ABSTRACT
Zhang Ziyi features in only 15 minutes of screen time in Hero (Wen, 29 January 2002). Despite this brief appearance, her presence in the film, in the form of her casting and performance, adds a crucial dimension to Hero’s global appeal. Maggie Cheung, as the only other female lead, plays an assassin, Flying Snow, who is twice thwarted by her male collaborators. Flying Snow’s death does not occur in direct pursuit of her goal (to kill the King), but as an outcome of its failure. Notwithstanding the marginal nature of these actress’s roles, and their significantly less screen time than their male counterparts, the casting of these two female stars is vital to the making of China’s first global blockbuster.
