Di Renjie (2010)

Director:

Hark Tsui

Writers:

Kuo-fu Chen
Jialu Zhang (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

2 September 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu. |

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Ancient China | Bug | Secret Plot | Chinese Emperor

Awards:

6 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Shatuo Zhong
Chao Deng	...	Pei Donglai
Carina Lau	...	Empress Wu Zetian
Bingbing Li	...	Shangguan Jing'er (as Li Bing Bing)
Andy Lau	...	Detective Dee
Jean-Michel Casanova	...	General Aspar (as Michel)
Sos Haroyan	...	Assistant to Umayyad Ambassador
Jialin Zhao	...	Interpreter
Yan Qin	...	Jia Yi
Jinshan Liu	...	Xue Yong
Deshun Wang	...	Xiazi Ling
Shenming He	...	Prison Officer
Lu Yao	...	Li Xiao
Yanming Jiang	...	Undertaker
Huang Yonggang	...	Zhang Xun
Richard Ng	...	Wang Lu - before face-lift
Teddy Robin Kwan	...	Wang Lu - after face-lift (as Teddy Robin)
Xiao Chen	...	Lu Li
Liz Veronica Foo	...	Wife of Jia Yi
Nan Xu	...	Chamberlain
Jin Chai	...	Qiu Shenji
Yingxin Shen
Qian Jiang
Jialu Zhang
Hongjun Cheng
Xuehai Jiao
Ming Lu
Jinhu Jia
Zhengbing Yuan

Directed by
Hark Tsui

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kuo-fu Chen
Lin Qianyu		original story
Jialu Zhang		screenplay

Produced by
Felice Bee	....	co-producer
Peggy Lee	....	producer
Nansun Shi	....	producer
Hark Tsui	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Kam

Cinematography by
Chi Ying Chan		(director of photography)
Chor Keung Chan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Chi Wai Yau

Production Design by
Sung Pong Choo

Art Direction by
Chi Pang Terrance Chung

Costume Design by
Bruce Yu

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hsun-Wei David Chang	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tak Fu Chou	....	set designer
Yu Hang Tsang	....	assistant art director

Visual Effects by
Yanming Jiang	....	visual effects supervisor
Phil Jones	....	visual effects supervisor
Changbae Kang	....	visual effects
Janghyung Kim	....	senior effects technical director
Jinny Ko	....	effects technical director: AZworks
Yong-gi Lee	....	visual effects
Sang-woo Nam	....	visual effects

Stunts
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	....	action director

Camera and Electrical Department
Saeed Adyani	....	still photographer
Benjamin Childs	....	still photographer
Marc Ehrenbold	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Hideyuki Mako	....	post production supervisor

Production Companies

• China Film Co-Production Corporation
• Huayi Brothers Media
• Huayi Brothers

Distributors

• Huayi Brothers (2010) (China) (theatrical)
• Lark Films Distribution (2010) (Hong Kong) (theatrical) (as UA Films)
• Golden Village Pictures (2010) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Lotte Entertainment (2010) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Mongkol Major (2010) (Thailand) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney International Pictures (2011) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• P.T. Teguh Bakti Mandiri (2010) (Indonesia) (theatrical)
• Incubate (2010) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Showbox Media Group (2011) (UK) (video) (as Cine-Asia)
• Tucker Film (2011) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Indomina Releasing (2010) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Le Pacte (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Twin Co. Ltd. (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Uzumasa (2012) (Japan) (theatrical) (in association with)
• Wild Side Films (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Central Park Films (2011) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Central Park Films (2011) (Poland) (all media)
• Central Park Films (2011) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Koch Media (2011) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• AZ Works (visual effects)
• CJ Powercast
• Free-D Workshop Company (additional visual effects)
• Kinomotive Studio Limited (additional visual effects)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• HFR  digital intermediate
• HFR  subtitles
• Hang Wan Cinematic Equipment Rental  Red One 4K cameras supplier
• Keypoint & Cinerent Studio  post-production sound services
• Kodak Cinelabs  
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles: Hong Kong version (uncredited)
• R.S. Video & Film Productions  Red One 4K cameras supplier
• Shaw Brothers  prints: Hong Kong

Also Known As:

"Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame" - UK (imdb display title), UK (video title)
"Detective D" - Singapore (English title) (short title)
"Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" - International (English title) (imdb display title)
"Di Renjie zhi tongtian diguo" - Hong Kong (Mandarin title) (imdb display title)
"Dik Yangit ji tungtin daigwok" - Hong Kong (Cantonese title) (imdb display title)
"Di Renjie zhi tongtian diguo" - Singapore (Mandarin title) (imdb display title), Taiwan (imdb display title)
"Detective Dee e il mistero della Fiamma Fantasma" - Italy (imdb display title)
"Detective Dee und das Geheimnis der Phantomflammen" - Germany (imdb display title)
"Detective Dee: Le mystère de la flamme fantôme" - France (imdb display title)
"Detetive D e o Império Celestial" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Jeok-in-geol" - South Korea (short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and some sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:119 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

China Film Co-Production Corporation

Trivia:

Hark Tsui decided to change the character of Shangguan Wan'er, feeling that a more fictitious character would provide more room for creativity: "There are some things that Wan-er couldn't do, like being a top-notch martial arts expert." In reality, Shangguan Wan'er (c. 664-July 21, 710) was a poet, writer and politician of the Tang Dynasty.

Enjoyed the original setting and storytelling

I loved many of Tsui Hark's epics from the 80s/90s, but haven't seen anything from the director recently, so I probably went in with fairly neutral expectations.

This was an enjoyable ride. Like others have noted, it's comparable to a Chinese "Sherlock Holmes" (the recent Guy Ritchie version), or a movie-length, Tang-dynasty-set "CSI". Overall, it was a rather original experience - more than I can say for most movies nowadays. There are several intriguing characters and the pace and acting are solid. While the central murder mystery - whodunnit and howdunnit - is not exactly a head-scratcher, it does provide a good structure for some exciting and beautiful visuals.

Was the CGI completely up to the director's vision? Definitely not, but to naysayers, I say, loosen up! The budget for this movie is less than that of a typical Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy! I appreciated and enjoyed the whole movie enough that I wasn't overly distracted by the not-so-special effects.