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Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)

Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua) (1991)

tomatometer

90

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

93

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 21,529

My Rating

Movie Info

The phenomenal success and international acclaim of Raise the Red Lantern, cemented Zhang Yimou's status as a leading figure in world cinema and reaffirmed the vibrancy of Chinese cinema. Though the film was the topic of great political controversy in China upon its release, it received armfuls of awards from Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom and a nomination for an Academy Award. This sumptuously photographed drama, set in Northern China in the 1920s and based on the novel Wives and Concubines

PG,

Art House & International, Drama

Feb 14, 2006

Cast

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All Critics (30) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (2) | DVD (6)

Visually ravishing and emotionally cold, Zhang's third feature is one long series of pushes and pulls.

February 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Village Voice
Village Voice
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A beautifully crafted and richly detailed feat of consciousness-raising and a serious drama with the verve of a good soap opera.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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Gong Li delivers a performance of exquisite expressiveness that, like the film itself, is unnerving in its emotional nakedness.

May 12, 2001
Rolling Stone
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A near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent films.

January 1, 2000
Film.com
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The story never amounts to much more than a rather tepid Chinese rendition of The Women.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
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A defining example of Chinese movie-making and one of the best films of the '90s.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
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With its beautiful look and haunting themes and sublime performances, Raise The Red Lantern is Yimou's master work.

December 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film
Eye for Film

One of Yimou's two or three masterpieces, this visually stunning film offers an extraordinary view of gender, sexuality, female rivalry and bonding in a historical context (1920s China) that bears some political relevance to the present time.

October 31, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Funcionando tanto como drama quanto como alegoria, o filme desenvolve seu tema com uma fotografia não apenas belíssima, mas também simbólica.

March 28, 2006
Cinema em Cena

Audience Reviews for Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)

A fantastic film about expectations and societal roles. Director Zhang Yimou exhaustively captures the pomp and circumstance of every tradition, beautifully juxtaposing this grandeur with the desperate plight of the concubines. He shows that under all the bizarre foot massages and the ceremonial lighting of the lanterns, there is a group woman eagerly laying in wait for the master to come and bestow upon them his light.
Confined to grounds of this temple, or what seems like a very small prison, he captures both the elegance and the crippling confinement that these women call home. Even in this isolated & relatively small space, Yimou makes the stakes feel so high.
For me it was an unexpected delight and a film I will not soon forget.
May 17, 2012
axadntpron
Reid Volk

Super Reviewer

A House of traditions and customs haunted by scandal, hatred, and deceit; Raise The Red Lantern is aesthetically breathtaking strengthened by a young Gong Li's glorious performance. Silently intense and deeply metaphorical. Sublime.
September 9, 2011
Jan Marc Macababayao

Super Reviewer

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Latest News on Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)

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Foreign Titles

  • Die Rote Laterne (DE)
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