Perhaps because it's coming from a relatively new company rather than one of the usual suspects upcoming martial arts epic An Empress And The Warriors has remained largely under the radar until now, surprising considering it stars Donnie Yen, Leon Lai and Kelly Chen and is directed by legendary martial arts choreographer Tony Ching. I'd say it's safely on people's radar screens now. Currently in post production an extended promo reel from the film is screening here at the AFM and it is fantastic stuff. The scope of the film is truly enormous, the production design rich and detailed but the presence of Tony Ching in the director's chair is enough to guarantee that the film plays far more like a throwback to Hong Kong's old school classics than it does the new wave of arthouse wuxia. The fights are plentiful and complex, Yen is in fine form - and it's fun to see him working under someone else's guidance to give a different spin to his talents - and the rest of the cast is similarly strong. Look for a trailer to appear online soon.
By Tony Ching, do you mean Ching Siu-Tung? I think that is who you mean. He is a great action choreographer as well as a pretty damn good director: Chinese Ghost Story 1, 2, and 3 under producer Tsui Hark; co-director of Swordsman 1, director of Swordsman 2 and 3, on and on.
I don't have much hope in Kelly Chen doing a period piece, and the market for this kind of thing seems flooded at the moment, but it could be good fun.
You are correct. Don't know why but for some reason I always tend to refer to him with his english name.