Hero Movie Costume

In my previous post: Lessons in Costuming: Symbolism & Color (or Symbolism through Color) I introduced color, its use and its ability to exercise Symbolism in reference to Costume Design.
As I mentioned, examples of this can and be found in many films (Black & White films excluded). One film I would like to use as an example is Hero.
Director Zhang Yimou is a very aesthetic director. And it is no surprise that he saturated this film with Color. Though Zhang Yimou himself admits he and Cinematographer Christopher Doyle used color with no real intent on Symbolism only character perception, that does not mean it can not be used as an example. Each character's perception becomes a perfect example of common philosophical themes associated with color.

Now there are many other places to find a discussion on color in the movie Hero and I recommend reading as many as possible to help you understand how other people have perceived its purpose. As a Costumer you will be working very closely with the Director as well as the Cinematographer and Art Director depending on how the production is organized. A Costumer will need to possess excellent communication skills. Compromise and a confidence in one's creativity and views will coincide in many projects. Simply put you have to stand by your work and yet still be able to bend. But as you grow, you'll work your way through this and work on your flexibility which can be an effective tool in honing your craft.
For the women in the movie; Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi, their costumes are a shade or tone lighter/softer than the men's and their make-up follows the mood of each of the color schemes.
Red: Jet Li's initial story is told in red since it explains a relationship between two of the assassins of the Zhao kingdom. In fact, the Zhao kingdom is represented completely in red. The people of the Zhao kingdom are all dressed in a rich crimson. In these scenes Flying Snow/Maggie Cheung's character is dressed in red as strong as the wall and she is wearing red lipstick and has her hair draped over her face (very much like Broken Sword/Tony Leung in this scene) which is showing a more rebellious and more fiery attitude. This is supposed to show her as passionate and lustful as this is the part of the story that explains her relationship to Broken Sword.

Blue: After the King has heard Li's explanation, he, not believing Li, tells what he "thinks" really occured. This point of view is seen through the color Blue. Blue in this case represents love. Aside from blending in with the background (since it takes place on a lake) it shows how the King believed Flying Snow loved Broken Sword so much she risked her life so that he may live and the plan to fool the King would be successful. Maggie has a much softer look. She is draped in a light blue and wears her hair back, pulled away from her face with a dark almost violet lip color. It's a very serene and somber aura.

White: Lastly, the truth of the matter is told through white. White a synonym of honesty and purity through truth. This is the true story. Flying Snow lived her life in hatred because of the death of her father during a battle against Qin. Broken Arrow allows himself to be killed by her in order to prove to her that he does love her eventhough he does not support her in avenging her fathers death and defeating Qin. Flying Snow takes her own life as she can not bear a life without Broken Arrow. Meanwhile, Jet Li's character has now seen that Broken Arrow was right about how the Qin King would be able to unite all of the land and people of China and bring peace to "all under heaven", and spares his life.