is the simple fact that when you are suppose to cast someone to be the most beautiful woman in the world, you need to cast Zhang Ziyi. Cecilia Cheung is very plain and bland and does not have the acting talent. Zhang Ziyi and the addition of much better special effects would have made this film desireable.
I loved Cheng Kaige "Together", but I think he has taken a step back with this film.
Would've been better if they casted a Korean or a Japanese chick, like Ueto Aya. For some reason I can imagine them as princesses much more than I could imagine Chinese/Cantonese actresses.
shareAgree with Strider-100. Ziyi might not be perfect, but definitely better than Cecilia Cheung, plus Cecilia can't act.
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Zhang Ziyi is the most beautiful woman in the world. Blondes are boring.
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You were born ignorant and you have been losing ground ever since. Ziyi is a Goddess.
You can have Hillary Duff and Britney Spears. Old Spears is the size of a whale now and Duff eventually will get there. Take your blonde hair trailer trash and keep it to yourself.
Zhang Ziyi is the most beautiful woman in the world. Blondes are boring.
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Wei shen mo ni bu 'bang' ta? Ni shi gei ma? Bu gao su wo ni shi...
sharespelling errors, btw, it's sha gua, not sa gua
sharedan ran ke yi. sa gua.
Stop being crude...this board isn't about Zhang Ziyi anyway. Ifyou want to bang someone, find a hooker.
shareTrust me,there are plenty of far better looking and talented but un-know east asian actresses in asia,noticebly in Corea and Japan other than just Zhang Ziyi,and Zhang Ziyi is just one of them who happenes to make in hollywood,and that makes difference as far as popularity goes,that's all.
shareThey are both hot. Cecilia was wonderful in Lost in Time and One Nite in Mongkok but she was even better in Failan. Zhang is also a great actress her best performance to me is 2041 and memiors of a giesha. They each can't look equally beautiful but they are beautiful in there own right so why fight over who is more beautiful I would take both of them in a perfect world. And don't say that cecila is a bad actress just because of this movie. Alot of great actors always have a few bad performances in movies so maybe for you people this was one of them. And if you say that she is bad name another movie that she was bad in. Zhang ziyi sure as hell had one bad movie ZU WARRIORS. You don't see me saying she sucks cause of one movie she is a fantastic actress. And for the dude above me the country is called South Korea. I would say Korea but they have not been a unified country for more than 50 years.
shareZiyi is far prettier and a much better actress, but I will give Cecilia credit for being a pretty good actress for "Lost in Time". She seems almost anorexic in appearance and the white face paint they put on her in "The Promise" was not a very good idea.
sharei thought Cecilia Cheung was beautiful...in fact i was glad to see a different face other Zhang Ziyi...she's in every friggin' movie (and sure she's good)...but it's good to broaden the horizon for other asian actresses...
shareChen Kaige dubbed in a different actresses voice over the natural voice of Cecilia Cheung's because she has a smokey hoarse voice from smoking sixty packs of camel cigarettes each day. Zhang Ziyi does not have that problem and no one would dare dub over her beautiful voice. Ziyi is like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.
sharethat's your opinion. i think the movie still would have bombed and cecilia is way better look. plus her voice is SEXY.
Folks don't call me 'the Torturer' because I don't like to torture people.
tell me more about this blondes vs asians thing, just curious
b.t.w. there are curvy asians...
oh, and i also think cecilia can't act, but she is pretty
I'm determined that nothing but the deepest love could ever induce me into matrimonyshare
Cecilia appears anorexic looking and she is not nearly the beauty Ziyi is. I like Cecilia's husky voice, but Chen Kaige hated it so he had her lines dubbed by another actress for the film.
shareCecilia appears anorexic looking and she is not nearly the beauty Ziyi is.
Ziyi is not slutty. She is very classy and beautiful and is a great dramatic actress. She is great because she was not brought up in the superficial Hong Kong Movie market. She is the best actress working today.
shareI disagree that Ziyi is slutty but agree that she is overrated. Waaaaay overrated.
Also agree that Kelly Lin is one hot girl.
oh....i don't understand how u guys can say this film is failed only because of actress....
yes,the main actors in this film are not so good....but even if they are all the best stars and acted so well,the film can't be saved as well....
because the main reason why the movie fails is : the hole story the film want to tell is such a mess.......
i like chen kaige,but i must say...i dont know why such a bad movie could be directed by him....oh....
(my english is not good...sorry
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hmm i think cecilia was quite refreshing when i first saw her.. i think it was in 'fly me to polaris'. was very attractive.. almost cant explain why. maybe cos shes like the girl next door sort of thing whereas zhang ziyi doesnt seem much like the ppl u meet in real life. anyway thats my 2 cents. dui ma?
shareOn the whole Cecilia Cheung vs Zhang Ziyi question:
Ceci is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better looking than Ziyi.
Granted Ceci was far more beautiful when she first started back in the late 90's than she is now, because of the fact that she did had an anorexic bout when she broke up with that twit Nicholas Tse, but she is still way more beautiful than Ziyi, who really is quite plain looking even in the best of her movies (e.g. Hero and Crouching Tiger), although she is a fine dramatic actress (e.g. 2046, when she was also actually pretty for once).
But for evidence of Cecilia's beauty, check out "Fly me to Polaris" (as mentioned above), "Failan" (when Cecilia gave one of her best performances and showed that she has real dramatic talent, as well as showing her innocent beauty in every frame of the movie), "Zuk San" (don't know the English title? - but her face on the movie poster says it all, the ethereal beauty of which just knock you off), and Stephen Chow's "King of Comedy" (when she was just a fresh face in HK movies). "Lost in Time" also shows what a fine actress Ceci is, which is in no way inferior than Ziyi's.
But I've seen some of the photos and posters of Mo Gik and must say that Ceci looks quite bad in it, but it really is to do with the makeup, which completely ruined her natural beauty. I never thought that Ceci could be made ugly but this movie came close to that just because of all that caked white makeup which completely distorted her features.
By the way, I haven't actually seen the movie, because all the reviews I've read are so bad. However, I do have a question to ask ye: apparently Ceci has a nude scene in this one? Any confirmation?
Mainland Chinese films do not have nudity in them. Ziyi is prettier and more talented then Cecilia Cheung. Cheng Kaige hated Cecilia's voice so bad that he dubbed another actresses over hers for the film.......So much for Cecilia fans to enjoy her part in the film.
But I understand you are a fan of Cecilia's and that is fine. To each his own.
I have to admit you are correct in your analysis of the film. I do think Ziyi is far more beautiful and a much better actress then Cecilia Cheung, who had her voice dubbed over by another actress because Chen Kaige hates her voice. Even die hard Cecilia fans will be upset when the woman they adore on screen has someone else's voice coming out of her mouth.
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You are insane. The three films you mentioned Ziyi being in were all very good. In fact Ziyi wom the Best Actress award in Hong Kong where they are naturally prejudiced against her because she is from the mainland.
shareBeauty is in the eye of the beholder.
There are many eligible Chinese actresses that could have been chosen for the role! And there is always going to be a turf war between HK & Mainland actresses. Zhang Ziyi is better known in the US. But Cecilia Cheung is big in Asia and a popstar there too-- which undoubtedly added into choosing her over Zhang Ziyi. Fans of Cheung's music are a guaranteed audience for Cheung's films. But pinning the failure of this movie on the choice of actress alone is absurd.
Watching this film I felt as though the princess' role was almost incidental in this movie. At the beginning of the film the viewer is led to believe she is the main character because it is she who makes the promise. And yet, it turns out...her character gets put on the back burner for much of the film. Her story fades and Kunlun and the General gain precedence. As the story progresses, she (with the exception of a few brief scenes) has very little to do except to languish around in pretty costumes. Kunlun coming to terms with his true identity and the implications of the General's moral/ethical choices virtually eclipse her for the bulk of the film. In fact, her role is given the least material to develop/evolve her character (a fault of the writer/director). Ultimately, it almost doesn't matter who plays the princess since there really isn't much for her to do anyway.
The failings here are not about which actress is prettier sitting around without much to do, the failings are in structure and plot, pacing, continuity, dubious special effects, and some poor directorial choices (the director here is also the writer!). The movie stumbles because while well intentioned its overall execution is flawed. That is the failure of director/writer-- not the actress. So, please give credit where credit is due... to paraphrase a well-known English writer....the fault here is not in the stars... it's in Chen Kaige himself. As director, he's the one who was given responsibility for the film. He's the one who didn't keep "The Promise".
However, if this thread is determined to veer off into a Chinese beauty contest, I would have to nominate Rosamund Kwan. Yes, at 44, she's too old to play the role, but even at 44 she is simply stunning and, for my money, the most beautiful Chinese (HK, Mainland, Taiwan & SE Asia combined)actress to grace the silver screen: http://filme.acasa.ro/Rosamund_Kwan.html
Alas, she was born too early, spent the bulk of her career doomed to playing pretty damsels in distress in early Jet Li & Jackie Chan films (and that is the exact role of the princess in The Promise!), doesn't do kung fu, and seldom got the chance to show her acting skills (notable exceptions: Great Conqueror's Concubine --facing off opposite Gong Li & the much more recent Big Shot's Funeral.) She could've & should've been the reigning "beautiful" Chinese princess of her day. She was certainly born for the role. But if we're indulging in "casting fantasies"... a younger version of Rosamund would have been my choice. Still, there are tons of young, pretty Chinese actresses out there that America hasn't had the chance to meet that America should get the chance to meet.
Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
After watching the movie, I agree with you. It wouldn't have mattered who was cast as the Princess. Chen Kaige is responsible for this mess. It could have been really good. I really liked his film "Together", but this was a true failure.
However, I will always know that Zhang Ziyi is more beautiful and a superior actress compared to Cecilia Cheung or anybody for that matter.
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While I did enjoy her rootop scene, the whole time I watched the movie I couldn't escape the feeling that Cheung was not the first choice for the role...that other big name Chinese actresses had probably passed on it for any number of reasons. It is not the heavy weight type of role that Zhang Ziyi normally indulges in. Nor, is it an exceptionally worthy showcase role. Undoubtedly, if asked, Zhang realized it would do little for her career. Perhaps Cheung thought it would get her the international attention she's never attained and I suspect the paycheck wasn't too bad and probably her biggest to date.
Cheung has had a bit of success with light weight HK romantic comedies like fellow HK singer/actress Sammi Cheng. And maybe it's just an odd coicidence that both these HK singer/actresses who have been rivals in the HK music scene would each turn to what were supposed to be highly touted, deep dramatic roles within months of each other (Everlasting Regret & The Promise). In the end both films were rather lackluster despite the hype, though Everlasting Regret was far more demanding and definitely designed to be a showcase. Well, it's just a thought anyway.
I agree with quite a bit of what you said. I think Cheung wanted to be internationally known and discovered, but "The Promise" was not the film to do it with. It was a film that had potential, but got ruined. It was disappointing in so many ways. The character of Cecilia Cheung did not have that big of a part, but was more of a secondary character who acted as a catalyst for the main characters.
I thought Cecilia did well in "Lost in Time" and showed comedic flair in "White Dragon"
For her to succed in the states I think Cecilia would be great in a romantic comedy.
Agreed. But how many Chinese comedies (other than US made with Jackie Chan or Lucy Liu) ever release in the US? The exception was, I believe, Kung Fu Hustle-- but probably just because it was considered a Kung Fu film.
P.S. What about Cecilia in Wu Yen or Cat & Mouse?
Shaolin Soccer was also released. Cecilia had a cameo in that one.