Directed by John Woo, "Red Cliff" charts the remarkable events leading up to the most famous battle in Chinese history
The classic 'The Prodigal Son' is based on a true story: a colourful and action-packed tribute to Wing Chun legend Leung Jaan one of China's most enduring martial arts heroes. From his early days through his training and heroic battles these are the adventures of a true hero who loses his innocence and gains strength and empathy in his pursuit of honour and martial arts mastery. A true classic...
Anybody hungering for a good old-fashioned Western needs to check out Warriors of Heaven and Earth, which--although it's set in 7th-century China--has all the valor and spectacle of a John Ford picture. It also has a goofy supernatural streak, for the chopsocky crowd. The opening 10 minutes or so offer an alarmingly convoluted plot, but it swiftly settles down. What's going on is that a long-exiled Japanese hit man (Kiichi Nakai), hired to kill a renegade Chinese warrior (Jiang Wen), temporarily teams up with his quarry in order to escort a camel caravan along the Spice Road. Of course, they are menaced by a brutal warlord, and beautiful Zhao Wei (So Close) is mixed in there too. Director He Ping (Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker) captures some magnificent vistas in the Gobi Desert, but more importantly he sketches the codes or honor and behavior essential to any such tale. --Robert Horton
During the 1970's Cultural Revolution two bourgeois young men from the city are sent to a remote culturally barren mountain village for re-education in Maoist principles. Discovering a hidden cache of books by western writers including Balzac the pair transmit their love of art and literature to the knowledge-hungry local seamstress (Xun Zhou) with whom they promptly both fall in love... Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 'Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstr
Regarded as the finest work from the first great era of Chinese filmmaking Fei Mu’s quiet piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guilt-ridden despair – now restored by the China Film Archive – is a remarkable rediscovery. After eight years of marriage to Liyan – once rich but now sickly and almost suicidally apathetic following a long ruinous war – Yuwen does little except deliver his daily medication. A surprise visit from Liyan’s friend Zhang re-energises the household the invalid included. Liyan’s young sister is not alone in her excitement over the much-travelled guest; Yuwen knew him before her marriage… In 2005 Spring In a Small Town was declared No.1 in the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures. A re-make as Springtime in a Small Town by Tian Zhuangzhuang was released in 2002 but this is the first time that the original film has been available on DVD in the UK. Features: Rare Chinese shorts from the BFI National Archive Fully illustrated booklet with complete film credits
The fourth feature by internationally acclaimed auteur Jia Zhangke was also his breakout success, an epic with a canvas as vast, and intimate, as its title suggests: a state-of-the-modern-world address, and a look at the insular world of a troupe of Chinese stage-performers dreaming of freedom… Zhao Tao, Jia’s muse, is one of these troupers. For Tao and the larger ensemble of pageant performers at Beijing’s real-life World Park (a sprawling hyper-pastiche of global landmarks — “famous sites from five continents”), love is respite from work, work is respite from love, and the line that extends from the past to the future loses all definition beyond the present. A testament to the wisdom of this young filmmaker who arrived in the late 1990s with Xiao Wu and, in 2000, Platform (regarded by many to be the greatest film of the 2000s), Shijie / The World provides an image of globalisation as a paradox: at once a phenomenon rooted in social control, and a network that allows connection across individual people and populations. Special Dual Format Edition: 1080p Blu-Ray transfer English subtitles Tony Rayns on The World: New and exclusive video introduction to the film Made in China: A 65 minute documentary on the making of The World The World according to Jia Zhangke: A 24 minute interview 40 page booklet
Nick Broomfield examines the tragic deaths of Chinese cockle-pickers who lost their lives in Morecambe Bay in 2004.
Unknown Pleasures: 19 year old friends Bin Bin and Ziao Ji live in the provincial Chinese city of Datong; disaffected and without jobs or ambition they pass their days wandering around town on their motorbikes hanging out at the smoky pool hall dreaming of girls and escape. Around them China is changing television informs them of their nation's rapidly developing political and economic role in the world and the inexorable encroachment of globalisation... Xiao Wu (aka P
A showcase for the most rare and popular form of Kung Fu the Monkey style. The evil Snake Fist Master is searching for Ming Loyalists and only the amazing Monkey Fighters can stop him!
Poetic hitman film noir from controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike. Yuuji is an outsider. As a Japanese mobster holed up in Taipei working as a hitman for a Triad boss he is far from his roots. Added to this complicated existence is the fact that his ex-wife has just dumped a young boy - probably their child - on his doorstep. A hazardous burden in this world of sly manouvers and quick-fire shoot-outs the boy is neglected and unloved. As Yuuji continues to do business as
From John Woo, the director of Hong Kong movie classics including Bullet in the Head and The Killer, comes the incredible Last Hurrah for Chivalry; his unique take on the Wuxia or heroic fantasy movie genre. This time the guns are replaced with swords but the trademark Woo themes of heroism and honour are much in evidence as the newly married swordsman Kao seeks revenge on the evil Pai for wiping out his family on his wedding night. Alone he cannot beat him so enlists the help of Chang and Green to exact justice upon Pai - John Woo style!This new brotherhood isn't as honourable as it first appears and the scene is set for a climactic deadly battle. This, like the rest of the film, is expertly choreographed and beautifully captured in John Woo's brutally inimitable style that will delight fans who prefer their action hardcore!
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Dir. Ang Lee 2000): Amazing martial arts fighting sequences (choreographed by Yuen wo Ping - The Matrix) stunning special effects action adventure and romance have made Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the most talked about movie of the year. Martial arts masters Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) battle against evil forces to recover their stolen sword the legendary Green Destiny. Warriors Of Heaven & Earth (Dir. Ping Lee 2003): China 700AD: the Tang Dynasty assumes far-reaching political influence culminating in battle against the Turks. Wen Zhu (Zhao Wei) the daughter of a top Chinese general spearheading the forces massed against the Turkish enemy is entrusted to the care of Lai Xi (Kiichi Nakai) the Japanese emissary and feared imperial bounty hunter who hunts down rebels in the Western Frontier who is ordered take her back to the capital city of Changan. Lai Xi longs for a return to his beloved Japanese homeland but his assignment is hijacked by the command to hunt down rebel Li (Jiang Wen) a lieutenant condemned to death for disobeying a direct order to murder innocent women and children in the name of war. However as dedicated to carrying out his duty as Lai Xi is when he tracks down Li he is surprised to find his foe transporting a sacred Buddhist relic across the Gobi desert to its rightful resting place. As Turkish forces mass to attack in an effort to steal the relic Lai Xi must question his loyalty to his superiors and his Buddhist faith... Likened to the multi-Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou's No.1 U.S. box office hit Hero China's official entry for the Best Foreign language Academy award Warriors Of Heaven And Earth is epic entertainment! Legend Of The Red Dragon (Dir. Wong Jing 2001): The epic story of a man who challenged the limits of courage and fought for the heart of a nation. When his wife and entire village are brutally murdered by evil Manchu soldiers the master warrior Kwun (Jet Li) sets out on a mission of vengeance with the only survivor of the massacre - his son Ting. For seven years the two journey across ancient China on their quest for revenge always staying one step ahead of the deadly army. But Kwun is forced to face the past when they come across a wealthy benefactor with five young Shaolin masters in his charge who unbeknownst to Kwun have the detailed map to a priceless treasure trove tattooed on their backs. It is not long before Manchu officials find out about the maps and deadly soldiers came after the masters. Now in an ancient battle that will pit Kwun against one of the very soldiers who helped to kill his family he and Ting will unite with the young masters of Shaolin for a fight to the death. Get ready for an ancient martial arts battle with the world's most masterful warriors!
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