The Warlords [DVD] [2008]

Dvd came quick in good condition and played well

Of all the reviews I see, there are not ANY blu ray reviews for THE WARLORDS. The movie is awesome! The Metrodome blu ray is more awesome!! The disc IS region free so it WILL play in US players! Avoid the Magnolia version (with its English dubbing and gigantic subtitles) and get this version from Amazon.uk. This is the first disc I have purchased here (I usually get imports from Amazon.com knowing they are my region A or free region) was a little scared and read somewhere the Metrodome version is region B but it is not. Don't hesitate to get this version. It is the same length as the American print (113 minutes) and not the 'longer' print promised by Megastar of 126 minutes. The video on the Metrodome version is outstanding...the subtitles are decent and not too annoying. Only available it original language (no dubbing) with DTS-HD that will test your foundation of your house! Hopefully in the future more people will quit being critical on the film itself and stick to the product review. Maybe we are different in the states...we want to know what we are buying! Please amazon.uk start listing region codes in product information for us 'importers'...that way we can buy with confidence. The European discs I do have (about sixty) are region free...hopefully more studios will keep releasing older titles region free (THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY is an awsome print, among others) because the imports always look better than the ones from the states. Thanks and enjoyed chatting with ya!!

The Warlords is set during the time of the Taiping rebellion in China during which millions in southern China died from warfare, starvation and disease. It was a bleak period of Chinese history, and The Warlords reflects this in many of its aspects - including script, production design and colour palate. The film opens with a betrayal and a massacre, explores themes of brotherhood, idealism and loyalty, and ends with another betrayal. Despite the staring role of Jet Li, this is not a martial arts film, and it has no use for vibrant colours or characters floating in trees or across lakes; instead the battles are bloody, intense and brutal. It is not a time for heroes; it is a period when edged weapons and cannons meet, and trench and siege warfare occurred amid dirt and starvation. The colour palate is deliberately washed out, grainy and muted, fairly usual in historical epics these days. This is certainly not Hero, or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; think more Braveheart in scope and execution.As an epic the film works very well. The themes of love, brotherhood and betrayal are universal; the battles and set pieces stunning. The cast, including Jet Li as General Pang, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro as his blood brothers, and Xu Jinglei as Lian are excellent. Each has their own, clearly defined journey in the film that reaches a logical and deadly resolution. So while the film is epic in scope and execution, it is grounded in recognisable individual human emotions and actions and we never lose sight of the perils, and causalities, of war.The Blu-ray is a good representation of the film; the colour palate is effective, the blacks solid, the sound good. The extras, including the production journal, worth watching. Highly recommended.

I found this 2007 Chinese film watchable, but nothing more and it is a pity, because it had potential for so much more... Below, more of my impressions, with some spoilers.This film tells the story of three very different men (one imperial general and two bandits) who meet and conclude a pact of brotherhood in the middle of the Taiping War (1850-1864), an incredibly violent and tragic conflict which caused quite possibly as much as 20 million dead - making it the second deadliest war in the whole history of humanity (only Second World War killed more people).A big budget super production about such an enormous and destructive war was a great idea - but the result is not as good as could be expected. The film is long and there is not enough story to fill the 127 minutes. Battle scenes are disappointing and we can hardly see on the screen where the heck went the amount of money spend on making this film. Chinese armies of Taiping War were colourful and spectacular - and what we see on the screen is neither.Because this is a Chinese story there is of course some elaborate intriguing, plotting and backstabbing, but we saw this kind of things already on the screen many times - and they were shown much better. It must also be said that Jet Li is not really an actor - he is a martial arts specialist, and when in a film he is not allowed to kick and scream, he seems as paralyzed as a bird staring at a snake... He got 15 million USD for this film - and in my modest opinion he didn't earn it...That being said the film has also some merits. Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro are real actors and it shows on the screen. Xu Jinglei is a very attractive woman and even if her screen time is ultimately limited, it is a pleasure to watch her. This film also avoids - very wisely - showing idiotic kung fu which so badly damaged so many potentially good Asian films... And yes, there are some good scenes, although they become rare in the second half of the film.Bottom line, this is an average war/adventure film, watchable once and recommended for renting rather than buying. Sadly, a really good, epic film about the Taiping War still remains to be made.