1911: REVOLUTION Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review

Jackie Chan is the great icon of Asian cinema. There is no other living performer who garners the same kind of goodwill that Chan does around the world.  So, when the time came for Jackie to appear in his 100th film, it was a big deal, and an even bigger deal that he chose 1911 to mark that milestone. 1911 is a film celebrating the end of imperial rule in China, the end of the Qing dynasty, and the beginning of the new, post-imperial state. The Chinese producers spared no expense in ensuring that this film was a blockbuster, and every dollar of that budget is up on screen. This Blu-ray from Well Go USA looks and sounds absolutely fantastic, and the bonus material is largely very informative. As a document of Chinese history and the perspective shown to the Chinese people today, 1911 is a great success, but that isn't to say that it's a perfect film.

At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is split into warring factions, the citizens are starving, and recent political reforms have made matters worse, not better. The ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a seven-year-old emperor and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), is completely out of touch after 250 years of unquestioned power.

With ordinary citizens beginning to revolt openly, the Qing Dynasty has created a powerful, modern army (the "New Army") to quash any rebellion. But weapons are expensive, and desperate for cash, the Qing leaders are trading anything they can get their hands on with foreign countries... and selling China's future in the process. Huang Xing (Jackie Chan) has recently returned from Japan, where he has studied the art of modern warfare. When he finds his country falling apart, he feels he has no choice but to pick up the sword, leading an increasingly desperate series of violent rebellions against the powerful Qing Dynasty and the New Army- several with tragic consequences. From the walls of the Forbidden City to the battlefields of China, with no expense spared in production and no detail ignored in its quest for historical accuracy, 1911 is a true epic in every sense of the word.

We all know of the turn toward nationalism that recent Chinese films have made. It was always there, but with an increasingly connected mainland audience, the pressure is on from mainland censors and Hong Kong producers to make films that reflect the official position of the party leaders. Our own James Marsh has reported in his China Beat column several times on the restrictions and/or quotas put on mainland films in Chinese cinemas. The idea is that any major film produced with the cooperation of the Chinese government must be successful at all costs.

Mr. Marsh has reported on stories of producers and cinemas rigging the game in order to get satisfactory results. The other option in securing big box office is to make a big film, and that is the route chosen by director Li Zhang for 1911. While the film wears its political heart brazenly on its sleeve, it still manages to bring the spectacle we have expected from war films. Is it more nationalistic that something like Legend of the Fist or Ip Man? Well, sure it is, but this film is akin to any American propaganda film following WWII, except that the event they are glorifying is 100 years old.

1911 relies on a lot of exposition to tell the story of the revolution from top to bottom. In that regard, it is difficult to judge as a narrative film. There is really no mystery regarding how the film ends, it is all in the history books, and there is relatively little personal tension or antagonism in the film, as the entire narrative rests on this history lesson. For the most part it isn't' terribly offensive, though it won't be bucking for any international awards. I think that the key to enjoying a film like this is to place it in its right context, and a western frame of mind is a detriment in that regard.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that part of this story has already been told. Bernardo Bertolucci told the story of the Empress Dowager and the young Emperor Puyi in his film The Last Emperor many years ago.  Strangely enough, both films feature Joan Chen in important roles. In The Last Emperor, she plays the wife of Puyi, and in 1911 she plays the Empress Dowager. In terms of comparing the films qualities objectively, there is no question that The Last Emperor is a superior film, however, 1911 does tell a story solidly, if with a pronounced one-sided zeal.

The film is blatant propaganda, but if you go into it knowing what kind of film it is, it is significantly easier to enjoy the craft involved.  The one major fault of the film, which is the fault of many a Chinese film, is the piss poor "acting" from the Caucasian actors, as well the suspension of disbelief required for those cross-cultural scenes.  The white people in this film, while not the typical villains portrayed in many recent Chinese productions, are nonetheless comically stereotypical. I know that often they are fed lines while on set, rather than working from a set script, but with as much screen time as they get in this film, it would have been worth the time to make their scenes less stilted.

I have to say that I enjoyed 1911 in spite of myself.  It isn't a wu xia film, and there is very little hand to hand combat with Chan, but there is a lot of action going on, and the film's bombastic intentions are more or less fulfilled. Not all Chinese productions are masterpieces, and this one doesn't quite reach the heights of something like Assembly, but I liked it anyway. Jackie Chan has reinvented himself in his middle age as a quality actor, capable of putting genuine emotions on screen and exuding charisma even when the film doesn't require him to jump from a moving vehicle. In terms of modern Chinese spectacle, the film works well, even though it is overly preachy.

The Disc:

Even if you can't get behind the politics of 1911, you may need to get behind your couch to hide once you press play on this monster of a disc. As is typical of Well Go USA releases, 1911 looks spectacular and sounds even better.  The image is colorful and crisp, with no signs of excessive manipulation. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is beyond impressive, and will push your system to it's limits. The numerous battle sequences will have you ducking bullets in your den, while the LFE bass on the track is monstrous, to say the least. This is definitely one of the best sounding discs I own. A true winner.

This collector's edition of 1911 includes bonus materials spread over two discs. On the Blu-ray disc with the feature is about 10 minutes of subtitled deleted scenes that do add to the context of the feature. I can see these films working within the context of the film, and I can only imagine they were excised for time constraints.  Also on the Blu-ray are the trailer and some unsubtitled behind the scenes footage.

The second disc of extras is a DVD with a little more than an hour of extra material. The most interesting bit on this disc, in my opinion, is a half hour press conference featuring stars Li Bingbing, Jackie Chan, and Winston Zhao. It is pure propaganda, but it is interesting to see how the media machine works in China, and this is a great example. There is also a 5 minute on set interview with Li Bingbing that doesn't really go anywhere, and an additional half hour of unsubtitled behind the scenes footage.  I would have liked for the BTS material to be subbed, but I guess including it as is is better than nothing at all.

1911: Revolution is an ode to the toppling of imperial rule in China, and this recent trend in mainland cinema shows few signs of stopping. Later this month China Lion will be releasing The Beginning of the Great Revival, another historical epic with every Chinese star under the sun. This is probably the best of these films so far, though, and this disc is outstanding. Chan turns in a performance that brightens the film significantly, and the A/V quality is outstanding. If you're tolerant of this sort of cinema, this is definitely the way to go.