Hidden Blade

Hidden Blade is a 2023 Chinese World War II espionage thriller directed by Cheng Er and starring Tony Leung and Wang Yibo, with Zhou Xun and Huang Lei in supporting roles.[2] The film was released in China on January 22, 2023 (Chinese New Year).[3]

Not to be confused with The Hidden Blade.
Hidden Blade
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese無名
Simplified Chinese无名
Literal meaningAnonymous
Directed byCheng Er
Written byCheng Er
Produced byYu Dong
StarringTony Leung
Wang Yibo
CinematographyCheng Er
Production
companies
Polybona Films
Cutting Edge Pictures
Distributed byPolybona Films
China Film Co.
Huaxia Film
Alibaba Pictures
Release dates
  • January 22, 2023 (2023-01-22) (China)
  • February 17, 2023 (2023-02-17) (US/Canada)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
Shanghainese
Box office$123.1 million[1]

Plot

The film begins the day after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and chronicles China’s growth under the Communist Party’s leadership.[4]

During World War II, at the height of China’s war of resistance against Japan, a group of courageous citizens develops a top-secret underground espionage network right under the nose of the newly established puppet regime. At increasingly great peril to their own lives, the double-agents masterfully extract classified information from deep behind enemy lines, an effort that gives rise to the united front that will help turn the tide of the conflict.[5]

Cast

Production

Hidden Blade is produced by Polybona Films as the third installment in its "China Victory Trilogy", following Chinese Doctors (2021) and The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021).[6][7] It is written and directed by Cheng Er, best known for Lethal Hostage (2012) and The Wasted Times (2016).[2] Filming began in Shanghai in August 2021 and completed in December of the same year.[8] On casting, Tony Leung agreed to the project because he found Cheng Er's previous work interesting. Cheng Er also stated that Wang Yibo was his only choice for the second leading role.[9]

In February 2022, the production team released a teaser trailer with two men conversing in Shanghainese,[10] spawning rumors that the entire film would be in the dialect. It prompted the film to release an official poster clarifying that there will also be "Mandarin, Cantonese, and foreign language".[11] A longer trailer was released in September 2022.[12]

The film originally targeted an August 2022 release date,[4] but moved to January 2023 to take advantage of the Chinese New Year release window.[13]

References
  1. "China Boxoffice". entgroup.cn. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. Davis, Rebecca (2021-12-23). "Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Chinese-Propaganda Blockbuster Eyes 2022 Release". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  3. 新浪娱乐 (2023-01-01). "谍战电影《无名》定档大年初一 梁朝伟王一博主演|无名|王一博|梁朝伟_新浪娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  4. Singh, Surej (2021-12-23). "Tony Leung's next film, 'Anonymous', targetted for August 2022 release". NME. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  5. "Hidden Blade". Well Go USA. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  6. "博纳影业推出"中国胜利三部曲"-新华网". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  7. Soo, J. X. (2022-09-29). "Hong Kong submits Tony Leung-starring crime thriller 'Where the Wind Blows' for the Oscars". NME. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  8. "程耳导演谍战片《无名》杀青，梁朝伟王一博致敬英雄-新华网". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  9. "《无名》发布"超级商业片"双预告，梁朝伟王一博领衔演绎眼神杀-半岛网". yule.bandao.cn. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  10. "程耳执导电影《无名》曝光首支预告 王一博王传君上海话对白尽显黑色幽默_影片_观众_地下". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  11. 新浪娱乐 (2023-01-05). "《无名》官博辟谣全片上海话：也有普通话广东话|无名_新浪娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  12. "程耳导演《无名》发布全新预告 梁朝伟王一博特工对决暗流涌动_博纳影业集团 | 电影发行 | 电影投资". www.bonafilm.cn. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  13. "梁朝偉、劉嘉玲《無名》海報藏玄機 台灣賀歲檔期大戰廝殺". tw.news.yahoo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2023-01-06.
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