英语文摘:"Reign of Assassins" premieres

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The highly-anticipated martial-arts saga "Reign of Assassins" ("Jian Yu") premiered in Beijing on Sunday with its star-studded cast and crew in attendance.

John Woo, one of the best-known Chinese directors, has clarified his role in the film, saying he was its executive producer rather than its director as previously reported.

Woo spoke highly of the actual director, Su Chao-Bin, who also wrote the story. Su is known as the writer of Chen Kuo-Fu's 2002 thriller, "Double Vision" ("Shuang Tong").

"Reign of Assassins", led by Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-Sung, tells a story similar to "Mr. & Mrs. Smith". Set in ancient China, a couple living in a peaceful town each come to realize that the other is a world-class assassin.

The stellar supporting cast also includes Shawn Yue, Barbie Hsu, Kelly Lin, Paw Hee-Ching, Pace Wu, Leon Dai, Wang Xueqi and Jiang Yiyan.

Critics who have previewed the film call it the best martial-arts epic since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ang Lee's 2000 Oscar-winning film which also stars Michelle Yeoh.

"Reign of Assassins" opens in Chinese theaters on September 28.