Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Theatrical release poster
Chinese name
Traditional ChineseHK狄仁傑之通天帝國
TW通天神探狄仁傑
Simplified Chinese狄仁杰之通天帝国
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDí Rénjié Zhī Tōngtiān Dìguó
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingDik6 Jan4 Git6 Zi1 Tung1 Tin1 Dai3 Gwok3
Directed byTsui Hark
Screenplay byChang Chia-lu
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
  • Pakie Chan
  • Chan Chi-ying
Edited byYau Chi-wai
Music byPeter Kam
Production
companies
Distributed byEmperor Motion Pictures
Release dates
  • 29 September 2010 (2010-09-29) (China)
  • 30 September 2010 (2010-09-30) (Hong Kong)
Running time
122 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • Hong Kong
Languages
BudgetUS$20 million
Box officeUS$51.7 million[2]

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Chinese: 狄仁傑之通天帝國) is a 2010 Chinese-Hong Kong action-adventure gong'an film directed and produced by Tsui Hark, which stars Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Deng Chao and Tony Leung. Hong Kong movie-star Sammo Hung takes the role as the action director for the film.

The film tells the story of Di Renjie (Andy Lau), one of the most celebrated officials of the Tang dynasty, who is tasked by the Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) to solve a series of inexplicable murders in which victims suddenly burst into flames.

Principal photography for Detective Dee began in May 2009; the film was shot at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, China. Detective Dee was released in China on 29 September 2010 and in Hong Kong on 30 September; in North American, it premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

The film grossed US$51.7 million and won six awards at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards, more than any other film, including Best Director and Best Actress for Lau; it was also nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival.[4][5] It was followed by two prequels, Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013) and The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), also directed by Tsui and starring Carina Lau, and with Mark Chao as a young Detective Di.[6][7][8][9][10]

  1. ^ The film's original language is Cantonese, but it was then dubbed into Mandarin Chinese for Mainland China and international release.
  2. ^ "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame at Box Office Mojo".
  3. ^ "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame". Toronto International Film Festival 2010. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010.
  4. ^ "Venezia 67". labiennale.org. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Venice unveils 2010 competition lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  6. ^ Star, Korea (17 August 2012). "Actor Kim Bum to star in Tsui Hark's movie 'Detective Dee: The Prequel' - Yahoo! OMG! Philippines". Ph.omg.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  7. ^ Hong Gil-dong (17 August 2012). "Actor Kim Bum back in Hark Tsui's new film". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Kim Bum Cast in Upcoming Hong Kong Action Thriller Film". Soompi. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  9. ^ 安蔚 (3 August 2012). "Cast list of Tsui Hark's 'Di Renjie' revealed". China.org.cn. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Kim Bum to Make Chinese Film Debut with Director Tsui Hark - Yahoo! OMG! Philippines". Ph.omg.yahoo.com. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2013.