| The Founding of a Republic | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Traditional Chinese | 建國大業 |
| Simplified Chinese | 建国大业 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Jiàngúo Dà Yè |
| Jyutping | Gin3 gwok3 Daai6 Jip6 |
| Directed by | Huang Jianxin Han Sanping |
| Written by | Chen Baoguang Wang Xingdong |
| Produced by | Huang Jianxin Han Sanping |
| Starring | Tang Guoqiang Zhang Guoli Xu Qing Liu Jing Chen Kun Wang Wufu |
| Cinematography | Zhao Xiaoshi |
| Edited by | Derek Hui Xu Hongyu |
| Music by | Shu Nan |
Production companies | China Film Group Shanghai Film Studio Media Asia Films Emperor Motion Pictures Universe Entertainment Polybona Films China Movie Channel Beijing Guoli Changsheng Movies & TV Productions Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Production Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation DMG Entertainment Beijing Xinbaoyuan Movie & TV Investment |
| Distributed by | China Film Group Beijing Polybona Film Distribution (China) Universe Films Distribution (Hong Kong) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $8.8–$10 million |
| Box office | US$62.5 million[1][2] RMB¥420 million[3] |
The Founding of a Republic is a Chinese historical drama produced in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and was made to portray the final years of the Chinese Communist Revolution that followed the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). This film was co-directed by Huang Jianxin and Han Sanping, and includes many famous actors such as Andy Lau, Ge You, as well as other directors such as Jiang Wen, and Chen Kaige. The main protagonists Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek were played by highly renowned actors, Tang Guoqiang and Zhang Guoli. One of the purposes of this movie aside from reenacting the events of the Chinese Communist Revolution was to also attract a younger audience to view films that revolved around government propaganda, which they aim to accomplish by including famous actors that would draw the attention of the youth.[4] According to the executive at one of China's top multiplex chains, this film is also unique because the film unusually marries "the core of an 'ethically inspiring' film with commercial packaging.".[4] Additionally, this is the first zhuxuanlu (主旋律; i.e. propaganda) film to work solely with cinematic audio-visual methods to achieve its political and ideological goals. It is a milestone in that since its production in 2009, the distinction between zhuxuanlu and commercial film has become blurred; they have become primarily indistinguishable from each other.[5] This film was released on September 16, 2009, in mainland China and during its release, it had a tremendous amount of support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
- ^ (in Chinese) 2009 Yearly Box Office Ranking for Mainland China
- ^ Total Gross: The Founding of a Republic (excluding Mainland China)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Lee, Min (3 September 2009). "China injects star power into anniversary film".
- ^ Wolte, I. (2018). Persuasive communication in Chinese historical film - The Founding of a Republic as a milestone. In H.-y. Peng (Ed.), & E. Raidel (Ed.), The Politics of Memory in Sinophone Cinemas and Image Culture - Alternative Archives (pp. 32-45). London: Routledge