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In the 3rd century B.C, the ruler of Qin (Chen Daoming) is in the midst of unifying all seven warring kingdoms of China in hopes of creating one, great power. Although a noble goal, the Qin king (Chen Dao Ming) has been conquering his rivals with epic brutality. His ruthlessness is matched only by his desire to become the First Emperor of China once the country is united. His enemies have sent many warriors to try and assassinate him and all have failed, mainly because Qin resides in a cavernous palace and he won’t let visitors approach to within a certain distance. Into this cavernous abode enters Nameless (Jet Li), who claims to have killed the king’s three most dangerous would-be assassins, Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) and Sky (Donnie Yen). Curious how a simple and humble lawman managed to best three deadly warriors, the king invites Nameless to tell his unbelievable tale.

From here, the film opens a can of Rashomon on us, as Nameless tells of defeating Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky. Each battle is sumptuously shot by master Chinese director Zhang Yimou and DP Christopher Doyle. Each story get something of a unique color scheme, all beautifully rendered. Nameless spins a good and colorful story, but the king, never the fool, recognizes that it doesn’t quite add up. This leads to the Qin leader explaining what he thinks really happened. By the end, we learn who is telling the truth and what Nameless’s game really is.

I originally saw Hero in a tiny screening room and I was not prepared for its twisty narrative. Its origami plot refused to give and by the end, I was dizzy. Plus, the storyline is episodic, going from an account of one battle to an account of the next battle. Therefore, the film never gains real momentum. But there are considerable plusses that make the minuses easier to take. Besides the gorgeous cinematography, the fight scenes are magnificent. Warriors bounce off objects and slice through raindrops. A swirl of autumn leaves enrobes two combatants, while two others fly effortlessly over a lake. And it’s all supported by Tan Dan’s wonderful score. It’s like watching an impressionist painting come to life.

Director Zhang, who began his career telling intimate, romantic tales like Raise the Red Lantern and Red Sorghum, has completed a career 180. With Hero (which was made in 2002) and House of Flying Daggers, Zhang is now the top magician in the world of wuxia, the Chinese genre that combines martial arts with chivalrous combat. But somehow the romanticism of his earlier films doesn’t mesh well enough with the poetic battles that preoccupy his current films. Sure, it’s an amazing achievement in visceral, heartstoppingly beautiful fight scenes, but the romance lags behind. In Hero, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. But damn is it beautiful.

Video: How Does The Dvd Look?

Hero is unbelievably well shot by DP Christopher Doyle and the resulting DVD should have been reference quality. Unfortunately, Miramax, a company with a reputation of cranking out average DVD transfers, really dropped the ball. The two main culprits are grain and a digitized feel that detracts from the film’s widescreen, filmic magnificence. Amazingly, there are also some compression errors. Colors are very good, if only because it would take a monkey to completely destroy this beautiful movie. Black levels are okay, but should have contained less gray. Detail is the only consistently impressive aspect of the transfer. In all, this 2.35:1 anamorphic effort is good, when amazing should have been the goal.

Audio: How Does The Dvd Sound?

The mix is another story. It’s excellent right down the line. The options include a DTS Mandarin track, as well as Dolby 5.1 English, French and Mandarin tracks. The winner here is the DTS Mandarin mix. Full and enveloping with great separation that utilizes the entire aural spectrum, watch the film in this audio format if you don’t mind subtitles. If you don’t have a DTS setup, there is a great Dolby 5.1 Mandarin, but it’s not as great as the DTS. The English dub is distracting, even though it does a good job of incorporating itself into an unnatural Chinese environment. With the DTS and the Dolby, the Surrounds are utilized to ample effect, without showing off. The score, featuring low bass drums and high Itzhak Perlman solo violin, sounds great.

Along with the English subtitles, Spanish subtitles are available.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Overwhelming beauty meets underwhelming extras in Miramax Home Video’s latest average effort. Hopefully, a special edition is on the way.

Hero Defined is a 24-minute making-of featurette that skims the surface nicely, although a much more detailed and exhaustive documentary would have been fascinating. All the principles are interviewed and there is plenty of on-set footage. Unfortunately, too little information is imparted on the special effects and fight choreography, which are the film’s biggest selling points. I’ve seen ten-minute featurettes that are more interesting than the 24-minute Hero Defined.

Hero probably would not have been released Stateside were it not for Quentin Tarantino. The next supplement is a 13-minute interview with the Kill Bill director and Hero star Jet Li. Quentin is his usual caffeinated self, but when combined with the purposely shaky camera work, it’s all a bit much. Not as interesting as it sounds.

Finally, there are four storyboard-to-film comparisons. They run less than five minutes total.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

The are no ROM features on this DVD.

Parting Thoughts

Hero is a gorgeous looking film, but every post-Crouching Tiger film in this genre is gorgeous. Even with the bar set high, Hero is really, really, really gorgeous. On the minus side, its Rashomon-style story eventually wore me out and its historical importance will be lost on non-Chinese audiences. Still, Hero is really, really, really gorgeous. Such a shame then, that Miramax once again shanked the DVD, with a disappointing transfer and fair extras. But go ahead and rent it. It’s really, really, really gorgeous.

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