Curse of the Golden Flower

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zhang Yimou directs. Zhao Xiaoding behind the camera. Shigeru Umebayashi scores. Cheng Long cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Thailand. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 20 years ago.
• 2International production across 4 countries: China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Thailand.
• 3Directed by Zhang Yimou, shot by Zhao Xiaoding. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Shigeru Umebayashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Cheng Long shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li and Jay Chou carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Unspeakable secrets are hidden within the Forbidden City.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt0473444 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 27 themes, including "empire", "plan", "secret love", "martial arts".
• 10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Zhao Xiaoding

Original score

Shigeru Umebayashi

Editing

Cheng Long

Production design

Tingxiao Huo

Costume design

Kenneth Yee

VFX supervisor

Frankie Chung Chi-Hang

Sound

Tao Jing

Runtime

114 min · 1h 54m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$45,000,000

Box office

$78,568,977

Return

175% of budget

Original language

ZH

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) ↗

Also by

Zhang Yimou

• 
  庆祝中华人民共和国成立70周年联欢活动

  2019 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Beijing 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony

  2008 · ★ 8.6
• 
  To Live

  1994 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Puccini: Turandot at the Forbidden City of Beijing

  1999 · ★ 8.0
• 
  最忆是杭州

  2016 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Raise the Red Lantern

  1991 · ★ 7.9

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

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  Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) Trailer 2

  Trailer
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  Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) Trailer 1

  Trailer
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  Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) Movie Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• r96sk2023-06-23
  ★ 10/10

  Now that's awesome! Where to start with <em>'Curse of the Golden Flower'</em>? Firstly, I need to show some appreciation for the score - incredible! From the very first scene I knew I was in for a treat in that department, it sets the tone perfectly throughout. This also features outstanding performances from Gong Li (!), Chow Yun-fat, Chen Jin and Jay Chou, among some others. I was particularly impressed by Gong, she truly is terrific from beginning to end - as what is a memorable character. I know I say this a lot with actors, but I'm gonna need to try and check out more of her filmography! Chow is the only actor in this that I'm familiar with, but this clearly tops what I've seen (not enough, granted) of him thus far - still a fan of him as Sao Feng in <em>'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'</em>, though. The rest of those onscreen, despite the commanding presence of the aforementioned, still manage to standout in my memory as well, from earlier noted Chen and Chou to Li Man to Liu Ye. The costumes, the sets... I personally do not think this film really put a foot wrong in terms of how it's made. How about those battle sequences too? Visually stunning, but also audibly so. The ending didn't go the way I was expecting, which is very much a positive thing. Admittedly, this film hit an unwritten cheat code for me. As in: Give me strong performances and a great score and I am hook, line, and sinker. This Zhang Yimou flick gave me that in abundance. Overall, in my opinion: top notch!

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• BE

  Beijing New Picture Film Co. Ltd.

  CN

• EL

  Elite Group Enterprises

  HK

• FI

  Film Partner International

  CN

• 

  Edko Films

  HK

• PI

  Picasso Pictures

  GB

• KA

  Kantana Studios

  TH

Key crew

• ProducerZhang Weiping
• Production DesignTingxiao Huo
• Visual EffectsFrankie Chung Chi-Hang
• Costume DesignKenneth Yee
• EditorCheng Long
• AuthorYu Cao
• ProducerBill Kong
• Sound DesignerTao Jing
• SongsJay Chou
• Visual Effects SupervisorFrankie Chung Chi-Hang
• ProducerRonald Wong
• StuntsTony Ching Siu-Tung
• Visual Effects ProducerDrew Jones
• Title DesignerIan Cross

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• empire
• plan
• secret love
• martial arts
• china
• swordplay
• fight
• toxication
• marriage crisis
• poison
• secret society
• palace
• forbidden love
• heir to the throne
• battle for power
• royal family
• tang dynasty
• pomp
• based on play or musical
• sword fight
• betrayal
• period drama
• historical
• wuxia
• power struggle
• poisoning
• 7th century

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2006-11-12· AFI Fest
• Theatrical (limited)2006-12-21R
• Theatrical2007-01-12

Also known as

International titles

• Curse of the Golden FlowerUS
• La città proibitaIT
• La Cité interditeFR
• CesarzowaPL
• 황후花KR
• Den gyllene blommans förbannelseSE
• Curse of the Golden FlowerNL
• Man cheng jin dai huang jin jiaCN
• Slaget om den forbudte byNO
• Kampen om den forbudte byNO
• Altın Çiçəyin LənətiAZ