There has been some criticism of the film for its American-release translation of one of the central ideas in the film : '' Tiānxià '' ( ) which literally means " Under heaven " , and is a phrase to mean " the World " . In fact , for its release in Belgium , some two years before the U.S. release , the subtitled translation was indeed " all under heaven " . However , the version shown in American cinemas was localized as the two-word phrase " our land " instead , which seems to denote just the nation of China rather than the whole world . Whether Zhang Yimou intended the film to also have meaning with regard to the world and world unity was at that time difficult to say . Zhang Yimou was asked about the change at a screening in Massachusetts and said it was a problem of translation : " If you ask me if ' Our land ' is a good translation , I ca n't tell you . All translations are handicapped . Every word has different meanings in different cultures . " However , in '' Cause : The Birth of Hero '' – a documentary on the making of '' Hero '' – Zhang mentions that he hopes the film will have some contemporary relevance , and that , in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks ( which took place just before the movie was filmed ) the themes of universal brotherhood and " peace under heaven " may indeed be interpreted more globally , and taken to refer to peace in " the world . " The phrase was later changed in television-release versions of the film
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Hero (2002 film)