Let the Bullets Fly

'Let The Bullets Fly' is a funny, classy, profane Chinese spaghetti western - with rice noodles and hot sour sauce substituting for spaghetti.The film's humour goes over the top (with CGI assistance), with one of its funniest and most reference-laden scenes of a train holdup by bandits in 1920 warlord China during the first few minutes leading into the titles. The steam railway engine belches smoke, like any fire chariot... but wait, it's being drawn by horses. All that smoke is from the biggest Sichuan hotpot you've ever seen, that almost fills a luxurious private carriage in which a new provincial governor (Ge You), his wife (Carina Lau), and counselor (Feng Xiaogang) are carousing and banqueting as they journey to their new post, protected by a second carriage full of highly alert Republican guards armed with ancient matchlocks. All are unaware that they are targeted for ambush by bandit leader Zhang (Jiang Wen).This is the fourth film directed by Jiang Wen, a famous Chinese actor who extends the noodle western metaphor of this film by acting and directing, somewhat in the footprints of Clint Eastwood, but very much in his own style. This is a funny movie with high production values, humour darker and less accessible to non-Chinese audiences than that of Jackie Chan - without the martial arts showmanship and slapstick that Chan brings to his films. The film is not at all in the familiar historical epic/kung fu genre of Chinese movies recently popular in the west.The script, by Jiang Wen, is adapted from a story by Sichuanese author and satirist Ma Shitu 马识途, 'Dao Guan Ji' 盗官记 ('Tale of the Bandit Official'), from his fictional work published in 1983, 'Ye Tan Shi Ji' 《夜谭十记》('Ten Night-time Tales').Jiang Wen's cast is well chosen, with particularly good work by his four very capable lead actors, including himself. The most recognizable member of the cast to western audiences, Chow Yun-Fat, plays against type as a villain, Huang, the mob boss of Goose Town. One of China's favourite cinema clowns, Ge You - a Chinese Cantinflas - shows great comic timing throughout in the role of conman Ma Bangde. Carina Lau has the only standout female role as the much-widowed governor's wife. Jiang Wen himself plays the wily, whimsical bandit leader Zhang.The Emperor Motion Pictures Blu-ray release available through Amazon resellers has excellent image and sound quality, and a second special features disc. Unfortunately for most of the non-Chinese speaking audience, the sound track options are only Mandarin, and - unusually - Sichuan dialect. The English sub-titles are good, but being necessarily abbreviated cannot carry all nuances of the script, or even its Chinese profanity.

If you require your Chinese movies to be ponderous, self-serious period dramas, then this is not your movie. I think this is the reason why this movie does not get higher review ratings. Also, if you don't like movies that require you to pay attention from start to finish or you miss something important, again this is not your movie. This is also not a preposterous kung-fu movie, thank goodness. This is action comedy, like Indiana Jones or those awful Tarantino ripoff films, but with much better humor. The movie is dialog-driven, which can be demanding when reading subtitles; but it is worth the effort, as clever dialog is the strongest merit of the film: lots of puns, quotables, double-entendre, farce, and idiomatically entertaining profanity (this is the movie with the "F you" scene, where everybody ends up shouting "F you" at each other back and forth). This movie is hilarious, brilliantly acted by the three main stars, and very clever. Chow Yun Fat is especially outstanding, I never knew he could do comedy; he had me laughing almost every time he was on screen, this is my favorite role that I've seen Chow in. If this movie doesn't make you smile, then you are probably dead inside.

Masterpiece!There won't be any Chinese movie as good as this one in the near future...You know what I mean....P.S. the cast is interesting. Not only the main characters are played by THE BEST, some obscure characters may also be played by......

Purchased this film with high expectation. The film is more a comedy than anything else, and quite difficult to follow as well. The original Mandarin Chinese would be the preferred audio track if the English subtitles didn't go by so fast. The English dubbed track would be okay if it sounded more like the original actor's voices, but if you use the English dubbed track with the English subtitles, you will notice a HUGE difference between what is said and what is in the subtitles!!I would have preferred to view the movie in the Blu-Ray version, but the seller, Francies Fantastic Films, sent the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack with ONLY the DVD version in the package, and I ordered the combo pack. The Blu-ray version was MISSING!! I'm fairly certain the audio on the Blu-Ray version would have been superior to the audio on the DVD version, which was difficult to hear because you have to set the volume level very high to hear the dialogue and then have to turn it down when the shooting occurs. Had the product been the combo pack I ordered, my rating would likely have been higher.

Let the bullets fly has lived up to it's name, with many of it's acts reenacted in real life.

I purchased this because I'm a fan of Chow Yun-fat, but it turned out much more than a good Chow Yun-Fat flick. I really wish I could give it more than 5 stars.The best description of the overall tone is sardonic. The music is almost entirely low-key western classical stuff that adds to the sense of irony.. All performances were excellent, but Jiang Wen's performance went above and beyond. The direction is tight and the story is both interesting, clever and oddly satisfying. The ending is delicious.Very highly recommended. I watched the film in Mandarin with English subtitles. There is an English dub which I didn't listen to. I find the dubs lack the subtle tonal shading given by the on-screen performers.

Within in 2 days problem was solved

I can'really leave a review about the film, as I have received a German version that has no English option! Not very impressed at all, as I will now have to return it, or brush up on my schoolgirl German!!

Brilliant film in good order

Der Film spielt in China im Jahre 1920. Es geht um den Kampf eines kleinen Banditen (Jiang Wen "Wächter über Himmel und Erde"), der fast wie eine Art asiatischer Robin Hood daherkommt und eines Gangsterbosses (Chow Yun-Fat "A Better Tomorrow", "The Killer"). Leider wird in diesem Zwist viel zu viel "gelabert" und der Humor ist (vielleicht auch nur in der deutschen Synchro) irgendwie gar nicht so richtig witzig.Ich würde diesen Film auch eher als Verwechslungskomödie mit ein paar sehenswerten und teils recht brutalen Actioneinlagen bezeichnen. Diese Actionsequenzen (hauptsächlich Schießereien) halten den Film am Laufen und mich vorm TV. Leider sieht man Chow Yun-Fat nicht in Action...er beschränkt sich aufs Schauspielern ohne Waffe in der Hand.Wer genau aufpasst erkennt hier und da sogar ein paar kritische Kommentare zur politischen Lage in China, was ja auch eher selten geworden ist in chinesischen Großproduktionen der letzten Zeit.Die deutsche Synchro ist eher auf 80er Jahre Niveau und wieder mal nicht unbedingt das "gelbe vom Ei". Bei Asia-Produktionen ist man ja aber leider oft nichts besseres gewöhnt. Die Schauspieler selbst betreiben auch wieder sehr starkes Overacting. Es gibt die deutsche und die chinesische (Mandarin) Tonspur in DD 5.1. Beide Spuren haben einen sehr guten Raumklang und während der Action einen guten Bass. Deutsche Untertitel sind zuschaltbar. Das Bild ist für DVD-Verhältnisse sehr klar und detailreich. Die Ausstattung und das Setting des chinesischen "Westerns" können sich sehen lassen...man sieht jeden Cent der ca. 18 Millionen Dollar Produktionskosten (Einspiel in China übrigens über 130 Millionen !!).Extras auf DVD:- Interviews mit den Drehbuchautoren (ca. 23:00 mit zuschaltbaren deutschen UT)- Bildergalerie- Trailershow- WendecoverFazit: . Die Actioneinlagen sind nicht schlecht, reißen mich aber auch nicht vom Hocker...insgesamt zu wenig. Die Gewalt ist für eine 16er Freigabe schon als recht hart zu bezeichnen. Leider sind ein paar CGI-Effekte, der Humor und auch viele der Dialoge eher nicht so gut gelungen, was dem Film insgesamt aus meiner Sicht dann doch nicht mehr als 3 (gerade noch so) Sterne einbringt. Wer eine bessere Alternative braucht, der sollte sich unbedingt den koreanischen Western "The Good, The Bad And The Weird" anschauen...dort wurde einiges besser gemacht als hier.

I purchased this item in march last year 2012 and i finally watched it last night 1/26/2013 and i could not believei waited so long i will not say much about the primes of the movie but just to tell you It's so dam good and to saya little about how good the writhing in this fine film is.I think the director [Jiang Wen] re-write this script three timesbefore he got it right.and the English dub is so dam good that I've never ever seen done so brilliantly before in anyAsian movie and I've seen A lot of them.but did i mention it's really funny as well.So just to see Chow Yun-Fat docomedy is funny in it self.Now this is not a Kung-Fu kick him up movie in the least so if that's your thingdon't look here.Runtime132 minwidescreen 2:35.1

This is a relatively big budget film starring the bigger names in contemporary Chinese cinema, including Hong Kong star Chow Yun Fat. The backdrop is the warring period in which the communists fought the KMT, with Japan contemplating an invasion into China. This film is meant to be a mix of comedy and action, and serves the purpose. Some part of the story is over-the-top but as a comedy that may be OK.The Blu-ray disc did deliver sharp images and sound, and met my expectation in this area.