Screened as part of NZIFF 2011

Let the Bullets Fly 2010

Rang zidan fei

Directed by Jiang Wen

Chow Yun Fat, Ge You and Jiang Wen star in this spectacular, brutally comic blockbuster Chinese Western. “China’s biggest domestic box-office hit to date is a freewheeling romp full of sex, violence, and humor.” — Newsweek

China / Hong Kong In Mandarin with English subtitles
132 minutes CinemaScope

Director

Producers

Barbie Tung
,
Zhao Haicheng

Screenplay

Zhu Sujin
,
Shu Ping
,
Jiang Wen
,
Guo Junli
,
Wei Xiao
,
Li Bukong

Photography

Zhao Fei

Music

Joe Hisaishi
,
Shu Nan

With

Chow Yun Fat
,
Ge You
,
Jiang Wen
,
Carina Lau
,
Jiang Wu
,
Liao Fan
,
Zhou Yun
,
Chen Kun
,
Zhang Mo

Festivals

Tribeca 2011

Elsewhere

“Machiavellian mind games, a twisted vendetta and high-octane gun slinging among a bandit posing as a governor, his strategist, and a small-town kingpin are the stuff of adventure and trenchant humor in Let the Bullets Fly. As an allegory on power, corruption and rough justice, it has flashes of intelligence and political acumen. Actor-auteur Jiang Wen directs with a macho, devil-may-care bravado that expresses the anarchy and rapacious opportunism of warlord-dominated China in the 1920s. Although the promotional hook is the rare cast combination of Chow Yun Fat, Ge You and Jiang himself, its instant rise to the summit of China’s box office may be attributed more to the racy storytelling and current Chinese fascination with Wild West crime capers… Although strategic wars are not novel to China’s period blockbusters, few achieve this film’s level of sophistication in nuanced dialogue, plot twists and bravura acting.” — Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter