I can't say that I know much about the history involved with the picture, but I really felt transported to this culture and this period quite well through director Chen Kaige's film. Taking place in 221 BC, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, is looking to take over the surrounding territories and take them under his rule. The film revolves around his attempts and work with Lady Zhao(Gong Li) to scheme to take over the other areas. Performances by both are excellent, with Li Xuejian showing force and power as the King and Gong Li, looking delicate and stunning as Zhao.

What amazes is that this film was estimated at 25 million dollars in budget; if you look at the battle scenes, the costumes and the sets, my first guess would have been 75 million or more. It really shows that a massive, beautiful looking production can be staged without having a budget that goes into an insane range. The production is, as I said before, remarkable in size and impressively brought together. Cinematography is similarly excellent, bathing the images in a rich, warm light that looks beautiful. "Emperor And The Assassin" does run a little long at 161 minutes, but it is a very strong, very well-directed picture that contains great costumes, sets and performances.

The DVD

VIDEO: As with almost every single DVD that Tristar releases, the quality is nothing short of magnificent. The cinematography and locations that are used in this film are both stunning and are presented with impressive clarity on this disc. Sharpness is definitely never an issue, looking great; detail is very good as well, and consistent. Colors are very warm and nicely saturated, never showing any problems. Flesh tones are fine as well.

The problems are almost not even noticable; they certainly aren't distracting. Just the slightest bit of shimmer and a mark or two on the print; not even a tiny bit of pixelation can be found. A movie like this needs a very natural, film-like presentation and that's exactly what we're presented with on Tristar's effort, which does this film great, great justice. Marvelous work that really impressed me quite a bit.

SOUND: "The Emperor and The Assassin" contains a Chinese language audio track that is somewhat limited in terms of sound design, but does capture the film adequately. Everything is quite clear and without any problems.

MENUS:Some basic, film-themed main menus that are non-animated.

EXTRAS:

Commentary: This is a commentary by director Chen Kaige, and he definitely has no trouble finding a lot to talk about in the film during the commentary, almost finding himself jumping around subjects during the discussion because things are constantly coming up that are worthy of noting. He does a remarkable job of leading us through each and every scene, taking us through problems with such a major production, working with actors, budget, distribution, writing and budget issues.

A little while into the track, I was amazed at how consistently the director was able to talk; he seems to go on without even pausing to take a breath. He seems to have volume upon volume of stories about specific instances and problems that happened on the set and things that he had to deal with from the crew.

He's definitely never dull; he seems very energetic in sharing his comments and really takes a very honest, very wonderful sense of pride in his accomplishment and I greatly enjoyed hearing his tales. I think that really, this is one of the most enjoyable commentaries I've ever heard. Kaige is just so honest and friendly, listening to him tell a wealth of stories about history and the film's production is really a treat. Especially recommended for film students.

Trailers: Trailers for "The Emperor and the Assassin", "Story Of Qiu Ju", "The Last Emperor" and "The King Of Masks". Talent Files: Text bios.

Final Thoughts: "The Emperor and the Assassin" might not be something that everyone would like, but I was stunned by the size and beauty of the film, and at least recommend checking it out as a rental. The commentary is wonderful, as well. If you are a fan of the film, you will definitely not be dissapointed in the great work that Tristar has done.