Movies Unlimited - The Movie Collector's Website

Red Sorghum (1987)

Exotically rendered epic from China, set during the 1930s invasion by Japan, follows a young woman who arrives at a remote winery to marry the elderly vintner to whom she is betrothed. After entering into an affair with a servant, she learns she must suffer the consequences of her actions. Gong Li, Jiang Wen star in Zhang Yimou’s fascinating, award-winning drama. 91 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles.

Ju Dou (1990)

A controversial Best Foreign Film Academy Award nominee, this beautiful, politically charged drama, set in northern China in the ’20s, tells the story of a young woman who is sold into marriage to an elderly tycoon. Eventually, she is secretly impregnated by his cowardly nephew, and, years later, her son uncovers the mystery of his birth. Gong Li stars; directed by Zhang Yimou. 98 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles. C/Rtg: PG-13

Raise The Red Lantern (1991)

Set in Northern China in the 1920s, this drama from Zhang Yimou tells the story of a young woman (Gong Li) who leaves her hostile stepmother following her father’s death and becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy patriarch. She soon realizes that rivalries exist between the other wives, one of whom is plotting to destroy her. 125 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles. C/Rtg: PG

The Story Of Qiu Ju (1992)

Highly acclaimed, ironic tale from director Zhang Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern") concerning a Chinese woman’s dogged quest for justice when her husband is beaten by the village elder. Gong Li and Lei Lao Sheng star in this powerful and darkly comic story of political hypocrisy. 100 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles. C/Rtg: PG

To Live (1994)

Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou chronicles the stormy, war-torn history of 20th-century China, as seen through the personal turmoil of one family through four generations, in this compelling and moving drama. Ge You, Gong Li star. 133 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles. C/Rtg: NR

Shanghai Triad (1995)

This exotic gangster epic from Zhang Yimou ("To Live") traces the inner workings of Shanghai’s most prominent crime syndicate in the 1930s, as witnessed by 14-year-old Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao). When Shuisheng becomes the servant for Xiao Jingbao (Gong Li), a promiscuous singer (and the crime boss’s mistress), he learns of the cruelty and dealings of the Triad gangs. Baotian Li, Xuejian Li co-star. 108 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles. C/Rtg: R

Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006)

Director/co-writer Zhang Yimou ("Hero") juggles royal intrigues, highly emotional drama, and extravagant swordplay in this spectacular historic drama. An ailing Tang Dynasty empress (Gong Li) conducts an affair with her stepson, but the crown prince’s heart belongs to the daughter of the imperial physician, who is helping the emperor (Chow Yun-Fat) poison his unfaithful wife. Junjie Qin, Liu Ye also star. 114 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles/Dubbed in English. C/Rtg: R

Coming Home (2014)

Set amid China’s tumultuous 1970s Cultural Revolution, director Zhang Yimou’s emotional drama stars Chen Daoming as political prisoner Yanshi Lu, who escapes and returns home to his family. Betrayed by his daughter, he is recaptured in a scuffle that leaves his wife, Wanyu (Gong Li), with a brain injury. Finally freed years later, Lu makes his way back to Wanyu, but finds that she is unable to remember him. With Zhang Huiwen, Chun Li. 109 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles/Dubbed in English. C/Rtg: PG-13

Widescreen; Soundtrack: Mandarin; Subtitles: English; documentary; interviews; featurettes; theatrical trailers. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Region Free