minami
Oct 5 2005, 06:40 PM
The Promise's Premiere on 29 Sept in ChengduSource: www.jangdonggun.com.cn
Translated by dreamer of Just Jang Dong Gun.com
The Promise will premier on 29 Sept at 8.30 pm in one theater in Chengdu, Sichuan, China ahead of its official release in December. This is to comply with the eligibility requirment to represent China to compete in next year's Oscar for the best foreign language film. The movie will be screened in a small theater with only about 100 seating capacity and will be screened once a day only for 7 consecutive days starting from 29 September. To prevent piracy, very strict rules and regulations were set for the purchase of tickets and admission to theater.
A few JDG fans from DG Teahouse queued up at 6.00 am on 29 Sept morning to purchase tickets (no advance booking of tickets allowed) for the premiere on 29 Sept. A promotional booklet on The Promise and a T-shirt were given away with the purchase of ticket.
Zi Jing Cineplex in Chengdu where The Promise is being screened
Poster of The Promise displayed outside Zi Jing cineplex
Posters displayed inside the cineplex
Fans queueing up for the tickets
Lucky fans who managed to purchase the tickets
Notice at ticket counter at the cineplex: "Tickets for today sold out. Please come again tomorrow"
minami
Oct 5 2005, 06:50 PM
More pictures from Sina:
Movie fans waiting outside the cineplex
Press reporters waiting outside the cineplex
Producer/Actress Chen Hong outside the cineplex
Director Chen Kaige
Cinematorgraphy Director Peter Pau
Dreamer's translation from Jang Dong Gun.com:
According to the news at sina.com, all the tickets were sold out in less than 5 minutes. When the ticket counter of the cineplex was open at 9 am this morning (29 Sept), a big group of movie fans already gathered outside the cineplex waiting to purchase the tickets. A fan even arrived as early as 4 am to queue up for the tickets.
minami
Oct 6 2005, 12:31 AM
Hi there freebird
I've only skimmed the reviews very briefly, just to glean that the initial response is quite positive. JDG's kunlun has received the most praises from early viewers.
There are some chinese forums and sites out there with people only too eager to spoil the story (leaked information) but I refuse to read those.
Are you excited about the movie's nomination by China for the oscar? Pretty cool huh.
I personally feel that Zhang Yi Mou's latest movie
Riding Alone for Thousand of Miles is the type of human drama story that the Oscar voters have a predilection for. I'm happy that
The Promise is China's oscar entry but it does have stiff competition from other asian entries, particularly from HK and Taiwan.
Perhaps Love and
The Wayward Cloud are getting great word of mouth too - one is a musical, the other is a provocative artistic film.
freebird
Oct 6 2005, 09:27 PM
QUOTE(minami @ Oct 6 2005, 02:31 AM) [snapback]58756[/snapback]
Are you excited about the movie's nomination by China for the oscar? Pretty cool huh.
I personally feel that Zhang Yi Mou's latest movie
Riding Alone for Thousand of Miles is the type of human drama story that the Oscar voters have a predilection for. I'm happy that
The Promise is China's oscar entry but it does have stiff competition from other asian entries, particularly from HK and Taiwan.
Perhaps Love and
The Wayward Cloud are getting great word of mouth too - one is a musical, the other is a provocative artistic film.
I dont know about the other movies, but hope The Promise can get high attention from international audience, especially for one man..you know
, and it'll be good if The Promise can win
I like the poster
babygurldoc
Oct 11 2005, 01:58 AM
^ Holy crap, thanx so much for the trailer, man that was amazing. Cant wait till the movie comes out.
minami
Oct 12 2005, 02:17 AM
Extracted from :
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-10-09/0838859854.html Shenyang Today Press
2005.10.9 The Promise production team conducted a survey among the viewers who have watched the movie in Chengdu during its special screening. Result showed that among all the elements of the movie, visual/cinematography element scored the highest point. Jang Dong Gun was evaluated as the favourite and the most successful role.
========================================================================
Extracted from :
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-10-09/0620859805.html Hua Shanbau
2005.10. 9 In the survey conducted on the viewers who have watched The Promise during its special screening at Chengdu recently, the film company listed 5 questions and the viewers answered objectively. 91.8% of the viewers approved of the movie. On the characters of the movie, Kunlun played by Jang Dong Gun and Qing Cheng played by Cecilia Cheung received the most approval while Man Shen played by Chen Hong only received only 8% of the votes.
Chen Hong, when interviewed by the reporter on the survey result which showed that JDG is the favourite and she the least favourite among the viewers, said: “ Viewers like Kunlun played by JDG and don’t like my character, that is right. Because JDG is the absolute leading actor. All the viewers like him after watching the movie, especially the children and many ladies. He has the supernatural power and eyes as innocent as a 3 year old child. My role is not a major role, it's only natural that viewers don’t like my role. This showed that our movie is very successful.”
(Translated by dreamer for Just Jang Dong Gun.com)
QUOTE(babygurldoc @ Oct 11 2005, 05:58 PM) [snapback]194422[/snapback]
^ Holy crap, thanx so much for the trailer, man that was amazing. Cant wait till the movie comes out.
QUOTE(freebird @ Oct 12 2005, 03:58 PM) [snapback]212952[/snapback]
Thanks for trailer, minami
U're welcome gals. The trailer reveals the movie's gorgeous cinematography, and Kunlun is looking very powerful. I can't wait.
Another sneak peak review below
(minimal spoilers, but you've been warned) --
Source:
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2005-10-01/1613856287.html 2005.10.01 Shanghai Youth Paper
Extract: The Promise – Beautiful. Let’s give it a scorecard What do you think of the film? “Pretty good, the cinematography is exceptionally beautiful” What do you think it the meaning of The Promise in the movie? “The Promise… hmmm…. It’s pretty abstract!”
At 8pm yesterday, the most anticipated Chen Kaige’s film of the year “The Promise” was finally unveiled at a movie theater in Chengdu and Chen Kaige surprisingly brought his whole family along, passing through the security check; depositing his hand phone and sat in the theater, waiting anxiously and excitedly for the response and opinions from the very first batch of audiences.
Director Chen was not disappointed. When the lights came back up, the theater was filled with applause. The Promise, an imaginary world of good and evil has got the approval of the majority of the audiences. “Not bad, the movie was pretty good” It’s only when the reporters asked about what they understood from the meaning of The Promise did they become speechless and was troubled, “It’s too abstract!” In The Promise, Chen Kaige has boldly attempted to mix commercialism with art, the cinematography was very finely produced and the story line continue to reflect on what Chen Kaige is known for – his philosophical ponderings.
The Scores:
Cinematography : 9 points Comments: “At the start of the movie, a flowering Chinese crab-apple tree was shown on a backdrop of the deep blue sky. It was very beautiful. The entire movie emphasized on the aesthetics, the contrast of the colors was astounding, magnificent. It was very nice to see. Besides the fact that there were some traces of the individual stunts, basically the movie was perfect.
Performance by the actors: 9 points Everyone did very well and was outstanding, I especially liked Jang Dong Gun’s eye expressions, Nicholas Tse was really very cool, Sanada’s acting was very strong….. what astounded me was Jang Dong Gun and Sanada’s voice recording, they are really very professional and unbelievable, every sentence and word was very clear and précised. The voice dubbing was even better than those Hong Kong or Taiwan stars.
Special Effects: 8 points Overall it was not bad, the scenes were very grand and it blended quite naturally with the special effects. The pace and the tone were pretty good, especially the scene with the herds (cow) men. It was incredible and spectacular.
Story line/Plot : 9 points This is a very touching story and it will challenge the innermost feeling of the audience, especially at the end of the story when everyone’s conflict and dilemma built up to a climax – the real and the untruths, trust, deceit, true love…. The world starts to change and become complex.
Musical score/ production: 7 points
Everyone’s attention will be focused on the cinematography and the fates of the characters and will pay less attention to the music. The drum beats during the war scene, there were actually observant audiences who noticed that the pace of the movie was in fact quicker than the rhythm of the music.
Translated by Yuki for Just Jang Dong Gun
freebird
Oct 13 2005, 06:14 PM
jisung
Oct 19 2005, 09:54 AM
Beijing to Debut Music From Kaige's EpicSep 16, 8:48 AM EST
Beijing's Great Hall of the People will debut music from director Chen Kaige's upcoming fantasy epic "The Promise," reportedly China's most expensive production ever at $35 million.
Selections from the soundtrack by prolific film composer Klaus Badelt will be among works performed by the
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at their
Oct. 21-22 appearance at the hall, Asian movie Web site
http://www.monkeypeaches.com reported, citing one of the film's producers, Chen Hong.
Badelt, who has composed music for more than 30 films and television shows, including this year's "Constantine," said he strove to mix eastern and western influences in this soundtrack, including the use of traditional Chinese instruments.
"The Promise," the latest offering from the director of the Oscar-nominated "Farewell My Concubine," boasts an international cast of Asian superstars, including South Korea's Jang Dong-gun, Hiroyuki Sanada of "The Last Samurai," and Hong Kong stars Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung.
Academy Award winner Peter Pau of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" provides the cinematography for the film, due in December.
source: english.sina.com
jisung
Oct 19 2005, 10:11 AM
2005, October 04
Yesterday in Beijing, Composer Klaus Badelt just had a chat with several reporters during a break from recording the scores for director Chen Kaige’s The Promise (Wu Ji). Badelt said the scores of the film run about 120 minutes in total, which was almost as long as the film itself and the longest score was about 8 minute long. He said Chen Kaige never set any rule for his music and told him very little about the story and the characters of the film. The final work does not sound very East or West, but is added with some Chinese elements, such as using several traditional Chinese instrument in a few scores. Badelt said the music he composed for the movie was greater than what he had done for any Hollywood movie.
Producer Chen Hong just announced that selected scores of Wu Ji / The Promise, originally composed by Klaus Badelt, would be performed by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at the Great Hall of People in Beijing October 21 - 22. The orchestra’s tour in Asia will include three stops - Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. Reportedly, Wu Ji / The Promise will be released worldwide this December.
Source :
http://www.monkeypeaches.com/wuji.html Official Site :
http://www.thepromise.sina.com.cn/
badboy yardy
Oct 19 2005, 11:08 AM
what an informative thread.
thank you minami, freebird, and the rest of the soompiers that brought news from china about this terrific looking movie.
dreamsicle
Oct 19 2005, 04:03 PM
Thank you for the trailer! I hope it will be shown in America starting next month. Finally! A Chinese international film that's actually worth seeing in American theaters IMO. Although it does contain sexual elements, I don't disregard Chen Kaige's films as I do of the recent Zhang Yimou films -- which is always just casting a certain actress as a prostitute over and over again.
jisung
Oct 21 2005, 06:49 AM
Just something nice to know as we await word re: The Promise music debut!
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra to enliven capital stageChen Jie
2005-10-20 05:39
To lure more fans to their concerts and revive the ailing orchestra, the China National Symphony Orchestra gave three concerts featuring popular movie music and visual segments in early June. They did bolster their box office revenue, but the response from the concert-goers wasn't so encouraging.
Though all the works in their programmes were great pieces, their performance failed to awe listeners. That's the fundamental problem the orchestra has to tackle: how to win the audience's heart.
Here comes a good model for them: the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and its conductor Erich Kunzel, dubbed "Prince of Pops," who actually guest-conducted the China National Symphony Orchestra in 1997.
The orchestra will present two nights of entertainment for both music fans and movie fans at the
Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 21 and 22, and one in Shanghai as
part of the prestigious China Shanghai International Arts Festival.The programme will include fantasy film music scores such as from "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter" and the "Sorcerer's Stone," as well as popular themes, medleys and pieces from Broadway hits including "Cats," "Chicago," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Lion King."
Zhang Weina, general manager of Armstrong International Corporate Identity Co Ltd, said the
encore piece will be a segment from the music of the yet-to-be-produced Chinese kung fu blockbuster "The Promise," directed by Chen Kaige.The score is composed by
Klaus Badelt who has written music for more than 25 major Hollywood films such as "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Pearl Harbour" and "Mission Impossible II.""Not only is it exciting for the orchestra to perform for new, enthusiastic audiences, it's also a privilege to represent Cincinnati in these important cultural centres," said Steven Monder, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra president at the press conference held in Beijing recently.
Professional orchestras and youth and collegiate orchestras have toured in China, but this will be the first China tour for a professional Pops orchestra, not to mention one of the world's best classical pops ensembles.
Yet Li Haiying, composer and president of China's Movie Music Association, said that the music played by Cincinnati Pops is actually not foreign to Chinese people, although it is their debut here.
"People just do not realize that lots of music they've heard on the TV or radio programmes, advertisements or many ceremonies are taken from the best-selling albums such as 'The Great Fantasy Adventure Album,' 'The Big Picture' and 'Roundup,'" Li said.
"Cincinnati Pops has enjoyed great popularity among the insiders of China's music scene. When I learned classic music at the conservatory, it was the pops orchestra I loved most and I have collected most of their albums released in China," said songwriter Bi Xiaoshi.
"Recently, quite a few Chinese orchestras have played movie and theatre music, but they are in the primary phase. Perhaps they could learn something from the Cincinnati Pops who has unique understanding and interpretation of the stories and characters of the movies or musicals," he added.
(China Daily 10/20/2005 page14)
dreamsicle
Oct 22 2005, 06:57 PM
"kung fu blockbuster"? That's a funny way to phrase it...
The Chen's boys look so cute, must take after their pretty mom.
freebird
Oct 25 2005, 02:28 AM
QUOTE(mangmang22 @ Oct 24 2005, 03:05 PM) [snapback]412761[/snapback]
wow, it looks good. when is coming to america?
schedule on December (16), though still not sure for the date.
jisung
Oct 25 2005, 07:55 PM
Movie tunes move Shanghai audience By Janelle Gelfand
Enquirer staff writer
Erich Kunzel greets the Cincinnati Pops orchestra after its performance Monday in the Shanghai Grand Stage.
SHANGHAI, China - Enthusiastic cheers and a standing ovation from a crowd of nearly 7,000 greeted the Cincinnati Pops in its third tour concert Monday night in the Shanghai Grand Stage.
Continuing their historic first tour of China, Erich Kunzel and the Pops musicians flew from Beijing to Shanghai on Sunday, to perform Monday night as part of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The orchestra was not playing in a concert hall, however, but in a sports arena that also hosts rock shows. The reason, said Kunzel, was because the presenter expected to sell close to 8,000 seats.
A half-hour after landing, Kunzel was hosting another news conference in preparation for the concert - there was also one in Beijing - followed by interviews with a Chinese music magazine and a radio station.
Throughout the tour, there has been great interest by the press in baritone Daniel Narducci's rendition of the Chinese national anthem (arranged for orchestra by Kunzel), as well as the Pops' premiere of film score excerpts from a new movie by Chen Kaige, "The Promise."
For the Shanghai concert, the Chinese presenter built a Pops logo backdrop exactly like that in Music Hall. And again, despite ticket prices that ranged up to a month's pay for many Chinese, the hall was 85 percent sold, with many families and small children attending.
Several TV cameras were positioned in the arena for much of the first half of the concert. The crowd was attentive through the "romantic" tour program, with people leaning forward in their seats until the end, when they leapt to their feet.
The sound system was surprisingly good, given the arena acoustics. And, despite the rigorous tour schedule that has allowed for little "down time," the musicians performed with panache in music such as a suite from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - which has a showy cadenza for percussion - and the Overture from "Lawrence of Arabia."
The Chinese are huge movie buffs, and some audience members sang along with the tunes. There was the most noticeable audience recognition in movie hits such as "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic" and a sizzling performance of a suite from "Chicago."
"Wow!" exclaimed the man next to me.
But the orchestra wowed them even more with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - with twirling basses and swinging bells in the brass.
And, to honor the presence of U. S. Consul General Kenneth Jarrett and his wife at the concert, Kunzel added "America" from Bernstein's "West Side Story."
Cincinnatians in the audience included Rick and Vicky Reynolds, Myra and Lou Chabut, and Norma, Chris and Jan Petersen.
After spending less than 48 hours in this beautiful port city of Shanghai, the orchestra flies to Singapore today for the final leg of the Asian tour.
25 October 2005
Source:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...025/ENT03/51025 0316
credit: truly_madly_deeply, just jang dong gun
jisung
Oct 26 2005, 06:51 AM
Foreign-language Oscar submissions set new record
By Gregg Kilday
1 hour, 58 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Having invited 91 countries to submit films for consideration in the foreign-language Oscar category, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that a record 58 took up the offer.
Three countries that had not previously been represented submitted films: Costa Rica, which offered Esteban Ramirez's "Caribe"; Fiji, which submitted Vilsoni Hereniko's "The Land Has Eyes"; and Iraq, which entered Jamil Rostami's "Requiem of Snow."
Two movies arrived in the wake of local controversies. Christian Carion's "Joyeux Noel," from France, drew a complaint from France's independent producers union that the choice was "politically motivated." When Italy's first submission, Saverio Costanzo's "Private," was ruled ineligible by the Academy because none of its dialogue is in Italian, Italy submitted Cristina Comencini's "La bestia nel cuore."
Other films already have laurels on their resumes. Belgium's entry "The Child," directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival; Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallee's "C.R.A.Z.Y.," Canada's submission, earned the best Canadian feature film award at the Toronto International Film Festival; Gavin Hood's "Tsotsi," South Africa's entry, picked up the People's Choice Award at Toronto; and Byambasuren Davaa's "The Cave of the Yellow Dog," from Mongolia, recently took home three prizes at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Nominations in all categories will be announced January 31, with winners unveiled March 5.
The submitted films are:
Argentina, "El Aura," Fabian Bielinsky;
Bangladesh, "Shyamol Chaya," Humayun Ahmed;
Belgium, "The Child," Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne;
Bolivia, "Say Good Morning to Dad," Fernando Vargas;
Bosnia & Herzegovina, "Totally Personal," Nedzad Begovic;
Brazil, "Two Sons of Francisco," Breno Silveira;
Bulgaria, "Stolen Eyes," Radoslav Spassov;
Canada, "C.R.A.Z.Y.," Jean-Marc Vallee;
Chile, "Play," Alicia Scherson;
China, "The Promise," Chen Kaige;
Colombia, "La Sombra del Caminante," Ciro Guerra;
Costa Rica, "Caribe," Esteban Ramirez;
Croatia, "A Wonderful Night in Split," Arsen Anton Ostojic;
Cuba, "Viva Cuba," Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti;
Czech Republic, "Something Like Happiness," Bohdan Slama;
Denmark, "Adam's Apples," Anders Thomas Jensen;
Estonia, "Shop of Dreams," Peeter Urbla;
Fiji, "The Land Has Eyes," Vilsoni Hereniko;
Finland, "Mother of Mine," Klaus Haro;
France, "Joyeux Noel," Christian Carion;
Georgia, "Tbilisi-Tbilisi," Levan Zakareishvili;
Germany, "Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days," Marc Rothemund;
Hong Kong, "Perhaps Love," Peter Ho-Sun Chan;
Hungary, "Fateless," Lajos Koltai;
Iceland, "Ahead of Time," Agust Gudmundsson;
India, "Paheli," Amol Palekar;
Indonesia, "Gie," Riri Riza;
Iran, "So Close, So Far," Reza Mir Karimi;
Iraq, "Requiem of Snow," Jamil Rostami;
Israel, "What a Wonderful Place," Eyal Halfon;
Italy, "La Bestia Nel Cuore," Cristina Comencini;
Japan, "Blood and Bones," Yoichi Sai;
Luxembourg, "Renart the Fox," Thierry Schiel;
Mexico, "Al Otro Lado," Gustavo Loza;
Mongolia, "The Cave of the Yellow Dog," Byambasuren Davaa;
The Netherlands, "Bluebird," Mijke de Jong;
Norway, "Kissed by Winter," Sara Johnsen;
Palestine, "Paradise Now," Hany Abu-Assad;
Peru, "Dias de Santiago," Josue Mendez;
Poland, "The Collector," Feliks Falk;
Portugal, "Noite Escura," Joao Canijo;
Puerto Rico, "Cayo," Vicente Juarbe;
Romania, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," Cristi Puiu;
Russia, "The Italian," Andrei Kravchuk;
Serbia & Montenegro, "Midwinter Night's Dream," Goran Paskaljevic;
Singapore, "Be With Me," Eric Khoo;
Slovak Republic, "The City of the Sun," Martin Sulik;
Slovenia, "The Ruins," Janez Burger;
South Africa, "Tsotsi," Gavin Hood;
South Korea, "Welcome to Dongmakgol," Kwang-hyun Park;
Spain, "Obaba," Montxo Armendariz;
Sweden, "Zozo," Josef Fares;
Switzerland, "Tout un Hiver sans Feu," Greg Zglinski;
Taiwan, "The Wayward Cloud," Tsai Ming-liang;
Tajikistan, "Sex & Philosophy," Mohsen Makhmalbaf;
Thailand, "The Tin Mine," Jira Maligool;
Turkey, "Lovelorn," Yavuz Turgul;
Vietnam, "Buffalo Boy," Nguyen Vo Nghiem Mihn.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
source: news.yahoo.com
minami
Oct 27 2005, 07:53 AM
QUOTE(freebird @ Oct 25 2005, 06:10 PM) [snapback]423005[/snapback]
Wow.. what a trailer
Thanks ruffluv
Agree with you minami.. I dont understand mandarin at all, but both JDG & Sanada sounds great!
U don't understand mandarin freebird? I thought u did.
Well, now I believe those reports saying that the preview audiences were stunned by JDG's and Sanada's language ability in the movie. The way Sanada rolls his tongue and enunciates every word is even better than Ceci's and Nick's tones. And I liked how Kunlun darted his eyes rapidly in a shy manner when he replied to the General that he was willing to be his slave so that he could eat meat. Very expressive eyes.
ruffluv109
Oct 27 2005, 08:15 AM
QUOTE(minami @ Oct 27 2005, 11:53 PM) [snapback]452151[/snapback]
And I liked how Kunlun darted his eyes rapidly in a shy manner when he replied to the General that he was willing to be his slave so that he could eat meat. Very expressive eyes.
oh yeah...u r so rite, nami.....i'm liking his character there....so cute!....i'm assuming that kunlun is actually a quite childish/ not so bright slave...am i right???
but that scene between sanada & CC....ooo...that's hotttt....
freebird
Oct 27 2005, 10:02 PM
QUOTE(minami @ Oct 27 2005, 09:53 AM) [snapback]452151[/snapback]
U don't understand mandarin freebird? I thought u did.
Well, now I believe those reports saying that the preview audiences were stunned by JDG's and Sanada's language ability in the movie. The way Sanada rolls his tongue and enunciates every word is even better than Ceci's and Nick's tones.
ah ic.. haa i know nothing in mandarin but shieshie (thank you), wo ai ni, and jiayu (fighting!)
QUOTE
And I liked how Kunlun darted his eyes rapidly in a shy manner when he replied to the General that he was willing to be his slave so that he could eat meat. Very expressive eyes.
Yea, I like that part. That scene was caught my mind and keep remain till now! well, he did that spoiled expression
QUOTE(ruffluv109 @ Oct 27 2005, 10:15 AM) [snapback]452302[/snapback]
but that scene between sanada & CC....ooo...that's hotttt....
It put me to sleep and was no longer inclined to give it another chance, sorry.
