Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Best movie ever!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

THE GREAT REVIVAL is a lively retelling of early 20th century China, a tumultuous period where the old ways and the new ways collided and many factions seemed to continually war with each other in a bid for power. It's a complex and sometimes epic-feeling production, so I'm surprised to see it rated so low here on the IMDb.I suspect the reason is that it's a blatant piece of propaganda, with Mao Zedong portrayed as a crusading hero; the story stops before the later troubles that surrounded his career. Now, I'm not bothered by watching propaganda films; I've seen plenty of North Korean efforts and, let's be honest, America makes their own share of flag-waving guff. Propaganda alone isn't a reason to rate a film down.THE GREAT REVIVAL isn't a perfect film and anybody trying to keep track of all the main characters will soon be scratching their heads in puzzlement. Still, it's an expansive and expensive-looking production, and it's never boring even if some of the material seems extraneous or glossed over too quickly. The stuff with the students riots is particularly watchable, and spotting all of the familiar faces from Chow Yun-Fat to Daniel Wu, Fan Bingbing, Andy Lau, Simon Yam, and even John Woo, is a delight in itself.

The BAD. A prequel to Founding Of A Republic, and merely an another attempt at glorifying The Communist Chinese Party for its part in bring China under one banner.Personally this film would be a peace of garbage if it wasn't for the Chinese Super Stars that starred in this film.The GOOD I enjoy the action sequence when the First Civil War erupted during the warlord era. But right after that the film was more Politically Motivated at making the CCP,(Chinese Communist Party), look good and bashing others. Jackie Chan's 1911 was more easily enjoyable then this Communist Propaganda film. As soon as I see a name of one of China's worst leaders,(Man responsible for the failed Great Leap Forward), I just knew it was gonna go down hill really bad. In the End the film was good for battle scenes and for it's nostalgic imperial clothing and 1911 post clothing that people wore back then. Other than that, this film was a Communist film all the way.In 1900's and 1911 and on wards China was a country that had a revolution movement that was a ticking time bomb just waiting to be lit and explode. The Chinese Civil War ended with one victor. The Communist won. And China is the way that is today.

i note with sadness that every review here is from the USA and appears to be a political statement and nothing to do with the movie per se. statements such as "china is a military state" are pathetic when you consider the aggressiveness of Americans and their military state!where are the comments on acting, cinematography, musical score, etc....i do not think in many cases a westerner can judge a foreign movie if you are going to be so biased about that countries' political system!i do not see Americans lambasting their pathetic greedy monetary system that has enveloped the world in GFC in movies about some American hero in any movie about the stock exchange for example......go live in china for a year or more before you critisise!not such a bad movie..... acting passable...story line is montage and example only for reminder to the people as to the origins of cpc.

I would first say that the movie is for Chinese audience, or for those who know Chinese and Chinese history. I don't mean to set a gap here, but if you don't know who's who, you may get lost. And then, when you finish the movie, you tend to draw a conclusion that everything is for the creation of the Communist Party of China. OK, you have no clue and thereby think it's all about politics. Indeed, the movie is not about a single story but a piece of history as long as 10 years. That may be why the non-Chinese audience quickly lose their interest and patience. That's true that the movie is dedicated to the party. However, for the Chinese audience who were educated to memorize the big names of historical figures, as well as the famous student protest (May Fourth Movement), it would be very interesting to see how the event is restored on screen. Everything happens for a reason. If you can discard your doubt about the political purpose of the movie during watching, you may get to know the history better and then think for a while how it is transited from the beginning to 90 years later. Besides, you would hardly understand the metaphor hidden in the "seemingly dull" plots if you don't know the contemporary Chinese society. I personally guess that the director learned a bit from the very popular Chinese movie Let the Bullet Fly (in theaters earlier this year). How? Think about the final words of the movie, which was read aloud on the boat ...For its content, the censorship organization may worry that it is kinda sensitive for the vivid description of student protest. But considering its purpose, it must be in theaters (what did the incredibly many movie stars come together for?) So, I think that's the "novelty" of this movie.