Let the Bullets Fly is a 2010
China-
Hon Kong co-production action comedy film written and directed by
Jiang Wen, based on a story by Ma ***u, a famous Sichuanese writer. The film is set in
Sichuan during the 1920s when the bandit Zhang (
Jiang Wen) descends upon a town posing as its new mayor. The film also stars
Chow Yun-fat,
Carina Lau,
Ge You,
Chen Kun and
Zhou Yun.
The film's script went through over thirty drafts before Jiang Wen was happy with it.
Let the Bullets Fly was originally to be released in September 2010 but was pushed back to December. With its two versions (one in Mandarin and one in Sichuanese), the film broke several box office records in Mainland China and Hong Kong, and has received critical acclaim, when it was released.
Let the Bullets Fly grossed 730 million
yuan (US$111.1 million) in
box office, becoming the highest grossing domestic film in China's cinematic history.
Set in China during the warring 1920s, the bandit "Pocky" Zhang Mazi (Jiang Wen) and the other bandits ambush a conman; Tang(Ge You） who is posing as the Governor Ma Bandage with his wife. Zhang then proceeds to Goosetown taking Tang's place as the local governor. Tang becomes his counselor, while Tang's wife poses as Zhang's wife. Zhang's aim at this position is opposed by local mobster Master Huang (Chow Yun Fat) who lives in his fortified citadel overlooking the town. While Tang is aware of Huang's previous financial arrangement with the town's former governor, Zhang is not interested in sharing his wealth with a crook he finds to be as unworthy as himself. A deadly mind game between Zhang and Huang ensues, with Master Six (Zhang's godson), Zhang's "wife", Two, and eventually Tang as casualties. Zhang wins in the end, by means of sedition and deception, ousting Huang by his own deception.
Director
Jiang Wen went over 30 drafts of the film's script.
Jiang Wu, stated he was offered the role in the film through a text message from JHe said that he got a text message from his brother, director Jiang Wen. Wen stated that he his brother "never picked any talentless person for his productions. So it is good to be chosen for work in a good team."
Parts of the filming were done in
Taishan, China。
Let the Bullets Fly was originally scheduled for a release in September 2010.
[7] This release date was nullified as a spokesperson for
Emperor Motion Pictures stated that "There is a lot of post-production to be done and it has to be done properly."
The film premiered in
Beijing on December 6, 2010 with wide-release in Mainland China on December 16.
Let the Bullets Fly was released in Hong Kong on January 13, 2011.
A Hollywood film studio have bought the rights to create an American
remake of
Let the Bullets Fly.
The film has become the highest grossing Chinese film, beating the record set by
Aftershock. Following James Cameron's
Avatar, this film is now the second highest grossing film ever released in China.
Let the Bullets Fly will have its American premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival in 2011. The festivals co-founder,
Martin Scorsese, had a private screening of the film in August 2010 during post-production when he was visiting Beijing with his family.
Let the Bullets Fly's opening midnight screenings have grossed at least one million yuan ($150,000), *** the film gain a new midnight opening record for Chinese-language films.
The film's opening day gross was $4.5 million (RMB30m), which did not break the opening day record set by
Feng Xiaogang's
Aftershock. By the weekend, the film's accumulated grossed reached $19.52 million (RMB130.18m) and it became the fastest local film to break the RMB100m mark.
Let the Bullets Fly earned a total of 400 million yuan (60 million dollars) in its first 11 days of release。
In China,
Let the Bullets Fly has won acclaim for story and dialogue as well as attracting criticism for its violence. Maggie Lee of
The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "unabashedly entertaining" though less tailored to film festivals than Wen's other works and the bottom line is that a "rollicking Chinese western directed with cinematic gumption."
Film Business Asia gave the film an eight out of ten rating, calling it a "richly entertaining Oriental Western anchored by a well-honed, ironic script and terrific performances."
Time Out Hong Kong called the acting "masterclass throughout" while noting that it may take a "native Chinese to fully appreciate."
The
Global Times gave the film a seven out of ten rating, calling it a "a nicely tense pace and with a compact storyline featuring enough genuine laughs" while stating that the role of
Jiang Wen "quickly becomes excessive and over-the-top".
The
Beijing Review praised the film, saying it had "a great deal more depth to it than the average Hong Kong shoot-'em-up" and that it was as "captivating to listen to as it is to watch".
China Dailyplaced the film on their list of the best ten Chinese films of 2010.
Twitch Fil praised the film's tone and the script, stating "What is most refreshing about this tried and tested formula is Jiang's decision to play his film for laughs, and the script is littered with pitch-black humour throughout.
周五 十月 14, 2011 12:28 pm