Zhang Yimou's Hero finally in cinemas and I had the privilege to see it.



I didn't like it though. The subtitles were so westernized I kept on comparing it to the Chinese DVD. A few examples:

Chinese: Let me convey my conviction in three words: "All under Heaven."
U.S.: Let me give you the gift of two words: "Our Land."

Chinese: How swift thy sword.
U.S.: How swift your sword must be.




The poetic Mandarin language that was written has been westernized to suit the casual moviegoers' palettes. It's the little things that could have kept this film from being a perfect release.

What really bugs me is the U.S. theatrical trailer of Infernal Affairs. First, in the trailer it presents the two main characters (Leung Chiu-Wai and Lau Tak-Wah) as friends. The thing is that they are never friends in the film. Second, they portray the film as a John Woo-esque action movie. The film is actually more a cat and mouse thriller than Hard Boiled. Wow Miramax, you again did a great job promoting this film!