Codename Cougar

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Codename Cougar
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Yang Fengliang
Written by Cheng Shiqing
Starring Gong Li
Ge You
Liu Xiaoning
Wang Xueqi
Cinematography Gu Changwei
Release date(s) 1989
Running time 90 min.
Language Mandarin Chinese
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese: 代號美洲豹
Traditional Chinese: 代號美洲豹
Pinyin: Dàiháo měizhōubào

Codename Cougar (also known as Codename: Cougar, Operation Cougar or The Puma Action) is a 1989 Chinese thriller film. It was co-directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang. Unlike the bulk of Zhang's early work (ranging from 1986's Red Sorghum to 1995's Shanghai Triad) which were all historical pieces, Codename Cougar is a modern thriller involving a skyjacked airliner and political intrigue.

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[edit] Plot

The film follows a commercial airliner on a routine flight between Taipei and Seoul that is hijacked and taken to mainland China by the fictional Taiwan Revolutionary Army Front. Communist authorities cannot seize the plane because of the presence of an important business figure on the flight, and agree to cooperate discretely with Taiwanese authorities to defuse an already tense situation.

[edit] Reception

The film is generally considered a failure or a footnote to Zhang's general ouevre; Time referred to the film as Zhang Yimou's last "purely frivolous work."[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Corliss, Richard (2002-12-15). In the Mood for Swordplay. Time. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.

[edit] External links

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