The Emperor and the Assassin
1998 · Movie · R · 162 min · ★ 6.9 · 78% critics
In ancient China before unification, a ruler sends a trusted woman into a rival kingdom to help set up an assassination that will justify war. As court rituals, shifting alliances, and violence escalate, she begins to question the plan—and where her loyalty truly lies.
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Details
- Original title
- 荆轲刺秦王
- Years
- 1998
- Release date
- 1998-10-08
- Language
- Chinese
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Critic score
- 78/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.9/10 (87 votes)
About
If you enjoy sprawling historical power struggles and morally thorny intrigue with bursts of brutality, this may click, especially if you liked Red Cliff or Elizabeth; Not for you if you want fast pacing and constant action.
Pros: lavish epic scale; tense court intrigue; strong atmosphere | Cons: very long runtime; slow, quiet stretches; uneven performances
Themes
- assassin
- china
- kingdom
- occupying power
- governance
- concubine
- warring states period
- 3rd century bc
Cast & crew
Gong Li
as Lady Zhao
Zhang Fengyi
as Jing Ke
Li Xuejian
as Ying Zheng
Wang Zhiwen
as Marquis Changxin
Sun Zhou
as Prince Yan Dan
Chen Kaige
as Lu Buwei
Pan Changjiang
as Prison Official
Zhao Benshan
as Gao Jianli
Ding Haifeng
as Qin Wuyang
Zhou Xun
as Blind Girl
Directed by Chen Kaige