Hope Viki can get licensing for this drama.Title Request Form:https://support.viki.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034633713-Request-a-TV-Show-or-Movie
Netflix has Qin Empire 2. But their more recent Chinese titles are all romance stuff, so I doubt they are going to get this. Viki has never licensed a real historical show before (save for a few Three Kingdoms titles, but those are not really 'serious' shows), and this show has no actors that's popular with the Viki crowd. So it's unlikely they will pick this up.
Of the upcoming Chinese (real) historical shows, I think the Imperial Age has a good chance of getting licensed (Feng Shaofeng's popular). Or maybe Held in My Lonely Castle (for Wang Kai and also Ming Lan's director), depending on how historical that show is.
Finished episode 6. I can't help but wonder if the writer/director (the same person in this case) was under pressure…
Now at episode 8, I have to say Wan Qian's character ruined the show for me. Almost everyone else are real flesh and blood human with unique charms and flaws. I care about all of them, even the morally dubious ones (save for Zhao Zheng's character, that actor is just wooden). But Wan Qian's character is this super agent with superhuman unarmed fighting skills, superhuman gunman skills, superhuman memory, superhuman deduction skills and superhuman emotional self-control. Oh, she's also a super perceptive counselor. The contrast is just too glaring. She's like a web novel female protagonist of the most banally perfect kind that somehow show up in the real world. Again I don't know whom to blame, the writer or the investors. I'm just disappointed. The first two episodes showed so much promise.
I will still watch the show as I do care about the other characters, and I love the setting and all. I'm now a fan of Zhang Luyi (looking forward to the last installment of the Qin Empire).
Finished episode 6. I can't help but wonder if the writer/director (the same person in this case) was under pressure from the investors to include a 'strong female character' so they could tick the "women audience" box, realism and world building be damned. Or was it just lazy writing?
The first four episodes were fantastic. A lot of Republican era dramas look like retro fashion shows with poorly tailored faux 1940s three-place suits and overcoats. But the costume designs here are functional and authentic (save for Zhou Dongyu's earmuffs - it's not that earmuffs weren't invented back then, they were but they probably shouldn't appear in Beijing and in any case there's no reason why Zhou Dongyu's character should be the only one wearing it). The set design and the vfx reconstruction of Old Beijing were mesmerizing.
Characterizations were crucial for this type of drama (long ensemble cast drama with intricate interpersonal relationships) and I'd say the characterizations here were strong, although certain scenes might be over-dramatized.
The drama has a spying/counterintelligence theme but it's not a straightforward spy/thriller genre drama. The most similar 'popular' drama is probably The Battle of Changsha. Definitely watch this if you like traditional mainland drama made for mature (35+) audiences.
The second story was a lot more memorable than the first. The writing's better too.
The bad: 1. Major continuity problems with Lin Mo's high school (the second story was supposed to have taken place before the first story, but featured the very same students whom Lin Mo supposedly met for the first time in the first story). 2. Too much sentimental music ? 3. A lot more plot holes than the first.
Overall: Impressive world-building and characterization. Highly entertaining if you don't think too much about the actual case. The holy grail of a crime show is the perfect mixture of drama and logic. Episodes 5-8 failed a bit at logic, but it's great drama.
Interesting... the show's official Weibo account now classifies it as a 'historical drama'. Being recognized officially by the censors as a historical drama would exempt the show from the annual quota on (non-historical) costume dramas, which is two per TV channel.
Just finished the first story arc (episodes 1-4) on iQiyi. Some thoughts:
The good: 1. Solid story. A few plot holes here and there, but noting too serious, I don’t think. Competent writing. 2. Complex cinematography and editing techniques that kept the show visually interesting. 3. Excellent pacing with a balanced mix of comedy and gravity. 4. Solid acting from a lesser known cast (but see below). Props to the actors and the first arc director Sam Quah.
The bad: 1. Inconsistent vfx. Some effects were passable, some were glaringly bad (a certain scene involving beads comes into mind). Disappointing given the show’s pedigree and short length. For now, the Longest Day in Chang’an remains the only Chinese drama I’ve watched with consistently excellent vfx.
2. Good acting marred by out-of-place accent. Why accent coaching is not a thing in China is beyond me. I’m sure the various Northern Mandarin accents are not the norm in Bangkok? I think there’s only one actor with more than a dozen spoken lines who speaks with what I take to be the local accent.
3. Non-Chinese Thais are mostly backdrop or comic relief. I understand the point about the Bangkok setting was to avoid censorship, but I wish there were more non-Chinese roles. I haven’t watched Crazy Rich Asians but I believe there were similar concerns with non-Chinese Southeast Asian representation.
4. A bit misogynistic and classist? and a narcissistic main character? But I expected as much from Chen Si Cheng after Beijing Love Story.
Despite its flaws, it is a honest and mostly well-executed attempt to bring shorter length and higher production value to c-drama. Recommend.
P.S. The first arc director Sam Quah was supposed to direct Netflix's first real Mandarin-language Original series Nowhere Man, but exited the project before production for 'personal reasons' and instead started working with Chen Si Cheng on a feature film (Sheep Without a Shepherd) and this web series. Turned out he really made the right choice!
PSA: If you have subscribed to the paid YouTube channel, don't forget to cancel your subscription now both Amazon Prime and Viki have the complete series.
Ok... I can't believe I just binge watched the last 12 in row after putting this on hold because life got in the…
ep 42 for me. The lantern's transformation was both imaginative and beautiful. The VFX throughout the episode was top notch. Also it's sort of the climax of the show, the rest was the aftermath.
A couple days ago UnionPay (think Chinese Mastercard/Visa) released a 16 minute-long commercial titled 'The Last Money Transfer in Western Tang Empire'. The short film's about the Tang army in the Anxi region (where Zhang Xiao Jing, Cui Qi and many other characters served) ~50 years after the time of the Longest Day in Chang'an. Highly recommended.
Out of the big three components of storytelling - plot, character and setting - some people just want plot. You…
It's a web drama, they could let the viewers choose which story arc/character they're interested in. If someone doesn't enjoy the war flashbacks, they can opt to only get the bare minimal needed to understand the plot.
Each episode ends with a short interlude that sometimes foreshadows coming events or reveals something of life…
The show was originally planned as a show with 3 seasons. If you think episode 17 as the beginning of a new season, the jump in timeline would make more sense. I'd also guess episode 34 was planned as the finale for the second season.
As for the flash-forward, I actually liked it. It would look cheesy if someone just suddenly revived halfway through the episode to advance the plot, so it's better to show the surprise first.
I find that the line Tan Qi said when she first met Zhang Xiao-jing——'most of men talk the talk but don't…
Well Li Bi had always been clear that he wanted to protect both the people of Chang'an and the Crown Prince, and never directly responded to Zhang Xiao Jing's question on how he would act if the two goals become incompatible. The end of his journey in the show was his decision near the end to continue the investigate no matter what (before Director He drugged him).
I have to rewatch ep41 to be sure but I wouldn't call the Emperor deceptive. One could genuinely believe in something even if the belief was suspiciously convenient for him. My feeling was the Emperor was a tired old man stuck in a job he couldn't quit, and all he desired was to run away with his young girlfriend. It's all very understandable. Director He wanted the Emperor stay forever 25. But that's just not possible.
Where is the set for this? Is it one of those that can be visited? Planning to go see some c-drama sets.
It's in Xiangshan (象山) near Ningbo, Zhejiang. The product team considered using Chen Kaige's set for the Demon Cat movie, but decided against it because Chen's set was too historically inaccurate, so they built the set from scratch in Xiangshan.
Of the upcoming Chinese (real) historical shows, I think the Imperial Age has a good chance of getting licensed (Feng Shaofeng's popular). Or maybe Held in My Lonely Castle (for Wang Kai and also Ming Lan's director), depending on how historical that show is.
I will still watch the show as I do care about the other characters, and I love the setting and all. I'm now a fan of Zhang Luyi (looking forward to the last installment of the Qin Empire).
Characterizations were crucial for this type of drama (long ensemble cast drama with intricate interpersonal relationships) and I'd say the characterizations here were strong, although certain scenes might be over-dramatized.
The drama has a spying/counterintelligence theme but it's not a straightforward spy/thriller genre drama. The most similar 'popular' drama is probably The Battle of Changsha. Definitely watch this if you like traditional mainland drama made for mature (35+) audiences.
The bad:
1. Major continuity problems with Lin Mo's high school (the second story was supposed to have taken place before the first story, but featured the very same students whom Lin Mo supposedly met for the first time in the first story).
2. Too much sentimental music ?
3. A lot more plot holes than the first.
Overall:
Impressive world-building and characterization. Highly entertaining if you don't think too much about the actual case. The holy grail of a crime show is the perfect mixture of drama and logic. Episodes 5-8 failed a bit at logic, but it's great drama.
The good:
1. Solid story. A few plot holes here and there, but noting too serious, I don’t think. Competent writing.
2. Complex cinematography and editing techniques that kept the show visually interesting.
3. Excellent pacing with a balanced mix of comedy and gravity.
4. Solid acting from a lesser known cast (but see below). Props to the actors and the first arc director Sam Quah.
The bad:
1. Inconsistent vfx. Some effects were passable, some were glaringly bad (a certain scene involving beads comes into mind). Disappointing given the show’s pedigree and short length. For now, the Longest Day in Chang’an remains the only Chinese drama I’ve watched with consistently excellent vfx.
2. Good acting marred by out-of-place accent. Why accent coaching is not a thing in China is beyond me. I’m sure the various Northern Mandarin accents are not the norm in Bangkok? I think there’s only one actor with more than a dozen spoken lines who speaks with what I take to be the local accent.
3. Non-Chinese Thais are mostly backdrop or comic relief. I understand the point about the Bangkok setting was to avoid censorship, but I wish there were more non-Chinese roles. I haven’t watched Crazy Rich Asians but I believe there were similar concerns with non-Chinese Southeast Asian representation.
4. A bit misogynistic and classist? and a narcissistic main character? But I expected as much from Chen Si Cheng after Beijing Love Story.
Despite its flaws, it is a honest and mostly well-executed attempt to bring shorter length and higher production value to c-drama. Recommend.
P.S. The first arc director Sam Quah was supposed to direct Netflix's first real Mandarin-language Original series Nowhere Man, but exited the project before production for 'personal reasons' and instead started working with Chen Si Cheng on a feature film (Sheep Without a Shepherd) and this web series. Turned out he really made the right choice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=synr1ibQB_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjHJSnhGnNg
https://www.amazon.com/Reflection-of-the-Sun/dp/B07VT11JCH/
480P only:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKoqN4bTZMI
1080P for registered Bilibili users:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av64649768
As for the flash-forward, I actually liked it. It would look cheesy if someone just suddenly revived halfway through the episode to advance the plot, so it's better to show the surprise first.
I have to rewatch ep41 to be sure but I wouldn't call the Emperor deceptive. One could genuinely believe in something even if the belief was suspiciously convenient for him. My feeling was the Emperor was a tired old man stuck in a job he couldn't quit, and all he desired was to run away with his young girlfriend. It's all very understandable. Director He wanted the Emperor stay forever 25. But that's just not possible.
Now someone just need to build a Song era set.