9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THIS VERSION IS NOT 150 MINS., July 23, 2006
This review is from: The Promise (Limited Special Edition) 2 disc set (DVD)
Don't be suckered into getting this version it's ad is a lie. The ad say it's 150 Min because it has extended scenes and that is not true. The other single disc version they advertise here is also not 120 Min it's 110 Min. The real extented version that I have is only 122 Min and it also marks on the cover that say The Uncut Version. great film but false advertisment on this 2-Disc.
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Movie Without a Heart, July 10, 2006
This review is from: The Promise (Limited Special Edition) 2 disc set (DVD)
This ambitious movie is masterminded by Chen Kaige, one of the most prominent Director from mainland China after Zhang Yimou. I was very impressed by some of his earlier works and based upon his illustrious references, one would imagine this movie would be a sure winner especially when it was also nominated for this year Golden Globe Award Best Foreign Movie category. Based upon the diverse mix of actors and actresses involved in this movie, one would presume that the production company wishes to broaden its appeal in the Asia market. For example, Hiroyuki Sanada is the "in-thing" now in Japan (a charismatic presence in the Last Samurai), Jang Don-guang (very famous in Korea), Nicholas Tsie (famous actor and Canto-pop singer from Hong Kong) and Vivian Hsu (notorious for her bold showing in soft-porn movies in Asia, originated from Taiwan). Anyway, the story is simple enough, a young girl (orphan?) is given a promise to be the most beautiful princess in the Land as long as she's willing to forsake to find the true love in her life. The question is why does the "Mother Fairy" chooses to grant her the wish? Explanation is never forthcoming but suffice to say that "The Promise" is all about special effects gone berzerk. Whilst it's made in the spirit of Lord of the Rings trilogy, one could feel that every actions, every movements, every (sub)plots are there to highlight the marvel of special effects. To make an effective movie, special effects need to be made secondary, and it's there to facilitate the telling of a story. A story that's made without a soul, without human emotions is simply ain't going to work. If you ask the Weinstein brothers from Miramax, they wouldn't be involved in this movie whatsoever because it's simply not within their parameters. Anyway, to make better movies, one should experiment and I applaud Chen Kaige for doing that but in this instance, I think he has missed his mark. There are simply too many moments that he pinched from other movies such as Superman, Mission Impossible, Lion King, Lord of the Rings, Silence of the Lamb and the list continues but all characters here are very wooden and two-dimensional but that I sat through the longest two hours of my life. Anyway, the script is very incoherent especially when the Princess grows up into this woman but remember, she was an orphan beforehand and she literally had to steal food from dead people before. Instead of depicting the Princess as a rare gem, she's portrayed more like a nymph with a slutty tendency because she has this 'just because she couldn't get love anyway and therefore, why serious about it?' mentality. To cut the story short, whilst Chinese made movies are going through leaps and bounds right now, this probably would be the largest disappointment of the year. What saddens me is that many of these actors here are A-grade and very accomplished and it's still beyond me why they would get themselves involved in such a contrived and messily-put together movie? The additional feature is the making of the movie, which is compiled on a separate disc, 110 minutes long. Obviously, Chinese movie is upping its standard in terms of disc presentation as well. Yes, the effort is made but still, it has a long way to go.
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