A Terra-Cotta Warrior (2K Digitised Version)

Dir: Tony Ching Siu-tung
Orig Story/Scr: Lilian Lee
Martial Arts Choreographers: Tony Ching Siu-tung, Lau Chi-ho, Chi Wang, Bobby Wu Chi-lung
Prod Co: Art & Talent
Cast: Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, Yu Rongguang, Lu Shuming, Che Bok-man
1990 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 111min

The mystery of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s unexcavated tomb has long fascinated writers and filmmakers, inspiring tales of immortality and reincarnation. Written by celebrated author Lilian Lee, who adapted her own novel for the screen, and directed by action maestro Tony Ching Siu-tung, who injects his signature action style, A Terra-Cotta Warrior is a sweeping fantasy epic that spans two millennia.

Produced by Zhu Mu and Hon Pau-chu, the film reunites two giants of Chinese cinema—Gong Li and Zhang Yimou—after Red Sorghum (1988), not as director and muse but as co-stars. Zhang plays General Meng Tianfang, a loyal warrior who falls for a court maiden (Gong) sent by the emperor in search of the elixir of life. When their forbidden romance is discovered, the emperor condemns Meng to be encased alive inside a terracotta statue. Before the maiden’s tragic death of throwing herself into a fire, she secretly gives him the elixir. Her suicide, set to Sally Yeh’s unforgettable theme song, remains one of the film’s most iconic moments.

Fast-forward to the early 20th century: the maiden returns as a feisty actress in Republican-era China. After a plane crash near the Qin emperor’s mausoleum, she unwittingly revives the immortal Meng, who believes she is the reincarnation of his lost love. But she remembers nothing of her past life…

A Terra-Cotta Warrior was winner of Best Original Film Score at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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