to be "real".
And for those that hate the ending, well, I guess you haven't seen too many asian movies... Asian movies don't use Disney endings. The movies are meant to have impact, not give you a good feeling.
Further, for those that think that the last guy standing is the "good guy" in the movie, you need to start being able to see something and make your own decisions about what is right or wrong despite what you see or is told to you.
This is not a propaganda movie either, as history did show, a lot of good did come from this temporary unity, however its cost was terrible. Further, the asian audience, for whom the movie is made, know too well the history of this Emperor. Besides most already know about the real life account on the attempted assassination of the Emperor and know that this is not really what the story is about.
I really enjoyed this movie, not just because it is pretty, but because of the message it is trying to show. I mean, who is the real hero? Who was the most powerful? Who never got it? Who DID get it?
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