Opens this Thursday
With True Legend opening next week, the Year of the Tiger is off to a great start for martial arts films. 
Kungfu epic ‘14 Blades’ expected to become blockbuster hit
By Channel NewsAsia’s China Correspondent Glenda Chong | Posted: 03 February 2010 1601 hrs
SHANGHAI : MediaCorp Raintree Picture’s latest production, kungfu flick “14 Blades”, is set in the Ming Dynasty and tells the story of a secret agent in ancient China.
The title refers to the blades bodyguards used to kill their victims; eight for torturing, five for killing and the last is for suicide should they fail their mission.
The movie weaves in themes of loyalty, chivalry and brotherhood.
“14 Blades” showcases a dazzling mix of martial arts and espionage in majestic, soul-stirring scenes.
Shot in Hengdian and Ningxia Province in China, with a budget of almost US$15 million (S$2.1 million), the blockbuster movie is directed by Hong Kong director Daniel Lee and features Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen as the male lead.
“Everytime I take on a role, I like to bring something fresh and new to the audience… ‘14 Blades’ will bring a whole set of standards to Wuxia dianyin [Wuxia films],” said Yen.
Also starring in the movie is MediaCorp’s Qi Yu Wu, who had previously acted alongside Yen in the 2008 film “Painted Skin”.
He even had to undergo marital arts training before filming started.
Said Qi, "Because there’s a lot of action in this movie, so before the production start, I went to Hengdian to have three weeks action training and also horse riding…
“‘14 Blades’ was a very good experience because an actor I’m working with a lot of passionate filmmakers, directors, actors … I feel everyone is trying their best and Donnie, Zhao Wei and Wu Chun, they’re very passionate. They want to do 110 per cent to 120 per cent - so I need to push myself to be the best.”
“14 Blades”, Raintree’s second collaboration in China, is expected to be a box office hit and rake in more than US$30 million (S$42.2 million) on the mainland.
“14 Blades” opens on Thursday in China and Singapore.
Cinematheque: Kung Fu star Donnie Yen sets out on a deadly mission in 14 Blades
Can we ever get enough of kung fu movies? We don’t think so, and are therefore thankful to the Chinese movie industry for offering us its never ending stream of beautifully set fighting epics. This time, we´ll cuddle up in the cinemas to 14 Blades,() a 14th century Ming-era martial arts movie from director Daniel Lee starring Donnie Yen and Vicki Zhao.
The movie will be the first pairing of Donnie Yen with the director of Black Mask, Dragon Squad and Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon.
This martial arts epic stars certified Kung Fu badass Donnie Yen in the role of Qinglong, or Green Dragon. He is the best of the so called Jinyiwei, an imperial elite force of assassins recruited from street orphans. Jinyiwei were masters of the 14 Blades, eight being for torture, five for killing, and the last blade being reserved for suicide when a mission failed. When the emperor is kidnapped and the court taken over, Qinglong takes on the mission of restoring the emperor to power.
Apart from starring Chun Wu, “the hottest teen idol in Asia”, we will also see Zhao Wei (Vicki Zhao), who must have had a quite busy year, playing the role of Mulan, starring in both The Foundation of a Republic and John Woo’s Red Cliff: Part II, as well as recording 30 episodes of Chinese TV drama An Epic of a Woman (Yi ge nü ren de shi shi). In 14 Blades her role is called Qiaohua, a daughter of a safe house proprietor who “nurses the wounded Qinglong (Donnie Yen) back to health reluctantly”.
Some netizens have suggested that the movie is in fact a remake of a 1984 Shaw Brothers film called Secret Service Of The Imperial Court (Gam yee wai). This due to their striking similarities:
Both are set during the late Ming Dynasty and center on an elite team of highly trained warriors loyal to the emperor. Both feature a power-hungry eunuch who has wrested control of the government from the weakened emperor and taken over the elite band of warriors for use in ridding himself of imperial loyalists. Both films have an elite team member who has remained loyal to the emperor and becomes a fugitive forced to fight his former comrades in order to protect the empire.
The film, budgeted at $20 million, is produced by Three Kingdoms producer Susanna Tsang through her Hong Kong-based Visualizer Film Prods. and mainland China’s Shanghai Film Group. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tsang said, “14 Blades is really the first James Bond film from China and is based on historical fact. Audiences from China and abroad have never seen this type of Chinese movie before.”
But, during the press conference, Yen showed a much humbler attitude regarding his status as China’s current number one martial arts star:
I never thought I´d be called the "King of King Fu" said Yen. Every actor has their own style. Each actor who has been performing for many years makes their own contributions. It´s luck that some people like my films.
Daniel Lee has promised a full hour´s worth of fighting action while Yen promised the film has more to offer than just kung fu.
