[Trailer] The Warlords

I was lucky enough to see The Warlords some time ago. I think it is almost two years old and just now getting a US release. It is a pretty good historical piece that is not a wuxia film but rather a war film. Li’s character is different from what we are used to which is a nice change of pace. The film focuses on the imagery of chaos more than the oft-staged hyper-stylized imagery of color and contrast of a lot of the recent Chinese cinema cross-overs use.

“The Warlords” and John Woo’s Red Cliff may be ushering in a era of Chinese war classics – to screen – to the West.

Plot Summary: “Warlords” is set in the midst of war and political upheaval during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s. Jet Li stars as General Pang, who after a surviving a massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu (Lau) and Wu Yang (Kaneshiro). After fighting back attackers from an helpless village, the three men take an oath to become “blood brothers,” pledging loyalty to one another until death, but things quickly turn sour and the three men become embroiled in a web of political deceit, and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan (Wu Jing-Lei). – ComingSoon.net

If one would like an impressive resume:

Awards and nominations
27th Hong Kong Film Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director (Peter Chan)
* Won: Best Actor (Jet Li)
* Won: Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong)
* Won: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung-Man, Yi Zheng-Zhou, Pater Wong)
* Won: Best Costume and Makeup Design (Yee Chung-Man, Jessie Dai, Lee Pik-Kwan)
* Won: Best Sound Design (Sunit Asvinikul, Nakorn Kositpaisal)
* Won: Best Visual Effects (Ng Yuen-Fai)
* Nominated: Best Actor (Andy Lau)
* Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Chan Kwong-Wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Leon Ko)
* Nominated: Best Film Editing (Wenders Li)
* Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Ching Siu-Tung)

45th Golden Horse Awards

* Won: Best Film
* Won: Best Director (Peter Chan)
* Won: Best Visual Effects (Eddy Wong, Victor Wong, Ken Law)
* Nominated: Best Actor (Jet Li)
* Nominated: Best Original Screenplay (Xu Lan, Chun Tin Nam, Aubrey Lam, Huang Jian-Xin, Jojo Hui, He Ji Ping, Guo Jun Li, James Yuen)
* Nominated: Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong)
* Nominated: Best Film Editing (Wenders Li)
* Nominated: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung -Man, Yi Zheng-Zhou, Pater Wong)
* Nominated: Best Makeup & Costume Design (Yee Chung -Man, Jessie Dai, Lee Pik-Kwan)
* Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Ching Siu-Tung)
* Nominated: Best Sound Effects (Sunit Asvinikul, Nakorn Kositpaisal)
* Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Chan Kwong-Wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Leon Ko)

2nd Asian Film Awards

* Won: Best Visual Effects (Ng Yuen Fai)
* Nominated: Best Film
* Nominated: Best Director (Peter Chan)
* Nominated: Best Actor (Jet Li)
* Nominated: Best Cinematographer (Arthur Wong)
* Nominated: Best Editor (Wenders Li)

Opens April 2 in the US. Below is an embed to an older youtube video as well as a link to Apple’s exclusive to the new US trailer.

Apple Exclusive.