When the Movie of the Month show rolls around, we always hope for a gem, but sometimes we get a cubic zirconia. This month the guest list evaluating the film discovers a true jewel and happily dive into the discussion of the 2002 film “Hero”.
Heather Baxendale-Walsh championed this personal favorite to the winner’s circle and she enthusiastically sums up the story and draws attention to the aspects of the film that are so special. Tony Coogan and Howard Casner certainly agree on some elements of the film, including the iconic shot of thousands of arrows flying toward the camera.
The film follows a Rashomon style of story telling with a different version of events advancing the story toward the ultimate conclusion. Three assassins are targeting the tyrannical King of Qin, one of seven kingdoms that make up China. Is this a political film, suggesting that the ideology of self sacrifice is the best way to work as a citizen of the nation? Or maybe it is a metaphor for Taiwan and it’s continuing resistance to reunification with the mainland.
Don’t worry, we won’t get bogged down in politics, but we will be commenting on the amazing fight scenes, dominated by wirework, digital color manipulation and clever photographic angles. It is not too big a stretch to say this may be the most beautiful film ever made. Oh and it features Jet Li, Tony Leung and Donnie Yen, some of the biggest stars in Chinese Cinema.
The Exit Question this week asks about fight scenes in movies, and we got more swordplay than you might have expected.
Introductions
Heather Leads the Discussion 2:05
Lambscores for Hero 1:08:24
Exit Question 1:15:50
Heather Word of Hellmouth
Howard Pop Art
Richard KAMAD
The show can be found, of course, via iTunes – just do a search for “LAMBcast.” Also, I always post a link to the show on the LAMBcast’s Facebook page, and there’s a player there if you’d like to listen online. Find the show here:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2023-08-14T10_08_45-07_00
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