The Eight Hundred

The Eight Hundred (Chinese: 八佰) is a 2020 Chinese historical war drama film co-written and directed by Guan Hu, and starring Oho Ou, Du Chun, Huang Zhizhong, Vision Wei, Wang Qianyuan, Jiang Wu, Zhang Yi, Li Chen, Yu Haoming, and Zheng Kai.[1] The film is about the Defense of Sihang Warehouse in 1937 Shanghai, China. The film is scheduled to have a theatrical release on August 21, 2020.[2][3]

The Eight Hundred
Film poster
Chinese八佰
MandarinBābǎi
Directed byGuan Hu
Produced byWang Zhonglei
Liang Jing
Written byGuan Hu
Ge Rui
StarringOho Ou
Du Chun
Huang Zhizhong
Wang Qianyuan
Jiang Wu
Zhang Yi
Vision Wei
Li Chen
Yu Haoming
Zheng Kai
CinematographyCao Yu
Production
company
Release date
  • 21 August 2020 (2020-08-21)
Running time
147 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

Plot

On August 13, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army invades Shanghai, Xie Jinyuan, the Lieutenant Colonel of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, leads more than 400 young officers to guard the Sihang Warehouse.

Cast

Production

Guan Hu had been preparing for the film for 10 years.[4] The Eight Hundred is the first Chinese film shot entirely on Imax cameras.[5] The production team had built a real scene of 68 buildings with an area of 133,333-square-metre (1,435,180 sq ft) in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province.[6] The investment amount of the film is as high as 550 million yuan.[4]

Principal photography started on 9 September 2017 and wrapped on 27 April 2018.[6][7]

Release

The film was originally to be released on 15 June 2019 during the prestigious opening slot of the Shanghai International Film Festival but was pushed back to 5 July, due to "consultation between the production team and other entities".[8][9] Before film withdrawal, the Chinese Red Culture Research Association held an academic conference on filmmaking where attendees voiced opinions on The Eight Hundred.[5] The shock decision to cancel screenings of the film cast a pall over the Shanghai film festival, and prompted an outpouring of anger online. Jia Zhangke, a prominent filmmaker, criticised the decision, saying on Sina Weibo "[things] cannot be done like that for the moviemaking business".[10]

The film was slated for release on 5 July 2019 but was postponed.[11]

Delayed by over a year for mysterious political reasons, on 2 August 2020, the producers announced that the film was scheduled for release on 21 August.[5][12]

Reception

Wang Benzhou, secretary general of the Chinese Red Culture Research Association, criticized the film by saying: "The class oppression within the ranks of the Kuomintang army, the misdeeds of its officers and its evil oppression of the people have disappeared without a trace, making it seem that the Kuomintang army was the real people's army."[5]

Social commentator Sima Nan was quoted as saying: "The Eight Hundred goes to great lengths to highlight the Republic of China flag. Irrespective of what historical background the movie was based on, such overt portrayal [of the flag] is terrifying."[10]

Movie commentator Guo Songmin was quoted as saying at the conference that it's not appropriate to sensationalise the flag's "sanctity" and "solemnity".[10]

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References
  1. Patrick Brzeski (25 June 2019). "China's $80M War Film 'The Eight Hundred' Cancels Release After Suspected Government Pressure". hollywoodreporter. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. "Blockbuster Chinese film 'The Eight Hundred' receives new release date". globaltimes.com. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  3. "War epic film 'The Eight Hundred' to hit Chinese theaters". chinadaily. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  4. Lao Meng (老孟) (3 August 2020). 耗资5.5亿，筹备超10年，7位影帝3位影后，《八佰》真的来了！. qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. Patrick Frater (2 August 2020). "'The Eight Hundred' Controversial War Film Finally Given China Release Date". variety.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  6. Wang Xiaoyang (王小羊) (9 September 2017). 管虎战争片《八佰》苏州正式开机 搭建200亩实景建筑 再现30年代上海风貌. mtime.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  7. Wang Xiaoyang (王小羊) (27 April 2018). 管虎执导战争电影《八佰》杀青历时八个月 全程用数字IMAX摄影机拍摄. mtime.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  8. Henry Chu; Rebecca Davis (25 June 2017). "Already Pulled From Shanghai Festival, 'The Eight Hundred' Cancels Its China Release". variety.com. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  9. Wang Xiaoyang (王小羊) (14 June 2019). 上影节开幕片《八佰》取消放映"因技术原因取消" 时代背景1937淞沪会战. mtime.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  10. Elaine Yau (17 June 2020). "Chinese war film The Eight Hundred's release cancelled, days after it was pulled from Shanghai film festival". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  11. Wang Xiaoyang (王小羊) (25 June 2019). 《八佰》开启预售？无法购票系误会 管虎执导 曾因技术原因取消上影节放映. mtime.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  12. 《八佰》正式定档8月21日上映. ifeng.com (in Chinese). 2 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
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