Yun-Fat Chow,
Li Gong,
Jay Chou,
Ye Liu,
Chen Jin
... see more 
A dying love between two powerful people leads to deceit, infidelity, and conspiracy in this epic-scale historical drama from director Zhang Yimou. During the latter days of the Tang dynasty, the Empe... read more
Directed by: Yimou Zhang
Release Date: December 21, 2006
Keywords:
action,
epic,
dramatic,
www,
arts,
visual,
colorful,
fight scenes,
martial arts,
chow yun-fat,
flying daggers,
Zhang Yimou ,
Chow Yun Fat,
Golden Flower ,
Jay Chou
DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
Get It:
Stats: 5,491 reviews
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Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (5,491)
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December 29, 2010Okay, right off the bat, A++++ for color. No lie there. Like, Hands Down winner there. Along with costume, set design, and props. FAN-tastic.
I think where this story lost it was the overall pacing and story. The first hour had some small nice fight scenes and then lots and lots ... read more -
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June 26, 2009Wow, what a visually amazing work of cinematography. And talk about your proverbial cast of thousands. The climactic battle scene is just beyond epic. I don't think I've ever seen war portrayed quite this way. A very fluid mass of humanity pours across the screen, like two li... read more
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January 22, 2009The Curse Of The Golden Flower is a historical epic starring Chow Yun-Fat as a Chinese emperor who rules both his lands and family with an iron fist. A plot to assassinate his empress results in an attempted coup to wrest power from his grasp. This story has a lot of potential fo... read more
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December 30, 2008This story makes some of Shakespeare's more bloddy works, seem like a Harlequin romance novel!
Murder, intrigue, deceit and treachery abound in this visually stunning film.
You need only look at the cast to get a feel for what awaits you. But nothing can prepare you for ... read more -
September 5, 2008I was disappointed to be honest, I had hoped this would be as good as Hero. Visually it is stunning, bright and colourful with great attention to detail. However on the action and fighting side it is a let down. Not much happens for the first hour, there are some good fights towa... read more
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July 6, 2008I can appreciate the numerous months spent on costume and set design that went into Curse of the Golden Flower without a doubt. But in the end all this movie was is Shakespeare with some sparse wire fights. The performances were okay but that ending was utter horseshit. Go watch ... read more
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July 2, 2008Pretty complex story, not really something I managed to understand in one sitting. The story unfolds quite slowly, but it manages to keep its viewers hooked by the intrigue of unravelling things one at a time, meshed with the intensly stunning visuals.
Personally, I think th... read more -
February 23, 2008Amazing visuals; the sets, the costumes, etc. Is life so cheap in Chinese culture that no one bats an eye that so many are killed?
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February 23, 2008Gorgeous sets and costumes can't mask a slightly over familiar plot which doesn't grip like Zhang's previous efforts. The palace setting also robs the film of an epic feel.
Critic Reviews
January 17, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
January 12, 2007
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
For all the swordplay and martial-arts fisticuffs, Curse is its most delirious as a lavish argument for the soap opera's roots in Greek tragedy. Full Review
January 12, 2007
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
This spectacularly decorated movie offers the enjoyment of watching Zhang chronicle the lives of one very nutty family. It also allows Zhang to load every inch of the screen with images so full that y...
January 12, 2007
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Curse is straightforward and solemn, lacking not for spectacle but for humor and a humanizing touch. Full Review
January 12, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News
Make no mistake, all is epic, violent, bloody madness once the director hits his stride, and fans of Zhang's work will not want to miss Curse of the Golden Flower. But brush strokes are amiss here. Full Review
January 12, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's big, it's beautiful, and you won't leave the theater feeling cheated, no matter how much of a letdown the finale might be. Full Review
January 12, 2007
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
If looks were all it took to thrill, this opulent, near-operatic historical pageant would rank with Zhang Yimou's last two epics.
January 11, 2007
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Basically, the movie is soap opera done on a grand opera scale -- more Dynasty than Later Tang Dynasty. The immensity of Zhang's vision is eyepopping. Imagine several football fields worth of shimmeri... Full Review
January 8, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's operatic in its feeling and there's a lot going on here. And there's murders and betrayals, and affairs that are illicit, and women on horse-back and great fight scenes.
January 3, 2007
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Curse of the Golden Flower is a watchable soap opera, but its marching-band martial-arts scenes are little more than weakly staged retreads of the ones in Zhang's Hero. Full Review
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