Ancient China was very rich in culture, tradition and its dynasties. It’s not strange then that it makes good material for epic movies. Ancient Chinese movies are a treasure yet to be uncovered by Hollywood. There have been some Hollywood Chinese movies based in Ancient China but they have been few and far apart.
Below is a chronicle of some of the ancient Chinese movies distributed in Hollywood.
Red Cliff
Its a historical movie pertaining to the later stages of Han dynasty where the warlords fight for control of the state of China. Then Ancient China gets divided into three kingdoms and they are ruled by three separate men namely Cao Cao, Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The movie sticks to authentic detail and recounts of a particular episode of the battle between Cao Cao and Liu Bei. The film concentrates on battle strategy and has room for many battle sequences.
Butterfly Lovers
This film is based on the famous ancient Chinese legend of the same name. The movie is a boy-girl duo who are opposed to each other but eventually fall in love. They somehow die tragically but then start their journey of transcending into butterflies to be reunited forever. In this movie, they meet for the third time only to be parted again. But they live together through eternity as butterflies.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The film is based on the fourth book in a pentalogy known as the crane iron pentalogy. The title of the film is taken from a Chinese proverb which means that there are two aspects of an individual. One aspect of the normal person gets exposed and the other one remains hidden. This hidden part of the individual gets outlet through the many relationships he/she has with others.
It is one of the best movies based in ancient China.
Forbidden Kingdom
This movie brought together on screen Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It is a story of a teenage American who by mistake gets hold of an ancient Chinese stick and then travels back in time to ancient China. There he becomes part of an army in mutiny and desperate to get their former king back to the throne. This movie has won accolades for its correct description of ancient China.
The Curse of the Golden Flower
This movie based on ancient China is about the Tang Dynasty. It’s a prolific account of the Emperor and the Empress, who was from the neighboring state. She even has a relationship with the heir to the throne who is her stepson. While her own faithful son is worried about her health and obsession with yellow chrysanthemums, the emperor weaves entire control over the family and the state.
An Empress and the Warriors
This is a movie based in ancient China during the rule of the warring states. It is also very romantic in its narration of how two men fight for the love of a single and very powerful woman in Ancient China. The woman builds up an army at the behest of her now dead father and takes control of the state.