Customer Reviews

Secrets of China's First Emperor: Tyrant and Visionary

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Koch Vision presents "SECRETS OF CHINA'S FIRST EMPEROR:TYRANT AND VISIONARY" (2006) (104 mins/Color) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- What man could imagine a unified China? What man could envision a wall stretching across the entire border of this new empire? What man could terrorize his subjects, yet remain a beloved and legendary figure?

Credited with both unifying China and tormenting its citizenry, Qin Shi Huangdi, the "first emperor of China," is one of the most controversial leaders in the nation's history --- This documentary delves into the ruler's complex legacy, from the brilliant military strategies that created an empire to his plans for the original Great Wall.

The monarch known now as Qin Shi Huang personal name Yíng Zhèng, was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 BCE to 221 BCE (officially still under the Zhou Dynasty), and then the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BCE to 210 BCE, ruling under the name the First Emperor --- As the ruler of the Great Qin, he was known for the introduction of Legalism and also for unifying China.

Qin Shi Huang remains a controversial figure in Chinese history --- Having unified China, he and his chief adviser Li Si passed a series of major reforms aimed at cementing unification, and they undertook some gigantic projects, most notably the precursor version of the current Great Wall of China, a city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, at the expense of numerous human lives --- To ensure stability, he outlawed Confucianism and buried many of its scholars alive, banning and burning all books other than those officially decreed.

Despite the tyranny of his autocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang is still regarded by many today as a pivotal figure in Chinese history whose unification of China has endured for more than two millennia --- His accomplishments were unprecedented, his charisma was irresistible --- Learn the SECRETS OF CHINA'S FIRST EMPEROR with this revelatory and instructive DVD.

Secrets Of China's First Emperor
1. A thought-provoking, dramatic biography of China's "first emperor.".
2. He built the famous terracotta army in Shaanxi Province, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3. Separate the facts from the myths surrounding the life and reign of Qin Shi Huangdi.

Great job by Koch Vision --- looking forward to more high quality titles from the BBC Collection film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 104 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision 6543 ~ (6/10/2008)

"Secrets of China's First Emperor" is both informative and entertaining. It has the usual experts explaining the archeological finds, as well as actors reenacting scenes from the Qin emperor's life. The dramatic scenes are obviously low-budget, but they're pretty comprehensive and provide a look at several aspects of Qin's life and times. TThe documentary doesn't just repeat several scenes over and over, as happens too frequently with these types of movies. This documentary is now playing alongside the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit, and is definitely worth watching before you see the warriors themselves.

Plenty of historical information, the reenactments aren't too hokey, and there is just enough (implied) sex and war to keep teenagers interested. I ordered three docus about ancient china, and this was definitely the best of the three. but that's not saying much for the others.

The book is difficult to find, but this vendor had it and delivered it sooner than expected. I will buy from them again.

This work speaks about the first emperor, a slave who would have been forced to make his mausoleum, the mausoleum, the walls built around China, the terracotta soldiers, etc. Basically, this may feel like "too many cooks" for some. This work won't help you pass a test in Chinses history. But if you wanted some quick knowledge about a longstanding civilization, then this was a good starting point.

This work showed an assassin failing to kill the emperor who was a few feet away. It showed how many writing styles were unified into one legal style. In short, this brings up a lot that was mentioned in Jet Li's "Hero," so viewers might want to see this documentary if they loved that film.

This work says the emperor feared death. He built a huge afterworld. It took thousands of people to create it. It included many of the creature comforts of the contemporary living world. In short, it sure sounded like the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, but that group is not mentioned here.