True Legend

True Legend
promotional poster
苏乞儿
Directed byYuen Woo-ping
Written byChristine To
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZhao Xiaoding
Edited byWenders Li
Music byShigeru Umebayashi
Distributed byEDKO Films
Release dates
  • 9 February 2010 (2010-02-09) (China)
  • 11 February 2010 (2010-02-11) (Hong Kong)
Running time
115 minutes
Countries
  • China
  • Hong Kong
LanguageMandarin
BudgetUS$20,000,000
Box officeRMB 46.5 million

True Legend (苏乞儿) is a 2010 Chinese–Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, his first since Tai Chi Boxer (1996). The film starred Vincent Zhao as Chinese folk hero Su Can, and co-starred Zhou Xun, Jay Chou, and Andy On. Gordon Liu, Leung Kar-yan, Michelle Yeoh, and David Carradine make cameo appearances. Set in late 19th-century and early 20th-century China, the film follows a retired general whose peaceful life is interrupted when his vengeful sworn brother returns from war armed with a deadly skill. Weakened but not destroyed, he learns drunken boxing from the God of Wushu to defeat his sworn brother.

The film has been shown in both 2D and 3D, and was promoted as the first Chinese 3D film. It was released in the United States on 13 May 2011 by Indomina, grossing US$62,200 during its run. Though it was a rather large financial loss for producer Bill Kong, making only RMB 46.5 million (US$6.82 million) against an estimated budget of US$20 million, the film received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly for its action choreography. True Legend was awarded the Lotus Action Asia at the 13th Deauville Asian Film Festival and won the Best Asian Action Movie award.