The Opium War (film)

The Opium War
Japanese film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese鴉片戰爭
Simplified Chinese鸦片战争
Literal meaningopium war
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYāpiàn Zhànzhēng
Directed byXie Jin
Written byZhu Sujin
Ni Zhen
Zong Fuxian
Mai Tianshu
Produced byChen Zhigu
StarringBao Guo'an
Lin Liankun
Sihung Lung
Bob Peck
Simon Williams
Shao Hsin
Su Min
CinematographyHou Yong
Shang Yong
Edited byDavid Wu
Qian Lili
Zhang Longgen
Music byJin Fuzai
Huang Hanqi
Production
companies
Emei Film Studio
Xie Jin / Heng Tong Film & TV Co.
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Mandarin Films (International) Co. Ltd.
Release date
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
English

The Opium War (鸦片战争) is a 1997 Chinese historical epic film directed by Xie Jin. The winner of the 1997 Golden Rooster and 1998 Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Picture, the film was screened in several international film festivals, notably Cannes and Montreal. The film tells the story of the First Opium War of 1839–1842, which was fought between the Qing Empire of China and the British Empire, from the perspectives of key figures such as the Chinese viceroy Lin Zexu and the British naval diplomat Charles Elliot.

Unlike other films of the same era, The Opium War was endorsed by the government as culturally and historically significant.[1] According to most critics, the film is factually correct in its essentials.[2]

With a budget of $15 million (USD), The Opium War, was the most expensive film produced in China at the time of its release.[3] Conceived to celebrate the handover of Hong Kong to China, it premiered in July 1997.

  1. ^ "Xie Jin Speaks Out". Filmfestivals.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  2. ^ Elley, Derek (8 June 1997). "The Opium War". Variety. Retrieved 12 December 2007. Higgins, Andrew (12 June 1997). "China's Epic Exorcism". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
  3. ^ Gee, Alison Dakota (27 June 1997). "Xie's Epic Victory, A historical spectacle surprises the cynics". AsiaWeek. Retrieved 11 December 2007.