Raise the Red Lantern (DVD, 2007)

This is the film version of Ni Zhen's book 'Wives and Concubines'. Directed by Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) it is a wonderful film directed with the authroity and deftness of touch you expect from a master of his craft, despite it being much earlier than House of Flying Daggers.


Yimou's now trademark use of rich colours is very much in evidence but not only does he know how to paint a vivid picture on screen he can tell a great tale too.

If you are a fan of Memoirs of a Geisha then this film is an absolute must in your collection. Raise The Red Lantern is so superior in visuals and storytelling that makes 'Geisha' look a little gauche!

Sadly it is no longer available on DVD except for some poor quality prints from Aisia and this is the biggest drawback if you are a fan of rich visuals because the one element that does suffer is the picture quality.

I brought a imported version from Asia because I can't get a version in Europe or from the US and it was one of the films on my 'see again before I die' list... it's really that good.

If you only see one foreign language film in your life, you'd probably want to see Cinema Paradiso or Life is Beautiful. If you're looing for a top 10 of foreign language films then this should definately be on your list.

Underated and overlooked this film does not get the credit is is long overdue.

The original gets five stars out of five in my book, the Asian import looses a star for the poor picture quality.

This is a film that is almost beyond description in its evocation of 1920s China, and the political intrigue within a harem maintained by a wealthy warlord. Gong Li, possibly China's most familiar and accomplished actress, is simply astounding as a new concubine in the lord's household. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou ("Hero," "House of Flying Daggers," "Curse of the Golden Flower"). While devoid of the special effects of his later films, "Lantern" is an amazing glimpse into a forbidden China that was initially banned by the Red Chinese government. Some critics have described it as an indictment of communist authoritarianism, but it isn't necessary to extract anything more from the film's story of jealousy, palace intrigue, and and its astounding period locations, stunning costume design and transcendent performances. A truly great film by one of the world's best film directors.

This dvd wasnt what I expected it was The sync is all off with the voiceovers I have seen the Original and this isnt like the original - meaning the voiceovers arent matched up with the language

love, love, loved this movie. saw this first more than a decade ago and saw it again this week and i was again awe-struck by how finely-detailed the story structure and production design are. one of the best gong li movies ever!

Excellent story and the book was very close to the movie! I would recommend this book to others. My daughter needed it for a book report and she enjoyed it as much as I did.