House of Flying Daggers

House of Flying Daggers (Chinese: 十面埋伏; pinyin: shí miàn mái fú), is a 2004 action/romance movie directed by Zhang Yimou. The movie is in the wuxia genre, similar in style to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Warriors of Heaven and Earth. House of Flying Daggers differs however, in that it is more of a love story than a martial arts film.

Use of strong colors is again a signature of Zhang. Several scenes in a bamboo forest completely fill the screen with green. Near the end of the movie, a fight scene is set in a blizzard. The actors and blood are greatly highlighted on a whiteout background. Another scene uses bright yellow as a color theme. The costumes, props, and decorations were taken almost entirely from Chinese paintings of the period, adding authenticity to the look of the film.

The movie opened in limited release within the United States on December 3, 2004, in New York and Los Angeles, and opened on additional screens throughout the country two weeks later.