Now it has been established that sometimes spectacle can be frowned upon. Some films are over the top, obviously so, and I therefore have a tendency to dismiss them. On other occasions though, the opposite is true. Some odes to Shakespeare may abound, but the film that to me is linked pictorally, dramatically, and in terms of quality would be William Wyler's Ben-Hur. Ben-Hur was Hollywood spectacle done right. A film of fabulous sets, thousands of extras, and so many dramatic set ups. With only two exceptions all of Yimou's film takes place within the confines of the Forbidden City and never before in film, does the city part of this ring true. The Foribden City never seems to end. Corridors, and passage ways never stop, and when troops show up, there never seems to be an end to them. It seems at times half the population of China resides withing the gates of the palace.

The beginning of the film establishes the splendor of everything, and at first there seems a very conscious attempt to impress. Having seen previews for the film, I knew this was going to happen, so you can relax. Let in the splendor, and then pay attention to everything else. This is the type of film that you imagine King Hu would h[bave made had he been given 100 million dollars to make a picture. The whole "everyone can fight" edict runs through and lends to the slightly surreal nature of the film, but completely in context within martial arts films. The story though begins to unravel, and the more it progresses the more engrossed I was. I think this soars higher than Yimou's previous martial arts epics, and like A I am very pleased with the direction he has gone. Sure this film doesn't have the emotional gravitas of To Live, but visually it is just as splendid as his first three films with Gong Li, and the enlarged scale works well. This film will no doubt make my top ten for the year, and now the question is just how high.

Grade A