Red film The Warriors hits big screens in the Chinese mainland on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Red Army's Long March.
The story is based on the Battle of Luding Bridge in 1935, one of the Red Army's most strategic successes during the Long March.
Starring actors Li Dongxue and Nie Yuan, the film is directed by Ning Haiqiang from the August First Film Studio, originally called the PLA Film Studio prior to 1956.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of Red Army's Long March victory. We chose this release date to memorialize those revolutionary martyrs. We hope people today will cherish the peaceful lives that these martyrs brought about," Ning said at a star-studded press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, during which the studio released the black and white final trailer for the film.
According to Ning, he made use of more than 1,000 special effect lens to present the battle's most stirring moments.
"To best present this classic battle, our production team filmed in several areas featuring different landscapes such as snow mountains and primeval mountains. We also traveled deep into mountainous regions and forests, and went to the Dadu River and the Shunan Bamboo Sea (in Sichuan Province)," Ning said.
Ning pointed out that while the Long March may be familiar to most audiences, few know the particular details. Pointing to the Battle of Luding Bridge as an example, he explained that most works only focus on the heroism of the 22 soldiers who braved enemy fire to cross the Luding Bridge and establish a bridgehead, but in fact, close tactical coordination of the military units and the complete execution of the battle plans also contributed greatly to the Red Army's success.
The Warriors premiered as the opening film at the 13th Changchun Film Festival in Jilin Province on Monday. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the audience praised the film's action scenes and visual effects.
