Photos that caught our eyes this week. What caught yours?
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Tag Archives: Crystal Liu Yifei
Princess Liu Yifei in 30 million RMB worth of crowns
She may be the only Disney Princess who isn’t a princess, but that hasn’t prevented Liu Yifei from wearing her crown. Liu Yifei recently did a photoshoot with jewelry giant Chaumet, where she donned 30 million RMB (4.5 million USD) worth of crowns. The all-white photoshoot gives me a lot of nostalgia for her RoCH days when she was just 16.
BTW, Liu Yifei finally returned to China from the US last month, reportedly for a new drama project.
Continue readingPhotographer Friday: Leslie Zhang’s oil paintings
Leslie Zhang Jiacheng is yet another instantly recognizable photographer. His photographs are characterized by an oil painting-like texture and composition. He also has a distinct interpretation of zhongguofeng or Chinese-style that is more muted than, say, the mainstream style of photographers like Chen Man.
Photoshoot Friday
Photos that caught our eyes this week. What caught yours?
Flashback: Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 2003 stills
Often lauded as director Zhang Jizhong’s best Jin Yong drama, his adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils has all of his fortes without any of his weaknesses. A perfect combination of solid hand-to-hand combat and artistic license in the action choreography, a stunning cast in equally stunning on-location scenery, a focus on the grandeur of the stories but finally with nuanced relationships and chemistry between the characters. Hu Jun is truly one of the few actors who pulls off the rugged-at-large-soft-in-the-heart Xiao Feng, while Jimmy Lin’s idol-drama-take on Duan Yu makes him much more likable than the original character. Liu Tao’s Ah-Zhu was the first TV character who made me cry, while Jiang Xin’s Mu Wuantong remains her most gorgeous role to date. Chen Hao and Shu Chang also gave amazing performances as two complex female antagonists.
The impeccably cast series stars Hu Jun, Jimmy Lin, Gao Hu, Liu Tao, Chen Hao, Jiang Xin, Shu Chang, Liu Yifei, Yang Rui, Xiu Qing, Tong Chun-Chung, Christy Chung, Diana Pang, etc.
Photographer Friday: Liu Zongyuan
My favorite Liu Shishi cover of all times 
Look at how beautiful the light is on her 
Liu Shishi by Liu Zongyuan 
Known for his use of light to decorate his objects, Liu Zongyuan’s photographs often feel like they come from the impressionist school of painting. You might remember him from the famous Mulan-like photoshoot he did for Liu Yifei, but that photoshoot is not even up there among his best. He often brings an ethereal beauty to his subjects and their surroundings. Liu Yifei is probably Liu Zongyuan’s most common muse and the one who put him on the map, but he is also a frequent collaborator with actresses like Liu Shishi (who loves him so much she got him to do her wedding shoot) and Li Qin.
Continue readingReview: Liu Yifei is the only good part of the live-action Mulan
The original Disney’ Mulan wasn’t perfect, but you could tell that the people who worked on it poured their hearts into it through details. Yet films often reflect societal attitudes, and gone is the time when China was still a subject of wonder for many filmmakers in the West, when filmmakers were sometimes insensitive but at least interested in China. In the live-action Mulan, almost every aspect of the film seems to send the same message: China is the world’s second-biggest box office and we will use the minimum efforts it takes to give them what we think they want.
Disney’s Mulan is not a bad film, but it is a disappointing film. The basic story of Mulan is compelling, the scenery is beautiful if often obviously New Zealand, and its lead Liu Yifei is charming enough and did what she could with the role. Yet it’s very hard to watch the live-action Mulan and not judge it for what it could’ve been or see the lack of effort behind it. One expects a live-action to have the same humor and heart as the original, and it doesn’t. There isn’t a single change I can name that improved the story.
Continue readingFlashback: Liu Yifei for L’Officiel
Liu Yifei was photographed for the June 2011 edition of L’OFFICIEL as part of promos for A Chinese Ghost Story.
The actress’ latest film Mulan has recently announced that it will be released to Disney+ subscribers on September 4th.
Continue readingWatch Liu Yifei’s audition tape for Mulan
Mulan director Niki Caro recently released a clip of Liu Yifei’s audition and Liu Yifei is soooo cute in it. This was right after flying from China to the U.S., too. In the lines, you can tell they allude to the story of unable to separate between male and female rabbits from the original ballad of Mulan. Niki Caro also released a few audition tapes of other actresses, including Leah Dou, Lan Yingying, Zhang Yishang and Yang Caiyu.
The film’s been pushed back to July 24 as of now, but I assume it’s all up in the air.
Friday Photos
Posters, stills, and photoshoots that caught our eyes this week. What caught yours?
