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.
Dangerous Liaisons (2012)
5.9/10
Director: Hur Jin-ho
Starring: Lisa Lu, Zhang Ziyi, Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang, Shawn Dou
1930s Shanghai: the glamorous, tumultuous "Paris of the East" whose salons, streets and bedrooms frame this Chinese adaptation of the French novel "Le... Read more
Blind Shaft (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Li Yang
Starring: Wang Baoqiang, Wang Shuangbao, Li Qiang
This gritty, guerrilla-style drama centers on two con men who set out to strike a blow against the spirit-crushing coal mining industry of Northwester... Read more
Hero ( Blu-ray ) (2002)
7.9/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Zhang Ziyi, Daoming Ch...
Director Zhang Yimou's highly stylized martial arts epic stars Jet Li as a nameless expert swordsman, who tells the ruler of one of ancient China's wa... Read more
House of Flying Daggers (2004)
7.6/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Song Dandan
Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau star in this stunning blend of lyrical romance and eye-popping fight scenes. Mei is an exotic, beautiful bl... Read more
The Missing Gun (2002)
6.8/10
Director: Lu Chuan
Starring: Wen Jiang, Ning Jing
Small-town Chinese policeman Ma Shan (Jiang Wen) wakes up the morning after his cousin's wedding to discover that his gun - a rare, state-issued firea... Read more
Endless Way (2002)
6.9/10
Director: Shen Wensheng
Starring: Chen Chuang, Xia Lu, Du Jing, Liao Guanzhen
While struggling to bring water to his landlocked village, a young man finds himself torn between responsibility to his ailing mother and his own desi... 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
Beauty Remains (2005)
5.2/10
Director: Ann Hu
Starring: Xun Zhou, Vivian Wu, Wang Zhiwen, Lisa Lu
Set against the backdrop of Communism's rise in 1949 China, it is 15 years since a poor, illegitimate schoolgirl was abandoned; now her spoilt half-si... Read more
Warm Spring (2002)
6.6/10
Director: Wulan Tana
Starring: Tian Chengren, Zhang Yan, Hao Yang, Yu Weijie
Directed by Wulan Tana this poignant drama is the tale of young orphan Xiao Hua, who after fleeing the clutches of an abusive foster parent, finds a s... Read more
The Promise (2005)
5.6/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Cecilia Cheung, Hiroyuki Sanada, Nicholas Tse, Dong-kun Jang, Liu Ye, Chen Hong
From the director of 'Farewell My Concubine' comes this visually stunning tale of passion, set in China's mythical past, that unfolds against a backdr... Read more