Chen Kaige's "The Promise", kung-fu epic has opene

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Dec 2005, 18:02

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417976/

Its meant to get a US wide release on 19 December, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe

jimmyscab · Post by **jimmyscab** » 15 Dec 2005, 19:25

what the hell, out already ?

I thought it was still being filmed. Nice one, cant wait to see it.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Dec 2005, 19:44

Did you know its the most expensive film in Chinese film history (I think), the budget is about US$42m.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 15 Dec 2005, 19:49

The film will be cut to sheds by miramax.
I plan to wait for the DVD.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Dec 2005, 20:11

Do you know thats true or are you just speculating?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 15 Dec 2005, 20:32

I don't think it will be cut.
Chen Kaige is supervising the distribution himself.

Has anybody seen the amazing 11-minute montage that was shown in Cannes ? 8)

Here's the eDonkey link for those who are equipped:

ed2k://|file|The%20Promise%20-%2011-Minute%20Cannes%20Teaser.wmv|64941498|9A9F178E47E2903894E76CB42CD46F20|/

jimmyscab · Post by **jimmyscab** » 15 Dec 2005, 22:09

thanks for the link !

real excited about watching it.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 15 Dec 2005, 22:17

Here's another link:

http://www.megaupload.com/fr/?d=TS23MEEH
(can't guarantee that it works)

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Dec 2005, 17:10

Is this the one where Cecilia Cheung was supposed to be going topless?

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 16 Dec 2005, 17:41

Yep!

jimmyscab · Post by **jimmyscab** » 16 Dec 2005, 17:44

woah !! first ive heard about that ! Now im really excited - oooo yeah.

Downloaded the 11 min thing from megaupload, unfortunately it was megaslow. But when it did finish it was corrupted !

Still got it on emule but hanst moved all day, it was fast yesterday.

I did download the HK trailer from Monkeypeaches, it looks a bit too much of a CG fest - Legend of Zu anyone ?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Dec 2005, 17:48

Is this the one where Cecilia Cheung was supposed to be going topless?

jimmyscab · Post by **jimmyscab** » 16 Dec 2005, 18:21

yes please.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Dec 2005, 23:28

I wonder if we'll get to see her raspberries?

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 19 Dec 2005, 18:06

I damn well hope we do! We've been waiting a long time!

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Dec 2005, 09:05

If its out in the US now, when is the HK DVD out?

(If Miramax has the film it will probably be cut by 20 mins)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 29 Dec 2005, 09:46

What do you know, the film will be cut by 20 minutes!

The people who are brining Chen Kaige's "The Promise" to the West have convinced Kaige himself that his film "came with problems" and they "offered solutions."

Here are the apparent answers to those nasty problems the film has:

The film's title will be changed from "The Promise" to "MASTER OF THE CRIMSON ARMOR."*

The film's running time will be cut about over 20 minutes from it's original 2 hours.

The film's beginning and ending have been altered.

People have been sent in to "help out" with the subtitles.

source: Variety

Please tell me us English speakers can get an uncut HK DVD

*WTF?

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 29 Dec 2005, 09:55

the film will be cut by 20 minutes !

Damn it. I stand corrected.

The film's title will be changed from "The Promise" to "MASTER OF THE CRIMSON ARMOR."*

Bah, in France it will be:
"Wu Ji, the legend of the knights in the wind" (that's how I translate it anyway).

I'm hoping for an uncut Chinese or HK DVD around mid-february.

-Hero, cut by 10 minutes.
-House of Flying Daggers, censored.
-Iron Monkey, cut and modified.
-Drunken Master 2, cut and rescored.
-Kung-Fu Hustle, censored.
-Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, dumbed-down subtitles.
-Wu Ji (The Promise), cut by 20 minutes and altered.

Do I detect a pattern in here somewhere ?
Bastards.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 29 Dec 2005, 10:25

Can you still get the R3 of CTHD with original subs?

BTW, I know you're going to lynch me for this, but I dont mind the CTHD DVD subs *that* much (can't remember the theatre ones).

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 29 Dec 2005, 10:35

Nope, the R3 has been replaced by a R3 Superbit that contains dumbed-down subtitles.

I dont mind the CTHD DVD subs *that* much

It still doesn't make it right.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 29 Dec 2005, 12:11

I never I said it did, still if my memory serves that subtitle translation (on the DVD) is the same (or pretty close) to the original English script. I'm just saying its not TOO bad.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 30 Dec 2005, 10:18

It sounds impossible, but The Promise is already out on DVD:

http://www.sensasian.com/view/product.cgi/EN/V12051C-D

Mainland DVD, No subs though.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 Dec 2005, 10:47

Surely that cant be official?!

Do you know when an HK DVD is out? I'd guess a few months down the line.

According to this ADVDG post, Miramax aren't going to distribute the film, however its too late as its already been cut.

http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=719

gojensen · Post by **gojensen** » 31 Dec 2005, 10:39

it's not miramax... never was... it's the new company run by those Weinsteins. Same shit, new wrapping...

Only brightside is that apparently Kaige supervised all the alterations.

Now, we really should set our blasters to kill and target those who "suggested" there were "problems" with the film.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 31 Dec 2005, 10:50

gojensen wrote:it's not miramax... never was... it's the new company run by those Weinsteins. Same shit, new wrapping...

Only brightside is that apparently Kaige supervised all the alterations.

Now, we really should set our blasters to kill and target those who "suggested" there were "problems" with the film.

Apparently, according to imdb.com, Harvey has stepped away/taken his hands of the movie. There were differences between the makers of The Promise and Harvey about how it should be distributed in the USA.
So that's very good news

Weinsteins Walk Away From Chinese Blockbuster

A dispute over how the big-budget Chinese film The Promise (Mo Gik) should be distributed in the U.S. has ended with the Weinstein Co. pulling out of the project. The film, directed by Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), which opened in China on Dec. 12, has already become the second-highest-grossing film in the country in history (behind Titanic). Reports indicated that Harvey Weinstein, however, saw little hope for the film achieving wide success in the U.S. and had argued for a more limited, art-house release, while the film's backers, Moonstone Entertainment and China Film Group, pressed for wide release and a large-scale Oscar campaign.

Bullets 'n' Babes

Chen Kaige's "The Promise", kung-fu epic has opene

Chen Kaige's "The Promise", kung-fu epic has opened in China