2) 《英雄》(2002)

　　影片简介：

　　《英雄》是当时中国最大手笔的一部影评，以公元前227年荆轲刺秦王的真实历史故事为原型，既富传奇色彩又不乏精彩特效，将中国传统武侠故事演绎得栩栩如生。大投资、明显阵容、古代背景，这些特点与《长城》有几分相似。

　　中国观众怎么看：

　　影片导演张艺谋之前创作了包括《红高粱》、《菊豆》、《大红灯笼高高挂》、《一个都不能少》等一系列佳作，可以说创造了中国电影的一个时代。这些电影以深入分析中国社会、独特视觉语言等方面见长。而当其改编自荆轲刺秦王故事的武侠题材电影上映时，让观众为之一振。

　　演员阵容有李连杰、张曼玉、梁朝辉、章子怡、甄子丹等来自中国大陆及香港的著名演员，再加上大手笔投资，《英雄》一上映便在中国打破了票房纪录。不过，大众对这部电影的看法不一，后来，人们对于这部轰动一时的武侠电影的评价差异变得越来越大。

　　除了电影本身的众多吸引人的方面(比如精心设计的场景、精美的视觉效果、明星阵容、精彩武打等)，很多人还认为这是中国第一部成功的商业电影。也有人发出不一样的声音，批评电影情节不合理、张艺谋突然改变画风很奇怪。还说电影似乎在暗示自由精神的侠士要屈服于秦王所代表的秩序，这是向人们传递不正确的信息。还有人谴责张艺谋在中国电影界开了个不好的头，导致后来的电影都以《英雄》为范本，以追求高投资和商业价值为成功标准。

　　美国观众怎么看：

　　直到2004年，《英雄》才得以在北美上映(多亏了迪士尼高管和著名导演昆汀·塔伦蒂诺[Quentin Tarantino]的极力推荐)，一上映便好评如潮。《时代》杂志称其为“大作”，著名影评人杰·埃伯特(Roger Ebert)认为这是“一部极具美感的视觉诗歌”。电影在北美大获好评，美国国家影评人协会(National Society of Film Critics)授予张艺谋“最佳导演奖”，纽约影评人协会(New York Film Critics Circle)及芝加哥影评人协会(Chicago Film Critics Association)分别授予《英雄》“最佳摄影奖”。

　　全球电影界公认的观点是美国观众看电影时不喜欢看字幕。而《英雄》这部中文电影却在美国大获成功，在北美斩获5371万美元票房，成为北美历史上票房最高的外语片和武打片之一。影片中震撼的武打场景不需翻译观众就能领会，而对于美国观众来说，具有异域风情题材与《英雄》的成功也有不少关系。

　　不过，一些美国观众也像部分中国观众一样，认为电影暗示的主题不够合理(《乡村之声》杂志认为其体现的意识形态更接近卡通片)。

　　What it's about:

　　The most expensive film project in China's history at the time, Hero is an epic tale based on the real-life story of Jing Ke's attempted assassination of the Emperor Qin in 227 B.C. The movie combines larger-than-life visuals and meticulously choreographed stuntwork to create a striking cinematic representation of China's classic martial arts stories (a genre commonly known as wuxia). With its massive budget, star-filled cast, and ancient setting, the film features more than a few passing similarities to Great Wall.

　　What Chinese audiences thought:

　　After defining an era of Chinese filmmaking with a string of critically acclaimed works like Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, and Not One Less, which were praised for their incisive analyses of Chinese society and distinctive visual language, Zhang Yimou shocked audiences when he presented his newest work: a sweeping wuxia tale based on the story of the man who almost assassinated the first emperor to unify China.

　　Boasting a lineup of some of the most popular actors from mainland China and Hong Kong—including Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen—as well as massive financial backing, Hero broke box office records in China upon its release. However, public reception to the film was divided, and as time went on, the dichotomy among people's opinions on this wuxia smash hit grew all the more pronounced.

　　In addition to the film's obvious charms (among them elaborate sets and visuals, a star-studded cast, and stunning action sequences) many praised Zhang for making what might be considered China's first blockbuster commercial film. Yet others derided the film for a multitude of reasons, including its unconventional narrative structure, Zhang's abrupt change in style, and the overall message of the film, which seemed to imply that the free-spirited lifestyle of the wuxia warrior should give way to order and discipline (represented by the King of Qin). As subsequent Chinese films began copying the model of Hero—a picture with a high budget and commercial appeal—to varying degrees of success, some even began to blame Zhang for beginning a vicious cycle in China's film industry.

　　What American audiences thought:

　　When Hero finally hit North American theaters in 2004 (it took the intervention of Disney executives and Quentin Tarantino to finally secure a release), it opened to near-universal acclaim. A Time review called it a “masterpiece,” while famed film critic Roger Ebert described it as “a visual poem of extraordinary beauty.” Among the many accolades showered upon the film, the National Society of Film Critics awarded Zhang the Best Director award, and both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Chicago Film Critics Association presented Hero with their respective Best Cinematography awards.

　　A common rule of thumb in the global film industry holds that American audiences are unwilling to read subtitles in films. Yet Hero, a film shot entirely in Mandarin, was both a critical and a commercial success in the US. In fact, its North American box-office gross ($53,710,019) makes it one of the highest-grossing foreign-language and martial-arts films in North American history. Without a doubt, the film's gorgeously-shot action scenes, which require no translation, and its exotic (for American audiences) subject matter had a great deal to do with its success.

　　However, some American viewers did take issue with some of the film's underlying themes (the Village Voice referred to it as having a “cartoon ideology”), similar to their Chinese counterparts.