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Audio Format: DD 5.1, DTS 5.1
Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic)
Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese
Subtitles: English, Chinese (T)
Region Code: ALL
Year Made: 2007
Running Time: 95
Release Date: 11/30/2007
Blood Brothers to close Venice
The biggest Chinese film of the summer is set to be one of the main events at this year's Venice Film Festival, where it is the closing night film on September 8. Blood Brothers, directed by Taiwanese music video director Alexi Tan in his feature film debut, stars Mandarin-language heavyweights Shu Qi, Liu Ye, and Chang Chen, as well as Chinese American superstar Daniel Wu and Taiwanese up-and-comer Tony Yang. Shot completely in Shanghai, the atmospheric thriller is at $10 million, one of the biggest productions in Taiwan history. And if all that isn't enticing enough, Blood Brothers is produced by the power duo of Terence Chang and John Woo, the team that brought us The Replacement Killers, The Corrupter, and of course, Woo-helmed classics like Hard Boiled and Face/Off.
Three childhood friends from the sticks climb the greasy pole of the '30s Shanghai underworld in "Blood Brothers," an enjoyable but lightly scripted crimer that plays like a sketch for a broader, more epic yarn. Shot through with references to John Woo (who produced) and Sergio Leone -- but rarely achieving the deep, tragic resonance of either -- it's still an impressive debut by Western-trained helmer Alexi Tan, a onetime stills-photographer who marshals his pan-Chinese star cast with visual aplomb.
Story is largely told as a flashback, as Feng (Daniel Wu) surveys a scene of carnage in snowy Shanghai -- a classic movie image referring to winter-set films of the time -- and asks in v.o.: "Why did we come to this place?"
The simple answer is: fame and fortune. But as the pic flips back a while, to show the trio in their home village of Zhujiajiao, close to Shanghai, it's clear they're very different characters. Feng is the principled romantic, who falls for pretty Su Zhen (Lulu Li, aka Li Xiaolu from "Xiu Xiu"); Kang (Mainland hunk Liu Ye) is the ambitious muscle, who protects family and friends; and Kang's kid brother, Hu (Taiwan's Tony Yang, from "Formula 17"), is the nervous type in his bro's shadow.
Early scenes showing them as young men in rural China have a genuine charm, even though the onscreen chemistry between the three thesps is never as natural as it should be. Still, the pic never tarries, and soon, on Kang's suggestion, they're in Shanghai, pulling rickshaws or waiting tables.
Hu, who works in the ritzy Paradise Night Club, gets them in one evening, just in time to see star chantoosie Lulu (Taiwan's Shu Qi) perform. Lulu is also the private property of the club's owner, Boss Hong (mainland thesp Sun Honglei, in a standout perf of casual villainy).
Through a series of coincidences that involve Feng rescuing Hong's wounded chief henchman, Mark (Taiwan's Chang Chen), the trio start working for Hong. Kang soon relishes the power and violence, while Feng is more circumspect; the latter is also used as a doormat by Lulu, who's conducting a secret affaire with Mark. At the hour point, the pic turns considerably darker when all these tangled emotions start to combust and Kang makes a bid for power.
Special Features:
-Interview of John Woo
-Interview of Director and Actors
-Behind The Scenes
-Promotional Spot
-Making Of film
-Music Video
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