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.
Happy Times (2001)
7.5/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Dong Jie, Zhao Benshan
From acclaimed director Zhang Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern") comes this light-hearted Chinese comedy about a retired factory worker who hires his fia... Read more
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( Blu-ray ) (2000)
7.9/10
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Chang Chen, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi
A pair of martial arts masters and would-be lovers, an independent young woman with a dark secret, and the search for a stolen mystical sword all come... Read more
Platform (2000)
7.4/10
Director: Jia Zhang-ke
Starring: Wang Hong-wei, Zhao Tao, Liang Jing-dong, Yang Tian-yi
Aka "Zhantai". Jia Zhang-ke's ambitious film follows the lives of four friends over a turbulent 10 year period of Chinese history, from 1979 to 1989.... Read more
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
7.9/10
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, Zhang Ziyi
A pair of martial arts masters and would-be lovers, an independent young woman with a dark secret, and the search for a stolen mystical sword all come... Read more
Shadow Magic (1999)
7.2/10
Director: Ann Hu
Starring: Jared Harris, Xia Yu, Liu Pei Qui
Peking, 1902. Travelling English showman Jared Harris teams with photographer Xia Yu to bring the amazing new art form of motion pictures to remote vi... Read more
Yi Yi ( A One and a Two ) (Blu-ray) (1999)
8.2/10
Director: Edward Yang
Starring: Nianzhen Wu, Elaine Jin, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Issey Ogata
Set in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, writer/director Edward Yang's acclaimed drama juxtaposes old and new, love and heartbreak as it follows the em... Read more
Yi Yi ( A One and a Two ) (1999)
8.1/10
Director: Edward Yang
Starring: Nianzhen Wu, Elaine Jin, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Issey Ogata
Set in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, writer/director Edward Yang's acclaimed drama juxtaposes old and new, love and heartbreak as it follows the em... Read more
The Emperor and the Assassin (1999)
7.3/10
Director: Chen Kaige
Starring: Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, Sun Zhou, Lu Xiaohe, Wang Zhiwen
This lavishly produced, epic historical drama is set in the third century B.C. and tells the multi-faceted story of the man who became the first Emper... Read more
Not One Less (1999)
7.7/10
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Wei Minzhi, Zhang Huike
Follow the adventures of a 13 year old girl who, despite her age, finds herself working as a substitute teacher in the school of her small Chinese vil... Read more
Shower (1999)
7.5/10
Director: Zhang Yang
Starring: Zhu Xu, Pu Cun Xin, Jiang Wu
This acclaimed drama from Zhang Yang is set in and around a Beijing bathhouse run by its elderly owner and his slow witted son. The proprietor's older... Read more