Mini-Review of “Hero”, directed by Zhang Yimou: Very, very impressive. Incredible scenery, nicely choreographed fights, intensive colours and quite surprisingly a touching dilemma on many levels. I’ve heard many people think it’s “too much like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'”, but I strongly disagree with that statement; although there are undeniable similarities (e.g. Zhang Ziyi and similar music by Tan Dun). Not for people in a hurry, otherwise well recommended!
The (anamorphic) picture of the 2-disc Hong Kong (Region 3) release is awesome (and it needs to be to fully appreciate the awesome cinematography), available audio tracks consist of DTS and Dolby 5.1 (add the EX-suffix if you believe in marketing); the English subtitles are good and well-timed, although the translated names take a minute of getting used to.