Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield
Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield
	Poster
Directed by	Lu Yang
Screenplay by	Lu Yang; Chen Shu
Produced by	Ning Hao; Wang Yibing
Starring	Chang Chen; Yang Mi; Zhang Yi
Cinematography	Hang Qiming
Music by	Kawai Kenji
Production; companies	J.Q. Pictures; Hua Man Shan (Shanghai) FILM; Free Whale Pictures; Dirty Monkey Films
Release date	July 19, 2017;
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Box office	CN¥263 million

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield (Chinese: 繡春刀II修羅戰場) is a 2017 Chinese wuxia film directed by Lu Yang. It is a prequel to the 2014 film Brotherhood of Blades.^[2] Set in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the story follows Shen Lian, captain of the embroidered uniform guard (錦衣衛; pinyin: Jǐnyīwèi) the imperial secret police of the court, as he searches for the truth behind a conspiracy that framed him, his colleague Pei Lun and a young woman named Bei Zhai. Starring Chang Chen, Yang Mi and Zhang Yi, the film was released in China on July 19, 2017.^[3]

Plot[edit]

The film starts with the Battle of Sarhu, where the Ming dynasty army has been overrun by the Later Jin forces. A Ming soldier, Shen Lian, saves Lu Wenzhao from Jin soldiers who were rounding up and executing any remaining Ming soldiers.

8 years later, Shen Lian (Chang Chen) is a Captain of the guards in Southern Beijing. Lu Wenzhao is his superior officer who endears himself to the higher-ups by using any possible way. On a case related to the death of Master Guo, he is forced by a rival Lieutenant Ling, to pursue and arrest his subordinate Yin Cheng for an alcohol-induced rant against the Chongzhen Emperor. However, Yin Cheng commits suicide. To pray for his subordinate's soul to be released from purgatory, Shen Lian buys Bei Zhai paintings from a monk, Master Jinghai, who commends Shen Lian on his frequent purchase of Bei Zhai paintings. On his way, he gets caught in the rain, and is offered shelter under an umbrella by an unknown woman, who, despite him being in the Imperial uniform, is not afraid of him.

At the same time, Lu Wenzhao is trying to appease the powerful court eunuch Master Wei to gain his favor. Accordingly, he orders Lieutenant Ling, Master Wei's nephew, to kill Bei Zhai, who is maligning Master Wei's reputation through her paintings. Shen Lian tags along to see if its Bei Zhai, the painter. On reaching the house, they discover that Bei Zhai (Yang Mi) is a woman, the same one who gave Shen Lian shelter from the rain. When Lieutenant Ling tries to rape Bei Zhai before killing her, Shen Lian protests, and a fight erupts between the two, which culminates in Shen Lian accidentally killing Ling. Bei Zhai, having witnessed this, escapes, with Shen Lian too injured to pursue her. Shen Lian covers up his role in Ling's death and gives a statement that two assassins ambushed them and killed Ling. The case is being handled by Captain Pei Lun, who seems to have a dislike for Captain Shen Lian. It is later revealed that Yin Cheng was Pei Lun's only friend, and that he hates Shen Lian for the death of Yin Cheng.

A group of assassins contact Shen Lian to reveal that they know of his role in Ling's death, and that they will expose him using Bei Zhai if he does not set fire to the Imperial Archives. Left with no other choice, Shen Lian complies, but deduces that the assassins were actually targeting the construction log book of a dragon ship that sank on Lake Taiye with the Chongzhen Emperor on board. The log book could furnish evidence that this was an attempt on the life of the Chongzhen Emperor, who has been bedridden with pneumonia ever since the sinking. Shen Lian burns the archive, but keeps the log book. When the assassins, having seen that the archive has been burnt, try to kill Shen Lian, he threatens them with the exposure of the log book if anything happens to him. He offers to exchange Bei Zhai for the log book and leaves. Shen Lian later encounters Bei Zhai at his home; she is looking for the log book, which is important to keep the name of the man she loves being maligned. Captain Pei Lun mistakes her for Shen Lian's wife.

After imprisoning Master Jinghai, who is the only known person who sells Bei Zhai paintings, Pei Lun deduces Shen Lian to be involved in Ling's murder, and presents his findings to Lu Wenzhao privately. However, it turns out that Lu Wenzhao is working with the assassins and stabs Pei Lun in the back, who escaped barely alive to be found by Shen Lian and Bei Zhai, who nurses him and reveals her true identity. Bei Zhai tells that person she loves had saved her life years ago when her family was murdered for expressing their views against the Chongzhen Emperor, and that he had promised her to end the brutal rule of Master Wei and all those associated with him. Seeing that Bei Zhai intends to go to any length for the man she loves, Shen Lian allows her to leave with the log book, but she returns to him to help him and Pein Lun on seeing that they have been branded as criminals.

Shen Lian deduces that the Prince Zhou Youjian was Bei Zhai's lover, and goes to him to return the log book and keep Bei Zhai safe. However, the Prince, on seeing that Bei Zhai might be a loose end which could be used against him, offers Shen Lian freedom in exchange for him killing Bei Zhai. Shen Lian refuses, and leaves Beijing with Pei Lun and Bei Zhai, intending to go to Suzhou. However, the Prince orders his assassins, including Lu Wenzhao and Ding Baiying to pursue and kill them. At the same time, the Prince succeeds in convincing the eunuch Master Wei that he is being targeted by Lu Wenzhao, which prompts Master Wei to order the soldiers to eliminate Lu Wenzhao and everyone associated with him.

When Lu Wenzhao catches up to Shen Lian's group, Shen Lian convinces Bei Zhai to cross over to Yi mountain alone via a rope bridge, with him and Pei Lun staying behind to stop the pursuing forces. Though Shen Lian and Pei Lun get the better of Lu Wenzhao and Ding Baiying, the imperial forces ambush both groups, and Lu Wenzhao realizes that he has been played for a fool by the prince. Both groups try and fight back the imperial forces together. On seeing that Shen Lian might be in danger, Bei Zhai returns, which prompts Shen Lian to cut off the rope bridge to keep her safe. While Pei Lun, Ding Baiying and Lu Wenzhao are killed, Shen Lian is revealed to have survived and in prison. When the Prince comes to power, he expels Master Wei from the Royal Court, and reinstates Shen Lian as an Imperial soldier, though this time as a Lieutenant, which is the premise for the first movie, Brotherhood of Blades.

Cast[edit]

Chang Chen as Shen Lian
Yang Mi as Bei Zhai
Zhang Yi as Lu Wenzhao
Liu Duan Duan as Chongzhen Emperor
Lei Jiayin as Pei Lun
Xin Zhilei as Ding Baiying
Chin Shih-chieh as Wei Zhongxian
Li Yuan as Ding Chong

Director[edit]

Lu Yang graduated from Beijing Film Academy and has a master's degree in directing. His first feature My Spectacular Theatre (2010) won the Audience Award at Busan International Film Festival 2010. Brotherhood of Blades (2014) is his second feature.

Reception[edit]

The film has grossed CN¥131 million in China.^[1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

角色	演員	備注
沈煉	張震	錦衣衛北鎮撫司百戶（正六品）。因為喜歡北齋的畫，而買了她的畫，因一次大雨，遇到給他拿傘遮雨的北齋，跟北齋第二次相遇是因為跟淩雲鎧被派去殺了北齋，發現就是上次幫他撐傘的女孩，因為淩雲鎧殺掉北齋之前想要先強暴她，為了救北齋，被淩雲鎧認為跟北齋是同夥的，怕淩雲鎧告狀，打鬥間誤殺了淩雲鎧，北齋到他家後得知她跟丁白纓是一夥的，為了逼她說出她背後的利益集團，將她沉入了湖底，但還是沒忍心讓她死去，又把她從湖底救了出來，從心軟的那一刻就已經愛上了北齋了，最後在吊橋上北齋告訴他自己的真名叫做妙玄，被抓回紫禁城後，信王登基為皇帝後就赦免了他，並讓他繼續擔任錦衣衛，但被降職為北鎮撫司總旗（正七品）。
陸文昭	張譯	錦衣衛北鎮撫司千戶（正五品）。喜歡丁白纓。於最終之戰時被信王的軍隊胡亂砍死。
魏忠賢	金士傑	內宮秉筆太監，東廠提督，閹黨黨魁。
劉妙玄（北齋）	楊冪	畫師。揚州知府劉鐸之女，因畫的圖被說有諷刺朝廷，被派來殺她的沈煉與淩雲鎧而得知她是北齋，淩雲鎧本想一刀殺了她，因被她的美貌吸引，而起了色心，被淩雲鎧拉到床上強暴，後被沈煉阻止而獲救，喜歡朱由檢（信王），相信著信王是真心愛她，並不相信沈煉說自己已經成為朱由檢謀反的漏洞和破綻，直到追兵追到了吊橋上，她才恍然大悟，在吊橋上告訴沈煉自己的真名叫做妙玄，最後發現自己愛上沈煉，後來到杭州隱居畫圖，畫了沈煉並思念他。
丁白纓	辛芷蕾	俠女，倭刀術戚家刀法傳人。喜歡陸文昭。於最終之戰時被信王的軍隊胡亂砍死。
丁翀	李媛	俠女，手執一盾一刀，丁白纓的徒弟。
丁泰	吳曉亮	俠客，手執狼牙棒，沈煉在與他打鬥時發覺他其實是原明邊軍，後來準備用狼牙棒打死裴綸時遭射兩枚毒暗箭反擊因而中毒身亡。
裴綸	雷佳音	錦衣衛南鎮撫司百戶（正六品），原為錦衣衛北鎮撫司，後因查都察院都禦史的黑帳而被貶至南鎮撫司，是隻笑麵虎，在辦案時通常都是笑著辦事，但隻要一有不對就會下重手，因此被人所忌憚，也因而隻有殷澄這一個朋友。喜歡抽煙與吃東西，但吃相十分難看。在遭陸文昭等人刺殺時成功逃離並被沈煉與劉妙玄救起。於最終之戰時被信王的軍隊胡亂砍死。
淩雲鎧	武強	錦衣衛北鎮撫司總旗（正七品），魏公公的外甥，沈煉的死對頭，與沈煉被皇帝派去抓被判為逆黨的北齋，竟發現北齋是個漂亮女人，本想殺了北齋，但因北齋的美貌而猶豫並起了色心，想先強暴北齋這個弱女子後再殺了她，後被沈煉阻止，沈煉因看不下去自己喜歡的北齋被玷汙在與他打鬥時遭誤殺。
朱由檢	劉端端	信王，也就是後來的崇禎帝，北齋的愛戀對象，喜歡北齋，之前北齋被滅門後當了瘦馬而投湖自盡，當時不忍心因而救了北齋並承諾他會鏟除魏忠賢他們，但其間為了皇位跟權力利用北齋對他的信任，後來認為北齋透漏她的謀反而派兵想殺了北齋。
殷澄	楊軼	錦衣衛北鎮撫司小旗（從七品），因酒酣耳熱之際口出欺君犯上之言，被錦衣衛北鎮撫司總旗-淩雲鎧就地捉拿要打入詔獄，因不願入詔獄而在沈煉麵前自刎。
鄭掌班	峰超	東輯事廠（東廠）的掌班公公。
淨海	袁文康	永安寺住持，被裴綸在來訪用齋餐時試探審訊關於北齋畫作贈與何人之事而後被押入詔獄。
朱由校	王仁君	明熹宗。

隴山隴西郡

in English/Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield

製作[編輯]

構思[編輯]

拍攝製作

劇情簡介[編輯]

《繡春刀2》魏忠賢釣魚的片段解析，原來包含了這麽多深意

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield

Plot[edit]

Cast[edit]

Director[edit]

Reception[edit]

角色及演員[編輯]