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The Movie Emperor

Original title: Hong tan xian sheng
  • 2023
  • 2h 5m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
635
YOUR RATING
The Movie Emperor (2023)
ComedyDrama

Actor Lau Wai-Chi has a huge following of devoted followers and is always keeping an eye on his rivals. After accepting to play the lead in a modest indie drama, Lau begins the laborious pro... Read allActor Lau Wai-Chi has a huge following of devoted followers and is always keeping an eye on his rivals. After accepting to play the lead in a modest indie drama, Lau begins the laborious process of mastering the acting skills for the role.Actor Lau Wai-Chi has a huge following of devoted followers and is always keeping an eye on his rivals. After accepting to play the lead in a modest indie drama, Lau begins the laborious process of mastering the acting skills for the role.

  • Director
    • Hao Ning
  • Writers
    • Xiaodan Liu
    • Ang Wang
    • Daniel Yu
  • Stars
    • Andy Lau
    • Pal Sinn
    • Rima Zeidan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    635
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Hao Ning
    • Writers
      • Xiaodan Liu
      • Ang Wang
      • Daniel Yu
    • Stars
      • Andy Lau
      • Pal Sinn
      • Rima Zeidan
    • 9User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Photos3

    View Poster
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    Top cast17

    Edit
    Andy Lau
    Andy Lau
    • Lau Wai-Chi
    Pal Sinn
    Pal Sinn
    Rima Zeidan
    Rima Zeidan
    • Summer
    Daniel Yu
    • Mr. Yu
    Hao Ning
    Hao Ning
    • Lam Ho
    Kelly Lin
    Kelly Lin
    • Lau Wai-Chi's wife
    Tony Ka Fai Leung
    Tony Ka Fai Leung
    Miriam Yeung
    Miriam Yeung
      Jing Wong
      Jing Wong
      Zixian Zhang
      • Creditor in shooting film
      Eliz Lao
      • QQ
      Wei Zhou
      • Tiger
      Sunny Sun
      Sunny Sun
      Baohe Xue
      Ruoqing Liu
      Xiao Wei
      Xiao Wei
      • Mr. Zhuo
      Dong Ma
      • Compere
      • Director
        • Hao Ning
      • Writers
        • Xiaodan Liu
        • Ang Wang
        • Daniel Yu
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews9

      6.1635
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      Featured reviews

      6EasonVonn

      2.10.2024

      In all honesty, Mr. Red Carpet didn't give me a bad first impression. After all, if you compare Mr. Red Carpet to other Chinese New Year films, or even recent films, the audio-visual and even the subject matter of Mr. Red Carpet can be described as superior and eye-opening.

      In the many static shots, and long shots with qualified actors scheduling, inevitably see a little art film posture, but the reality is contrary to the wish, when I walked out of the cinema, a lot of viewers around the audience began to complain that "I have never seen such a boring movie," but I still very much like the film's approach to this era! It's quite brilliant in this day and age.

      The core of the movie, however, is not worthy of the tone of the movie. The lack of spirituality and inner philosophy puts the movie in a very awkward position, like a spilled paint bucket. It seems like the work of a recent film graduate with a big budget, and still lacks polish. However, there are still some good points in the film, such as the discussion of modern cinema, which fully proves what Pang Zhang, the handbook of proletarian cinema, said, "Cinema can't be separated from the circle", and we can feel that the director, as if he has been hit by the festival many times, spits out his own bitter water.

      However, he focuses too much on his own subjective expression and neglects the balance of the overall structure, for example, many of the stream-of-consciousness moments seem a bit redundant with such a dull story, and the showmanship is intentional.

      Compared to its contemporaries, the film raises a number of questions about the movie industry that are quite valuable and worth thinking about; the content has potential, but the work lacks polish.
      8qxin1130

      Fellini-esque

      So much of this film reminds me of Fellini's work. One could almost say it's sort of a tribute to his theme and style of existentialism. Could it have been too on the nose? No I would say as it sure does have its own original strokes to it where the story unfolds culturally within its own unique way. It's hard for one to empathize with Andy Lau's character unless one has been through an acceptable level of understanding of what it takes to make a film. It's tough walking a fine line trying to achieve something great while still being able to keep all parties satisfied without having to sacrifice the true integrity of an epic art piece. A balancing act that few people could ever comprehend. Some films are ahead of their time, this might just be one of those, just like Wong Kar-Wai's films, this piece might not find its true value and recognition within the audience until a future date.
      9savalai-1

      Andy Lau was superb in this excellent satire on film industry and celebrity culture!

      I respectfully disagree with the other reviewer who gave it paltry 3 stars.

      The central theme of this film was to make fun of our celebrity obsessed society. How this in turn leads to near constant narcissistic behavior of the celebrities.

      Meanwhile it also shows how an entire industry has developed around such people! We see it in real life in the US!! The spin masters, PR firms, promoters endless talking heads on TV especially for political leaders!!

      Andy Lau is the central character who plays this conflict laden personality superbly in my humble opinion. Never seen any of his films before. (Shame on me!) Every single subtle move, expression is exquisitely executed. Again my humble opinion.

      I congratulate TIFF snagging this film as their World Premiere. Kudos to them.

      Photography and music score were superb. Some of the shots were almost picture frame perfect! Supporting cast were impressive.

      Just as a disclosure I am not of Asian descent. So very little bias in this review!

      This gets an easy 9 stars from me.
      5panta-4

      Half way...

      This film attempts to convey grand ideas but ultimately remains confined within its own limitations. It appears as though an inexperienced director was granted a substantial budget to create a movie without adequately refining the final product.

      Director Hao Ning, with the assistance of Andy Lau, places excessive emphasis on personal expression, thereby undermining the overall structural coherence of the film.

      In comparison to its peers, the movie poses several pertinent questions regarding the film industry that merit consideration. Observers have pointed out that the primary theme revolves around satirizing our society's obsession with celebrity culture, which in turn fosters a pervasive sense of narcissism among public figures. This observation may indeed hold a significant degree of truth.
      3pjtrules

      Very slow, meandering storyline...seems never ending

      This was a bad movie in short, saw it at TIFF and it was painfully slow. It felt like it went on for hours. My friends who also came along also thought it was awful. It had some nice visuals at times but nothing to make the movie worth watching.

      It has some scenes which are supposed to be funny, but they weren't funny at all...maybe it's an acquired taste but it was like a throwback to old slapstick comedy wxpcept not done well...the acting was OK but the storyline was really not worthy. It didn't flow and the characters you felt no attachment too whatsoever.

      We couldn't wait for it to be over.

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      Storyline

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      • Connections
        References The Revenant (2015)

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      FAQ17

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      Details

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      • Release date
        • February 10, 2024 (China)
      • Country of origin
        • China
      • Official site
        • Douban Site
      • Languages
        • Chinese
        • Cantonese
        • English
        • Mandarin
        • Korean
        • French
      • Also known as
        • Император Кино
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

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      • Gross worldwide
        • $103,980
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Tech specs

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      • Runtime
        • 2h 5m(125 min)
      • Color
        • Color
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.78 : 1

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