Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia is a 2006 Mandarin-language Documentary movie written and directed by Zhang Yimou and produced by William Kong, Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou under the banner of Edko Film. China, Later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century. On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou). His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress (Gong Li), this ms disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan (Li Man), the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down an ominous path? The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong) is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor's family from the Palace to a remote area. While they are en route, mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi (Chen Jin) are forced back to the palace. Their return sets off a tumultuous sequence of dark surprises. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the festival, ugly secrets are revealed. As the Imperial Family continues its elaborate charade in a palatial setting, thousands of golden ard warriors charge the palace. Who is behind this brutal rebellion? Where do Prince Jai's loyalties lie? Between love and desire, is there a final winner? Against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace. Written by Sony Pictures Classics. Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia features Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Qin Junjie, Yun-fat Chow, Beau Weaver and Yimou Zhang. The movie is based on Thunderstorm by Cao Yu and Shakespeare's King Lear. The music was composed by Shigeru Umebayashi. Cinematography was done by Zhao Xiaoding. The motion picture has a running time of 114 minutes. It was released on 21st December 2006. The Film was successful at box office. Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia was made on a budget of $45 million and it was a hit at box office gross of $78 million. Distribution rights for the movie were acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.