Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) on Netflix
PG-1320101h 59mActionAdventureDrama
In 689 A.D., an official inspecting the giant Buddha being built for Wu Zetian's coronation bursts into flames. The exiled detective Di Renjie is freed from prison to investigate.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb6.6/1012,497 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes80%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 689 A.D., Wu Zetian prepares to be crowned the first Empress of China, opposed by Tang officials. A Guan Yin figure rises over her palace in Luoyang. When an official inspecting the work erupts into flames, and a second investigator dies the same way, the workers grow afraid. The Empress releases the exiled detective Di Renjie from prison after the Imperial Abbot declares he must solve the mystery. Her attendant Shangguan Jing'er reaches him as assassins attack. Wu restores Di as royal detective and sets Jing'er beside him as assistant and spy, and penal officer Pei Donglai joins the inquiry into the deaths.
Cast
- Lu Yaoas Li Xiao
- Yonggang Huangas Zhang Xun
Show all 22 cast
- Sos Haroyanas Assistant to Umayyad Ambassador
- Aaron C. Shangas Shaizi (as Aaron Shang)
- Mickey Heas Prison Officer (as Shenming He)
- Yanming Jiangas Undertaker
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tsui Hark agreed to direct only if he could make adjustments to the script, and one change he mentioned was that the character Shangguan Jing'er was originally written as a man.
- Sammo Hung's stunt team built eight 12-metre platforms inside a cave for three days of wire work, and a single scene set a record of more than 70 wires.
- For the lead role of Di Renjie, Tsui Hark originally had Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Jet Li in mind; Jet Li read the script but, for reasons the article does not give, could not be part of the project.
- One key element of the film, an 80-metre bust of Empress Wu Zetian, cost HK$12 million to design and decorate.
- At the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards, Detective Dee won six awards, more than any other film, including Best Director and Best Actress for Carina Lau.
- For the title role of Di Renjie, Tsui Hark first had Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Jet Li in mind; Jet Li read the script but was unable to join the project for an unspecified reason.
- Tsui Hark agreed to direct only if he could make adjustments to the script, which he did; he never divulged most of the changes, but did reveal that the character Shangguan Jing'er had originally been written as a man.
- A key element of the film, an 80-metre bust of Empress Wu Zetian, cost HK$12 million to design and decorate, and during production reporters were invited inside it, where a 12 m circular platform stood.
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