The Empress Dowager (1975)
Reviewed by: mpongpun on 2003-01-01
Li Han Hsiang must be fascinated with the Empress Dowager. How many movies has he done on her? This flick is a historical drama based on the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi’s rule during the 19th Century. Tzu Hsi was supposedly beautiful and charming along with having a thirst for power. The flick doesn’t really go into detail about Tzu Hsi’s character and only shows you glimpses of it. What a shame, because isn’t the movie about the Empress Dowager? Instead of watching a movie about her, we are shown a bunch of eunuchs and royal figureheads squabbling and double crossing one another. Indeed, the backstabbing did happen, but I would have liked for the movie to concentrate on the Empress Dowager’s thinking, lifestyle, and motives. One would have known that Tzu Hsi could be your best friend or your worst enemy. There was no middle ground. The movie leaves out some details on how her nephew, the Emperor, Kuang Hsu (Ti Lung), ascended to the throne and how she used him as a puppet—ruling behind a bamboo curtain. I guess you just have to know Chinese history or watch some of the rest of Li Han Hsiang’s works. Basically, this flick only gives a brief time of the events that happened during the Empress Dowager’s rule. All in all, I found the movie really entertaining and it seemed like it was pretty high budget (at least for a Shaw Brother flick). Lisa Lu, internationally renowned actress, plays the Empress Dowager. Ms. Lu plays the character so easily, that she was also casted as the Empress Dowager in a few other films such as Bernardo Bertolucci's THE LAST EMPEROR.