Quentin Tarantino Presents: Hero

Hero is one of the best martial arts movies of the decade. It's an excellent mix of amazing fight sequences, visuals and storytelling. The cast is excellent. Ranging from martial arts experts like Jet Li and Donnie Yen, great dramatic actors Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi. Hero succeeds to entertain both the martial arts fans and the fans of interesting visual narratives. It's one of those martial arts movies that anyone can enjoy not only martial arts fans. The DVD itself comes with some extras. There are a 25 minute long making of featurette that covers the production of the film. There is also storyboard sequences and 13 minute long conversation between Jet Li and Quentin Tarantino where they discuss martial arts, film Hero and some other stuff. Overall it gives the basic insight you need about the film. For a single disc edition it's a good release with some extra content and top notch Video and Audio quality.

This film is in my top ten films that anyone should watch. This is the first time I've seen hero on bluray and I was in awe at how beautiful it looked. Hero is all about the colour and themes in each scene and the high resolution makes all those little details stand out all the more adding to the immersion experience. Add to that the sound which is crisp and clear without being brash. The surround sound is perfect and has a real cinema feel to it. This bluray has clearly had a lot of work gone into it. The film it's self is not your average sword play movie, it has a deep and twisting plot with characters that you can really relate to. Each scene has been directed with such care and thought that it truly shows on screen. A must watch whether it's your first sword play film or your hundredth this will not disappoint.

Please don't get the wrong impression, I love this film, it is a work of art in both sound and vision. But this version is slightly different from the original cut in that one of the most spectacular scenes (the fight above the lake) has been edited and shortened and as a result given a completely different perspective; in this version it has become another 'fight of the mind' (similar to part of the fantastic chess house fight scene) but in the original it was portrayed as an actual duel. If you haven't seen the original then don't worry you will still be mesmerised by this version. But if you have already seen the original then you may feel slightly short changed, artistically speaking, by this one. I suspect that Quentin hasn't seen the original either otherwise he wouldn't be backing this version quite so much. PS: The original lake scene is available on-line if you wish to compare them; YOU know where! ;-)

Certainly one of the best films I have ever seen and in terms of choreography, set design and colour - 'the' best. The fight sequences are visually stunning and are deliberately exagerated and made to look surreal which emphasises the fact that the contests are basically metaphysical and the defeated combatants are defeated at their own choice, not by superior fighting technique. The english dubbing is good to have but suggest you watch in Chinese with sub-titles which gives more oriental flavour to the proceedings. The story is based on a dramatised true tale of the attempted assasination of the King at the time of the uniting of the chinese dynasties around two thousand years ago. I was not familiar with the story and although the plot is well explained by the conversations between the King and his would be assasin there are still several twists and turns I havn't yet worked out. - What better reason to sit down and enjoy it again.!

My wife and I sat down to watch this film together. For the first 45 minutes we were sat leaning forwards, mouths agape and frequently gasping at the sheer beauty of this film. By the end I was convinced it was the most beautiful film I had ever seen and one of the finest, even better than House of the Flying Daggers. My wife, whilst agreeing it was stunning, felt Flying Daggers was a better overall film. Whatever your preferences, if you liked either Flying Dagger or Crouching Tiger, then you will love this. The cinematography and choreography are simply out of this world and the use of different colour washes to separate the distinct stories within the film will stay with me for a very long time, particularly a spectacular wash from autumnal browns and oranges into a fiery red in one pivotal scene. Get it!

Western filmmakers have a lot to learn. 'Hero' shows us how a tale can be told perfectly, imaginative, emotionally and, most of all, so beautifully. 'Hero' is a story of the old China. One man holds the key, but does he posses the wisdom to do the right thing with it? Hero is shot perfectly. You'll be amazed by the beautiful sights and color effects, as well as how well everything is arranged within every single frame. The plot sucks you in and doesn't let you go until much later after the credits have finished. The music provides the finishing touch, it is absolutely fantastic. 'Hero' is one of the greatest Eastern movies ever made. Who am I kidding? 'Hero' is one of the greatest movies ever made.

Just a quick review- this is an awesome, beautifully shot movie, worth buying for the fight in the forest scene alone. It has a great story and a great cast and for me is one of my favourite movies of all time. The visuals are stunning with each sub-story being told in a different colour palette, making the movie a visual feast, especially on blu-ray (which I bought to replace my DVD version). The fight scenes are other-worldly and so well choreographed (especially the scene fought over the still mirror-like lake). Can't recommend this film enough. For me this is the best of the bunch of all of the "Crouching Tiger" type films and if that is your bag then this is unmissable! Buy it.

Says it's region a in the product description and right on the case. Xbox says no dice.

この映画はテレビ録画して何度も見ててそろそろDVDでも買って保存しようと思って、この度ダイイチ書房さんからの商品のレビューを見て購入したところ、届いた商品は特典disk付きで状態も良かったです。てっきり普通の1枚物かレンタル落ちの商品だと思っていたので、封を開けて見たときは高めの商品で驚きました。ましてすごく安価で出されていたのでダイイチ書房さんは元がとれているのか申し訳なく思いました😅また何かあれば是非ダイイチ書房さんから購入したいと思います。

nice epic wuxia movie.

This film far exceeded my expectations. It is very deep on many levels. The astounding cinematography which uses beautiful displayes of colors for emotional content, hevenly scenery, and exquisite choreographed fighting. The fable like story telling which Poetically layers truth and reality, questions friendship, duty, and honor, and provides a glimps into chinese history. The blend of all of these elements makes the flim enjoyable on many levels. Beware spoilers in this paragraph. Some scenes I particularly enjoied where the battle with Sky in the "chess house" where they were playing "Go" which is a poetic foreshadowing of the battle that takes place in Nameless and Sky's mind. The fight in the leaves where the opponents rarely touch they just use there energy to force the leaves at each other. And the water confrontation. Now I just want to get something off my chest. I feel that the inclusion of Quentin Tarantino Presents tacked on to this film, and broadcast in all of the promotion is just blatant shameless advertising. I don't think it gives the creators there due respect by having Tarantino's name thrown out there like he had anything to do with the film being made. I love his films, but this is absurd. I've had several people come up and say "Hey have you seen the new Tarantino movie?" The same thing happended with The Iron Monkey. I think it is disrespecful to the creators. This is a classic epic film that I will soon add to my collection, and treasure for may reasons. I can't recomend it enough for those who are seeking a film experience which offers significant beauty and depth.

Vous pouvez jetez/piétinez/détruire votre immonde blu-ray français (merci Universal...) ou même allemand (dont le master est tout aussi honteux que le blu-ray français) et vous ruez sur cette édition UK qui reprend à l'identique l'excellent master américain édité par Walt Disney Studio (dont Miramax était alors une filiale). La qualité vidéo de ce blu-ray écrase en effet haut la main toutes les autres éditions existantes. Le piqué et la précision de l'image sont à tomber, surtout sur les gros plans, et les dominantes de couleurs, si caractéristiques de certaines scènes du film, véritablement sublimes. J'ai personnellement relevé (mais cela reste subjectif) une (très) légère baisse de contraste dans les scènes en plan très large (notamment lors des mouvements de troupe de l'armée impériale), mais cela reste marginal sur la durée du film. Bref, d'un point de vue de l'image, c'est bel et bien (enfin !) de la haute définition digne d'un blu-ray. Concernant l'audio, je vous rassure également : il y a bien une piste française Dolby Digital 5.1 et il s'agit bien du véritable doublage français (VFF pour les puristes). Par contre il s'agit d'une piste mi-débit. On trouve également, en Dolby digital 5.1 mi-débit, le mandarin et l'espagnol. Seule la piste audio anglaise dispose d'une piste en DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Je vous précise enfin qu'il y a des sous-titres français, non seulement pour le film, mais également pour tous les bonus (lesquels sont issus du DVD donc en version SD). Donc, si le DD 5.1 Français en mi-débit n'est pas une contrainte pour vous, je ne peux que vous conseillez d'acheter cette édition anglaise que j'ai personnellement payée sur amazon moins de 10 euros. Enfin, et pour ceux qui l'ignoreraient, je rappelle qu'absolument tous les blu-ray anglais sont parfaitement lisibles sur une platine française puisque le Royaume-Uni et la France font partie de la même zone.