A Shakespearean tragedy set in ancient China, this is an over-the-top yet spectacular film with extraordinary performances. Director Zhang Yimou offers fewer choreographed martial arts sequences than in his previous triumphs Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

It is difficult to take the eyes off the screen when Gong Li, the neglected and betrayed consort, clashes with the ever conniving husband, ruthless emperor Chow-Yun Fat.

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