Zhang Yimou 张艺谋 early films on DVD [best versions, taking into account the quality of the transfer, the soundtrack, and a competitive retail price] by Jim Westhaven.
We are analyzing these films from the perspective of their ability to shed light on China and Chinese society, rather than for their entertainment value.
Zhang’s later films – like ‘Hero‘ and ‘Curse of the Golden Flower‘ may be fantastic to look at, but they hardly attempt to offer an accurate depiction of China during the middle ages. His earlier films, despite being melodramas, are at least given realistic settings, and can therefore afford the viewer some sense of daily life in pre-communist China, even if one has to make a few imaginative allowances.
RED SORGHUM [1987] 红高粱
Set in Shandong province in the 1930s, the plot is laced with elements of folk culture, legend, and politics. There is also a strong tendency towards a depiction of carnality and earthiness. The general drift of the film can also be seen as proposing a new type of Chinese nationalism. ‘Red Sorghum’ is Zhang’s most acclaimed early film, although the quality of the DVD transfers leaves much to be desired. The best version currently available is the Mandarin language version with English subtitles:
RED SORGHUM (DVD)
(Mandarin with English subtitles)
(China Version) DVD Region All
Any of these DVDs can be ordered
[and shipped internationally] by clicking
on the live links, or the DVD cover. Please help to keep us afloat by ordering your copies this way.
JU DOU [1990] 菊豆
Set in the early 20th century in a primitive rural China , it is the story of a beautiful woman sold into marriage, and of the unfolding of her tragic life. It is a melodrama which focuses on sexual tensions. The societal context, customs, and general way of life depicted here had probably been that way for hundreds of years.
Ju Dou (US Version) DVD Region All
Mandarin with English subtitles
RAISE THE RED LANTERN [1991] 大红灯笼高高挂
Set in the warlord era of the 1920s, prior to the Nationalist-Communist Civil War, it is the story of a woman who becomes a concubine for a wealthy man. Much of the film is concerned with psychological tensions and the cruelties of that particular archaic way of life. Zhang has denied any allegorical dimension to the story.
Raise the Red Lantern (Digitally Remastered)
(Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
Mandarin with English subtitles
THE STORY OF QIU JU [1992] 秋菊打官司
One woman’s fight for justice. Set in Shaanxi province in 1992, during the time of Deng Xiaoping. As critic Roger Ebert has said, “Zhang’s approach is … understated. Watching the film, we [have to] find the humour for ourselves, and along the way we absorb more information about the lives of ordinary people in everyday China than in any other film I’ve seen.”* Essential viewing for anyone wanting to learn about the lives of everyday rural folk in late 20th century China.
The Story of Qiu Ju (US Version) DVD Region 1
Mandarin with English subtitles
TO LIVE [1994] 活着
Set in the 1940s during the Nationalist-Communist Civil War. It concerns the story of a man who loses his family fortune and his wife, and who finds himself forced to earn his living as a shadow puppeteer. On the way to rebuilding his life, he moves from the Nationalists to the Communists, but ultimately comes to grief at the hands of the new political system. The film’s clear criticism of communism resulted in its banning in China.
To Live (US Version) DVD Region 1
English language version
SHANGHAI TRIAD [1995] 摇呀摇摇到外婆桥
Set in seven days in the Shanghai of the 1930s, the film concerns the fate of a fourteen-year-old boy sent to work for a Triad boss. The plot allows for the depiction of some aspects of life within the context of 1930s organized crime.
Shanghai Triad (Digitally Remastered)
(US version) DVD Region 1 Mandarin with English subtitles
NOT ONE LESS [1999] 一个都不能少
Contemporary story [1990s] of a thirteen-year-old girl who is a substitute teacher in rural China. Shot in a documentary style, the film has a different feel from Zhang’s earlier melodramas. Of considerable interest in its depiction of primary school life in the Chinese countryside, even if the main plot is not typical.
Not One Less (DVD) (English Subtitled)
(China Version) DVD Region All Mandarin with English subtitles
THE ROAD HOME [1999] 我的父亲母亲
A rural love story set in the 1950s during the Anti-Rightist campaign. The film focuses on the central characters and their lives, and only tangentially refers to the political setting.
The Road Home (DVD) (US Version)
Region 1 Mandarin with English subtitles
Zhang Yimou’s 张艺谋 early films on DVD [best versions]
Zhang Yimou 张艺谋 early films on DVD [best versions, taking into account the quality of the transfer, the soundtrack, and a competitive retail price] by Jim Westhaven.
We are analyzing these films from the perspective of their ability to shed light on China and Chinese society, rather than for their entertainment value.
Zhang’s later films – like ‘Hero‘ and ‘Curse of the Golden Flower‘ may be fantastic to look at, but they hardly attempt to offer an accurate depiction of China during the middle ages. His earlier films, despite being melodramas, are at least given realistic settings, and can therefore afford the viewer some sense of daily life in pre-communist China, even if one has to make a few imaginative allowances.
RED SORGHUM [1987] 红高粱
Set in Shandong province in the 1930s, the plot is laced with elements of folk culture, legend, and politics. There is also a strong tendency towards a depiction of carnality and earthiness. The general drift of the film can also be seen as proposing a new type of Chinese nationalism. ‘Red Sorghum’ is Zhang’s most acclaimed early film, although the quality of the DVD transfers leaves much to be desired. The best version currently available is the Mandarin language version with English subtitles:
RED SORGHUM (DVD)
(Mandarin with English subtitles)
(China Version) DVD Region All
Any of these DVDs can be ordered
[and shipped internationally] by clicking
on the live links, or the DVD cover. Please help to keep us afloat by ordering your copies this way.
JU DOU [1990] 菊豆
Set in the early 20th century in a primitive rural China , it is the story of a beautiful woman sold into marriage, and of the unfolding of her tragic life. It is a melodrama which focuses on sexual tensions. The societal context, customs, and general way of life depicted here had probably been that way for hundreds of years.
Ju Dou (US Version) DVD Region All
Mandarin with English subtitles
RAISE THE RED LANTERN [1991] 大红灯笼高高挂
Set in the warlord era of the 1920s, prior to the Nationalist-Communist Civil War, it is the story of a woman who becomes a concubine for a wealthy man. Much of the film is concerned with psychological tensions and the cruelties of that particular archaic way of life. Zhang has denied any allegorical dimension to the story.
Raise the Red Lantern (Digitally Remastered)
(Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
Mandarin with English subtitles
THE STORY OF QIU JU [1992] 秋菊打官司
One woman’s fight for justice. Set in Shaanxi province in 1992, during the time of Deng Xiaoping. As critic Roger Ebert has said, “Zhang’s approach is … understated. Watching the film, we [have to] find the humour for ourselves, and along the way we absorb more information about the lives of ordinary people in everyday China than in any other film I’ve seen.”* Essential viewing for anyone wanting to learn about the lives of everyday rural folk in late 20th century China.
The Story of Qiu Ju (US Version) DVD Region 1
Mandarin with English subtitles
TO LIVE [1994] 活着
Set in the 1940s during the Nationalist-Communist Civil War. It concerns the story of a man who loses his family fortune and his wife, and who finds himself forced to earn his living as a shadow puppeteer. On the way to rebuilding his life, he moves from the Nationalists to the Communists, but ultimately comes to grief at the hands of the new political system. The film’s clear criticism of communism resulted in its banning in China.
To Live (US Version) DVD Region 1
English language version
SHANGHAI TRIAD [1995] 摇呀摇摇到外婆桥
Set in seven days in the Shanghai of the 1930s, the film concerns the fate of a fourteen-year-old boy sent to work for a Triad boss. The plot allows for the depiction of some aspects of life within the context of 1930s organized crime.
Shanghai Triad (Digitally Remastered)
(US version) DVD Region 1 Mandarin with English subtitles
NOT ONE LESS [1999] 一个都不能少
Contemporary story [1990s] of a thirteen-year-old girl who is a substitute teacher in rural China. Shot in a documentary style, the film has a different feel from Zhang’s earlier melodramas. Of considerable interest in its depiction of primary school life in the Chinese countryside, even if the main plot is not typical.
Not One Less (DVD) (English Subtitled)
(China Version) DVD Region All Mandarin with English subtitles
THE ROAD HOME [1999] 我的父亲母亲
A rural love story set in the 1950s during the Anti-Rightist campaign. The film focuses on the central characters and their lives, and only tangentially refers to the political setting.
The Road Home (DVD) (US Version)
Region 1 Mandarin with English subtitles