Curse of the Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower (Chinese: 满城尽带黄金甲) is a 2006 Chinese epic wuxia drama film written and directed by Zhang Yimou. The Mandarin Chinese title of the movie is taken from the last line of the Qi dynasty poem written by the rebel leader Huang Chao who had revolted against the Tang dynasty.
| Curse of the Golden Flower | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Traditional Chinese | 滿城盡帶黃金甲 |
| Simplified Chinese | 满城尽带黄金甲 |
| Literal meaning | The entire city is full of golden armor |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Mǎnchéng jìndài huángjīnjiǎ |
| Directed by | Zhang Yimou |
| Written by | Zhang Yimou |
| Based on | Thunderstorm by Cao Yu (play) and Shakespeare's Hamlet |
| Produced by | William Kong Zhang Weiping Zhang Yimou |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Zhao Xiaoding |
| Music by | Shigeru Umebayashi |
Production company | Edko Film |
| Distributed by | Beijing New Picture Film Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $78,568,977 |
With a budget of US$45 million, it was at the time of its release the most expensive Chinese film to date, surpassing Chen Kaige's The Promise. It was chosen as China's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the year 2006, but did not receive the nomination. The film was nominated for Costume Design. In 2007 it received fourteen nominations at the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards and won Best Actress for Gong Li, Best Art Direction, Best Costume and Make Up Design and Best Original Film Song for "菊花台" (Chrysanthemum Terrace) by Jay Chou.
The plot is based on Cao Yu's 1934 play Thunderstorm (雷雨 pinyin: Léiyǔ), but is set in the Imperial court in ancient China.