Wikipedia

Air Strike (2018 film)

Air Strike (Chinese: 大轰炸) also known as The Bombing or Unbreakable Spirit is a Chinese action war-drama film directed by Xiao Feng about the Japanese bombings of Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War.[4] Mel Gibson joined as production designer. The film stars Liu Ye, Bruce Willis, Song Seung-heon and William Chan, with special appearances by Nicholas Tse, Tenma Shibuya, Adrien Brody, Simon Yam, Fan Bingbing and many others.

Air Strike
Film poster
Traditional Chinese大轟炸
Simplified Chinese大轰炸
Literal meaninggreat bombing
Hanyu Pinyindà hōngzhà
Directed byXiao Feng
Produced byJian-Xiang Shi
Buting Yang
StarringLiu Ye
Bruce Willis
Song Seung-heon
William Chan
CinematographyYang Shu
Edited byRobert A. Ferretti
Chi-Leung Kwong
Music byLiguang Wang
Production
companies
China Film Group
Origin Films (Beijing) Investment Co. Ltd.
Shanghai Nangou Films Co. Ltd.
Shanghai Film Group
Hollywood International Film Exchange[1]
Distributed by
  • China Film Group
    (China)
  • Blue Box International[1]
    (International sales)
Release date
  • October 26, 2018 (2018-10-26) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
English
Budget$65 million[2]
Box office$532,377[3]

Premise

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With the beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War at the Battle of Shanghai and Nanjing in 1937,[5] the story develops around the Chinese Air Force's resistance against the Japanese invasion and occupation of China; the overwhelming might of the Imperial Japanese war machine taking down Shanghai and the capital of Nanjing, followed by heavy resistance and eventual fall of the interim wartime capital of Wuhan in 1938, and climaxing into the bloody six years-long all-airwar Battle of Chongqing, the wartime capital of China for the remainder of the Second Sino-Japanese War, with the remnants of the Chinese Air Force, the refugees, and the people of Chongqing exemplifying the undying resilience against years of barbaric air strikes by the Imperial Japanese air power.[6]

Cast

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Main cast

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Special appearances

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Production

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Mel Gibson served as the art director of the $65 million budgeted film.[2][12] Principal photography on the film began in May 2015 in Shanghai, China.[7] Filming was completed in November 2015. The film suffered a troubled production,[13][14] with multiple delays, highly inflated cost that result in the movie to go over budget, and a tax evasion scandal that involved one of the main cast members, that lead to many of the filmed material to be cut from the final release, the planned 3D theatrical version being scrapped from the get go, and the major release in Chinese market to be canceled altogether.

Release

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The film was filmed as a memorial for the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in WWII.[15][16] Originally scheduled to be released on 17 August 2018,[1] it was later rescheduled to be released on 26 October 2018 in order to have a same-day global release.[17]

In October 2018, it was announced that screening plans of the film had been cancelled in China. Earlier, it was leaked by TV anchor Cui Yongyuan that Fan Bingbing, one of the film's guest actors, was involved in a tax evasion scandal when starring in this film.[18][19][20] However, the home video release in the United States went on as scheduled.[21]

The all-English dubbed version has been released to US streaming services and on Blu-ray.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Blue Box International acquires 'The Bombing' for MIPCOM (exclusive)". Screendaily. 12 Oct 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 Oct 2017.
  2. ^ a b Frater, Patrick (July 13, 2015). "Mel Gibson Confirmed as Art Director of China's 'The Bombing'". variety.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "'Air Strike' (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 30, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Air Strike (2018), archived from the original on 2023-08-30, retrieved 2018-11-12
  5. ^ Sun, Vlasova, Harmsen, Lianggang, Evgenia, Peter. "Shanghai 1937 – Where World War II Began". SHANGHAI 1937: WHERE WORLD WAR II BEGAN. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2021-04-25. When did World War II begin? Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7, 1941… The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1, 1939… When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date. August 13, 1937.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ 名品娱乐网, 电影 (2021-02-28). "大轰炸电影 电影大轰炸是根据真实事件改编的吗 剧组居然用掉了几千公斤炸药". m.qingdaomingpin.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-04-25. 从预告片中可以看出，即使日寇轰炸重庆六年十个月，军民同舟共济，顽强战斗，英勇对敌，体现了"生到死"的气魄。影片从各个角度描述了轰炸给重庆人民带来的痛苦，展现了中国军民在灾难中顽强的生存意志，以及面对生死的抉择。The movie tells the real story of the six years and ten months the Japanese rained savagery on Chongqing, and the Chinese military and civilians worked together, fighting bravely and tenaciously against the enemy, reflecting their spirit of "life to death". Through great suffering caused by the bombing to the people of Chongqing from various angles, the film shows the undying resilience of the Chinese military and civilians to survive the great disaster, choosing between life and death.
  7. ^ a b c d e Rainey, James; Kil, Sonia (June 3, 2015). "Bruce Willis to Star in Chinese-Language Epic 'The Bombing'". variety.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  8. ^ 网易 (25 July 2015). "豪华3D电影 中美日韩四国演员演出《大轰炸》_网易娱乐". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  9. ^ 姜姗. "史泰龙布劳迪力挺 施建祥《大轰炸》比弗利庆功_综艺_央视网(cctv.com)". ent.cntv.cn. Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  10. ^ "Bing Hu". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  11. ^ "Rumer Willis Stars With Dad In 'The Bombing': 3 Other Times She Joined Famous Parents On Screen". The Inquisitr News. 2 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  12. ^ "Mel Gibson to Serve as Art Director on Bruce Willis' Chinese War Movie 'The Bombing'". 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  13. ^ "War epic 'Unbreakable Spirit' survives after crises".
  14. ^ "China Release of Fan Bingbing-Bruce Willis Film 'Unbreakable Spirit' Is Scrapped".
  15. ^ "大轰炸 (2016)". movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  16. ^ "Mel Gibson to be 'creative adviser' on second world war film". The Guardian. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  17. ^ "抗战电影《大轰炸》宣布撤出暑期档". 7 Aug 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 Aug 2018.
  18. ^ "电影《大轰炸》宣布取消上映 此前曾遭崔永元抵制". 17 Oct 2018. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 17 Oct 2018.
  19. ^ "Fan Bingbing movie co-starring Bruce Willis cancelled following actress' tax scandal". 17 Oct 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 19 Oct 2018.
  20. ^ "Fan Bingbing, Bruce Willis movie Air Strike cancelled in wake of Chinese star's tax scandal - Asean Plus | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Archived from the original on 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  21. ^ "Scandal-Hit Fan Bingbing Film "Air Strike" Will Get a US Release This Week". 17 Oct 2018. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 24 Oct 2018.
  22. ^ "Air Strike aka The Bombing Blu Ray". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
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