Let the Bullets Fly

Let the Bullets Fly
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese讓子彈飛
Simplified Chinese让子弹飞
Hanyu PinyinRàng zǐ dàn fēi
Directed byJiang Wen
Screenplay byJiang Wen
Story byMa Shitu
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZhao Fei
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byEmperor Motion Pictures
Release date
  • December 16, 2010 (2010-12-16)
Running time
132 minutes
Country
  • China
LanguagesMandarin
Sichuanese
Box officeUS$117.5 million (China)[1]
US$140 million (worldwide)[1]

Let the Bullets Fly[2] is a 2010 Chinese action comedy film written and directed by Jiang Wen, based on a story by Ma Shitu.[3] The film is set in Sichuan during the 1920s when the bandit Zhang (Jiang Wen) descends upon a town posing as its new governor. The film also stars Chow Yun-fat, Ge You, Carina Lau, Chen Kun and Zhou Yun.

The film's script went through over thirty drafts before Jiang Wen was happy with it. Let the Bullets Fly was originally to be released in September 2010 but was pushed back to December. Made in Mandarin and Sichuanese, the film broke several box office records in China, and has received critical acclaim, when it was released. Let the Bullets Fly grossed 674 million yuan (US$110 million) in Chinese box office[4] (becoming the highest grossing domestic film in China until it was beaten by Painted Skin: The Resurrection in 2012[5][6]) and $140 million worldwide.[1]

This film would become the first part of Jiang Wen's gangster Beiyang trilogy with Gone with the Bullets and Hidden Man.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b c Nancy Tartaglione (December 21, 2014). "'Hobbit' Rules; 'Bullets' Fire Up China; 'PK' Lands; 'Museum' Opens Doors: Intl BO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  2. ^ simplified Chinese: 让子弹飞; traditional Chinese: 讓子彈飛; pinyin: Ràng Zǐ Dàn Fēi; Jyutping: Joeng6 Zi2 Daan6 Fei1
  3. ^ Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 88. ISBN 978-1908215017.
  4. ^ Stephen Cremin (18 May 2013). "So Young enters China's all-time top ten". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015.
  5. ^ "《让子弹飞》票房7.3亿 姜文成国内第一导演" (in Chinese).
  6. ^ Cremin, Stephen (July 24, 2012). "Resurrection takes China BO record". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "姜文谈《一步之遥》 故事源自北洋阎瑞生案" [Jiang Wen talks about "One Step Away" The story is based on the Beiyang Yan Ruisheng case] (in Chinese). NetEase Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  8. ^ IMAX China (June 20, 2018). "Jiang Wen's Hidden Man to be Released in IMAX Theatres Across China on July 13". Beijing: PR Newswire Asia Ltd. PR Newswire. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  9. ^ Elley, Derek (30 August 2018). "Review: Hidden Man (2018)". Sino-Cinema. WordPress. Retrieved 5 November 2024.