Brotherhood of Blades

Brotherhood of Blades (Chinese: 绣春刀; pinyin: Xiùchūndāo) is a 2014 Chinese wuxia film directed by Lu Yang.[3]

Brotherhood of Blades
Directed byLu Yang
Produced by
Written by
  • Chen Shu
  • Lu Yang
Starring
Music byNathan Wang[1]
CinematographyHan Qiming[1]
Edited by
  • Zhu Liyun
  • Tu Yiran[1]
Release date
  • 7 August 2014 (2014-08-07)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
CountryChina[1]
LanguageMandarin
Budget¥30 million
Box office¥93.37 million[2]

Its sequel, Brotherhood of Blades 2 was released on August 11, 2017.

Plot

The film is set in 1627, towards the end of the Ming dynasty, when a young emperor decides to end the influence of all-powerful eunuch Wei (Chin Shih-chieh) and purge his supporters. Caught in the midst of the intrigue are three lowly cash-strapped warriors from the Imperial Assassins, the secret police, who are given orders to find and kill Wei.[4]

Cast

Production

The story of Brotherhood of Blades was written by director Lu Yang and Chen Shu.[1] The script was already completed by the time of Yu's debut feature My Spectacular Theatre released in 2010.[1] The film received funding only after Chang Chen had committed to the role of Shen Lian.[1] The film received RMB30 million (US$5 million) from China Film and was shot in 67 days.[1]

Release

Brotherhood of Blades was released in on August 7, 2014 in China.[1] Derek Elley of Film Business Asia wrote that the film was shown "with relatively little fanfare and a poor marketing campaign that harmed its box office in a strong field".[1] At the end of its run, the film has earned ¥90 million ($14 million) in China.[5]

The film was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in October 2014.[6]

Reception

Derek Elley of Film Business Asia gave the film an eight out of ten rating, calling it a "Top-notch martial-arts drama boasts a meaty script and performances to match" and "the most satisfying Chinese wuxia movie since Reign of Assassins"[1]

Film and arts writer Philippa Hawker of Sydney Morning Herald gave the film 4.5 out of 5, praising the movie as "a gripping, entertaining martial arts drama in which the cut-and-thrust of the narrative is as important as the swordplay action. It's a film of plot twists and turns and moral ambiguities punctuated with combat scenes, an ensemble piece with strong performances and an involving storyline."[4]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014
51st Golden Horse Awards[7]
 Best Actor Chang Chen Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Chin Shih-chieh Nominated
Best Editing Zhu Li Yun, Tu Yi Ran Nominated
Best Costume Design Liang Ting Ting Won
Best Action Design Sang Lin Nominated

References
  1. Elley, Derek (22 September 2014). "Brotherhood of Blades". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  2. "绣春刀 （2014）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  3. 绣春刀 (2014). movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. Hawker, Philippa (4 November 2014). "Brotherhood of Blades review: Ming Dynasty musketeers on a mission". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  5. Kevin Ma (12 August 2014). "Witch tops second weekend in China". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  6. Ma, Kevin (6 September 2014). "China Lion picks up Breakup Buddies". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  7. Kim, June (23 November 2014). "The 51st Golden Horse Awards Nominations Announced". MTime News. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
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