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Chinese Cinema

Alice's collection of Chinese films is growing as the film industry there expands and begins to embrace an ever-increasing international audience. Films from China are often marked by great craft and attention to detail, and the stories are involved and often carry a political subtext. Though we have very little that is pre-1990, there is everything here from engaging personal stories to sweeping historical epics. Pictured: Maggie Cheung in the stylized and breath-takingly beautiful 'Hero' from master craftsman Zhang Yimou.

1911: Revolution (2011)

5.9/10
Director: Jackie Chan, Zhang Li
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jiang Wu, Joan Chen, Ning Jing, Sun Chun, Winston Chao, Duobuji , J...

Aka "Xinhai Geming". Martial arts legend Jackie Chan reaches his 100th film milestone with this historical drama set in the year 1911, as the Chinese... Read more

A Battle of Wits (2006)

Director: Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung
Starring: Andy Lau, Sung-kee Ahn, Wang Zhiwen, Siu-hou Chin

Based on a popular 11-volume manga series entitled 'Bokko' and set during the Warring States Period in China in 370 B.C. when the country was split be... Read more

A Chinese Ghost Story (2011)

5.7/10
Director: Wilson Yip
Starring: Elvis Tsui Kam Kong, Kara Hui, Louis Koo, Yifei Liu

A kinetic remake of the classic Hong Kong original. Whilst spending the night in a haunted house tax collector Ning meets and falls in love with Sian,... Read more

A Touch of Sin (2013)

7.1/10
Director: Zhangke Jia
Starring: Zhao Tao, Wang Baoqiang, Wu Jiang, Lanshan Luo, Li Meng

Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival... Read more

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop (2009)

5.7/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Sun Honglei, Zhao Benshan, Dahong Ni, Xiao Shen-Yang, Yan Ni

It looks like a perfect plan: the affair will come to a cruel but satisfying end when a Chinese noodle shop owner plots to execute his unfaithful wife... Read more

A Young Prisoner's Revenge (2002)

Director: Mu Deyuan
Starring: Zhao Youliang, Chen Si Cheng, Xi Mei Juan

A fifteen year old boy is charged with a robbery, in order to reduce his sentence the family offer the judge a bribe, but unbeknowns to them the lawye... Read more

Aftershock (2011)

7.6/10
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Starring: Li Chen, Jingchu Zhang, Xu Fan

This popular disaster drama from China concentrates on a family whose lives were destroyed by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. When a mother is forced to... Read more

Aftershock (Blu-ray) (2011)

7.6/10
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Starring: Li Chen, Jingchu Zhang, Xu Fan

This popular disaster drama from China concentrates on a family whose lives were destroyed by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. When a mother is forced to... Read more

An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)

The first, and tragically only, film from Chinese novelist turned filmmaker Hu Bo is an ambitious and unforgettable film, reminiscent of the works of... Read more

An Empress and the Warriors (2008)

5.9/10
Director: Tony Ching Siu-Tung
Starring: Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Xiaodong Guo, Kelly Chen

In the tradition of "Seven Swords" comes the action saga of a kingdom locked in a desperate battle for survival. In ancient China, in the vacuum of th... Read more