The Longest Day in Chang'an: Dropped Drama Diaries

Aug 15
2 min read

Title:	The Longest Day in Chang'an (2019)
Platform:	Viki, Apple TV, Youtube (free)
MDL Rating:	8.5
Genre:	Period (Tang Dynasty) Thriller/ Action
Episode Count:	24 (at least on Viki...)
Last Episode Watched:	6
Parental Guidance Rating:	PG-13: This should be MA. Very gritty. More violence and gore than usual due to the director taking a more realistic approach.
Starring:	Lei Jia Yin (The Litchi Road) Jackson Yee (Better Days) Zhou Yi Wei (Riverside Code at Qingming Festival) Lu Fang Sheng (The Rise of Ning) Rayzha Alimjan (Mining Town)

Synopsis:

744 A.D., Chang’an, the cosmopolitan heart of the Tang Empire. The remnants of a vanquished Central Asian kingdom have infiltrated the world’s largest city for a planned attack during the Lantern Festival. Meanwhile, the court is fraught with infighting. The ageing Emperor is expected to announce the regency of the Right Chancellor during the festival and retreat to the mountains with his young lover. If the Right Chancellor becomes the regent, the reformist Crown Prince risks being deposed—or worse. Intelligence chief Li Bi, a young Taoist priest and ally of the Crown Prince, has only 24 hours to prevent both the attack and the regency. After a botched attempt to capture the infiltrators, Li Bi and his team call in the services of death row prisoner Zhang Xiao Jing — a war veteran, beloved police chief, and murderer of his last direct superior.

Non-Spoiler Thoughts:

The Longest Day in Chang'an is essentially the TV show 24 (2001-2010), but if it was set in the Tang Dynasty with a grittier Jack Bauer. The drama shines in its commitment to being authentic with superb cinematography showcasing dirty streets full of wear and tear through the eyes of rough around the edges characters, with an ever simmering Hitchcock-esque tension. The drama succeeds in making you feel like you've been transported to the past while watching the characters move through the PACKED streets with imperfect hair and distinctive, lived in costuming.

I loved that the story was contained to 24 hours as it uped the ante and didn't allow for dawdling. All the actors knew what they were about and I salute them. And it was exciting and super random to spot Dijmon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy!) amongst the cast. I think this is my first and only time seeing a person of color in a Chinese Drama! More of this! I chuckled greatly because you can tell he was never speaking Chinese, even though the dubbed voice was lol.

The drama is more a series of action sequences rather than a narrative, and holds no romance, but its high quality production made it a stand out. Unfortunatley, I had to stand it up because I am a wimp when it comes to gore. Peace out girl scout.