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.
To Live (1994)
8.3/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Ge You, Gong Li, Niu Ben, Guo Tao, Jiang Wu
This stirring film follows a married couple as their fortunes rise and fall, through several decades of Chinese life, from the 1940s onward. Ge You, G... Read more
The Blue Kite (1993)
7.7/10
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Starring: Lu Liping, Zhang Wenyao, Pu Quanxin
This harrowing tale of a family's struggle to survive in revolutionary China is told from the perspective of a young boy, Tietou, who witnesses first... Read more
Farewell My Concubine (1993)
8.1/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, Lu Qi, Ying Da
A sumptuously detailed panorama of Chinese history as seen through the eyes of two male stars of the Chinese Opera. Joint winner (with 'The Piano') of... Read more
The Story of Qiu Ju (1992)
7.6/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Lei Lao Sheng, Ge Zhi Jun, Lui Pei Qi
In this beautiful and humourous film from the acclaimed director of 'Raise the Red Lantern', a peasant woman takes on the Chinese legal system when he... Read more
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
8.2/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Ma Jingwu, He Caifei, Cao Cuifeng
This magnificent film chronicles the life of a 1920s maiden who, at her mother's urging, agrees to marry a wealthy man. She becomes 'fourth mistress'... Read more
Red Sorghum (1989)
7.5/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Wen Jiang, Liu Jia, Rujun Ten
A vivid, richly coloured drama about a young woman who takes on the management of her late husband's distillery in Northern China. All appears to be g... Read more
Ju Dou (1989)
7.7/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Gong Li, Li Wei, Li Baotian, Zhang Li
This erotic drama follows the passion as a beautiful young bride is drawn to the handsome, strong nephew of her new husband. An exquisitely photograph... Read more
Rouge (1989)
5.8/10
Director: Stanley Kwan
Starring: Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Emily Chu, Man Tsz-Leung
This stunning film tells the story of a ghost's return to search for her long lost lover, leaping spontaneously between Hong Kong in 1934 and the pres... Read more