The Emperor and The Assassin CHINA - Rated R - 161 minutes Tuesday, July 25 at 9:15pm Directed by Chen Kaige. The story of an ambitious King, Ying Zheng, who is obsessed with unifying all of China and becoming its first emperor. To this end, he embarks upon an unparalleled reign of terror and brutality against all who, he believes, stands between him and his destiny. A powerful and visually stunning film (reported as the most expensive Asian film ever produced) by the director of Farewell My Concubine and Temptress Moon. (In Mandarin with English subtitles). A Sony Pictures Classics release. Preceded by the short film The State's Conception New York Premiere USA - 19 minutes. Directed by Stephen L. Fromkin. Produced by Stephen L. Fromkin. In the year 2068 the new World-wide government imposed a measure to alleviate rampant population growth: All males were injected at birth and rendered infertile.