Axis of War - The First of August details
| Format: | 15 DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Hou Youg, Wu Waidong, Zhang Zaixin, Lue Leong Wai Ray, Liu Jin |
| Directors: | Dong Yachun, Song Yeming |
| Genres: | Action/Adventure - Sci-fi/Fantasy, Drama, World Cinema - Chinese |
| Studio: | METRODOME |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Axis of War - The First of August |
15 Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 35 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 10 May 2010 |
| Main languages: | Mandarin |
| Subtitles: | English |
Write your own review
Most helpful review
Could have been done better
By Dungbeetle (503 reviews) from London , 04 Jul 2010[Highly rated reviewer]
Chinese film with subtitles. It pays to have a basic knowledge of the civil war in China in 1927 and who the main protaganists were. While the battle scenes are indeed massive they lack any viewer effect as the few characters depicted are too similar and lightly drawn. Most effort was put into the studio shots of the heroic leaders which explains why it was made by state cinema and not independent groups. There are little or no views of the enemy warlords other than the enemy soldiers in mass defence or attack. Thus you have little or no empathy with the heroes. This series could have been so much more than just propaganda for Mao. As a fan of recent Chinese epics such as Red Cliff this is disappointing for me..- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
All reviews
(5)The birth of China's Red Army
By GwydionM (57 reviews) from Peterborough , 20 Mar 2011The film fails to give the context, which non-Chinese viewers would be unlikely to know. That China's 1911 revolution had led to chaos and warlordism. That Sun Yatsen had formed an alliance with the Soviet Union and with China's small Communist Party. That the Northern Expedition, starting from the Kuomintang's southern base, was aimed at suppressing the warlords and also the rival national government in Beijing. That by 1927, Sun Yatsen was dead and Chiang Kai-Shek had rejected the Communist alliance and also failed to do anything about foreign control of the core of Shanghai and many other Chinese cities. A couple of minutes explaining this would have made the rest of the film a lot clearer.
I was also surprised that Sun Yatsen's widow wasn't shown. She played an important role as leader of those non-Communists who wanted to continue the alliance.
It was quite a good war-film and also a good account of the history of those times.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
propaganda triumph
By a customer from london , 17 Nov 2010Very boring,confused!the fast subtitles make the messy,historicaly incorrect plot almost incomprehensible! the only evidence is the paramount value of the party members overcaming all odds! it may work with cultural revolution public but hardly nowadays!Don't waist your time- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Axis of War - The First of August
By Pawo (12 reviews) from Faringdon , 09 Sep 2010This is a modern Chinese propaganda film. As a war film its no worse than US or UK films of the forties and early fifties. The history of the alliance of forces in the Kuomintang and the split between the Communist party and the Nationalists
is complex and this film does very little to show the hows and whys of events leading up to the main event of the film, 'The First of August'. It is a curious film that is pandering to the trends in China today so that Chou Enlai is portrayed wearing natty suits, which may actually be true of the time.Chinese films from an earlier era would have had all the 'heroes' in cadre green.
Like so many films coming out of China this is more whitewash of history and yet like so much unsophisticated propaganda easily recognisable as such. Unfortunately the 'historical' flying swordsman films which are so highly entertaining nevertheless have a similar but hidden underlying theme of 'Mother' China its ancient culture and empire. This is of course a clever way to convince us in the west that Chinese 'Imperialist' conquering of its neighbours is in their best interests.
TIBET IS NOT CHINA.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Could have been done better
By Dungbeetle (503 reviews) from London , 04 Jul 2010Chinese film with subtitles. It pays to have a basic knowledge of the civil war in China in 1927 and who the main protaganists were. While the battle scenes are indeed massive they lack any viewer effect as the few characters depicted are too similar and lightly drawn. Most effort was put into the studio shots of the heroic leaders which explains why it was made by state cinema and not independent groups. There are little or no views of the enemy warlords other than the enemy soldiers in mass defence or attack. Thus you have little or no empathy with the heroes. This series could have been so much more than just propaganda for Mao. As a fan of recent Chinese epics such as Red Cliff this is disappointing for me..- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
boring
By a customer from liverpool , 08 Jun 2010this is a strange film about obscure events in chinas history . unfortunately its hard to know whats going on as most of the actors look alike and have names that are hard to remember . the subtitles are hard to read as the delay time is very short and they disappear when half read. im sure the chinese will love it but its not for western taste .i actually bought this film but didnt add it to my collection i just binned it- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
- < Prev
- 1
- Next >
