From what I've read the movie was cut down to begin with....

"Miramax owns the rights to this film in some world markets, including the United States, where it has yet to be released in any form. According to this site, Miramax actually forced director Zhang Yimou to edit the original 120 minute film by 30 minutes, claiming that American audience would not sit and tolerate a film that long. To satisfy their needs, Yimou edited the film down to 98 minutes, and this is the version that has been shown around the world, including China. However, he is planning to release the unedited 120 minute version on DVD in Hong Kong and China very soon, although there are no plans to release the unedited version for the big screen"

"be warned--if you don't know much about chinese history (both ancient and recent), then you might hate the movie. some will like it based purely on its visual style and martial arts choreography, but those of you looking for a "story" will likely leave thinking, "wtf?" "


thanks, "fenghis khan"

hopefully my sweet 7th grade education will hold up well through out the story, just enough to see some cool fights.

well, my post wasn't meant to offend anyone's level of knowledge; it's just that i've met people who were irritated by the movie's narrative because they didn't understand what the big fuss was (about killing one very important historical figure, that is).