China's top film makers duel at box office
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-19 22:19

The two directors are credited with bringing Chinese film into the modern era following the disastrous decade-long Cultural Revolution which ended in 1976 and gave way a period of opening up and reform that ushered in 25 years of robust economic growth.

As film budgets have grown, both Chen and Zhang have focused on making commercially viable films that are steeped in special effects and able to attract large audiences both in and outside of China.

"I want to be a friend of the audience and sincerely bring to them a film like 'The Promise' in the hope that it will bring a lot of happiness to the public," Chen, 53, said this week in a webchat on Sina.com, one of China's leading Internet portals.

"I have all along felt that in today's film industry it is impossible to completely divorce oneself from special effects. Special effects help us realize and expand our imagination, help us realize the things we have in our heads."  

Chen's use of special effects in "The Promise" go beyond Zhang's 2002 film "Hero" and last year's "House of Flying Daggers," both of which wowed audiences with their fight scenes and dazzling cinematography.

"Hero" reportedly reaped some 280 million yuan (34.5 million dollars) in box office receipts worldwide, setting a record as the biggest grossing Chinese-made film and topping the United States' box office for two consecutive weeks, while "House of Flying Daggers" was last year's top Chinese revenue earner grossing some 153 million yuan (18.5 million US dollars).