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

96% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
93% of users liked it
(21,142 ratings)

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… More 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 by Su Tong, stars Gong Li as Songlian, the fourth wife of an elderly landlord. Songlian is a college student who has been married off by her stepmother, so it is with tremendous frustration that this woman, who had hopes of using her education to broaden her horizons, now finds herself reduced to a small enclosure at the beck and call of her husband. Despite being given a maid (Kong Lin) and luxurious surroundings, she feels trapped inside the cheerless walls. Upon her arrival, Songlian realizes that she must keep one step ahead of her rivals, the three other wives. She also learns of her husband's tradition of lighting a lantern outside of the house of the wife with whom he intends to spend the night. During the first night together with her husband, she finds he is called away to tend to his spoiled third wife (He Caifei). Songlian then becomes acquainted with his other wives -- his first wife (Jin Shuyuan), an elderly woman who ignores Songlian; the third wife, an ex-opera singer; and the second wife (Cao Cuifeng), who offers Songlian friendship and helpful advice. But it turns out that the second wife's motives are not exactly innocent--she is conspiring with Songlian's maid to undermine both the third wife and Songlian. Raise the Red Lantern is a moving exploration of power in a suffocating world of ossified tradition and naked ambition-a masterpiece of 1990s world cinema. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Yimou Zhang
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1991 Wide
On DVD: Feb 14, 2006

Critic Reviews

Rob Nelson, Village Voice
Visually ravishing and emotionally cold, Zhang's third feature is one long series of pushes and pulls.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
A beautifully crafted and richly detailed feat of consciousness-raising and a serious drama with the verve of a good soap opera.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Gong Li delivers a performance of exquisite expressiveness that, like the film itself, is unnerving in its emotional nakedness.
John Hartl, Film.com
A near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent films.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
In purely aesthetic terms, Raise the Red Lantern is breathtaking.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
The story never amounts to much more than a rather tepid Chinese rendition of The Women.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
With its beautiful look and haunting themes and sublime performances, Raise The Red Lantern is Yimou's master work.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
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.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Funcionando tanto como drama quanto como alegoria, o filme desenvolve seu tema com uma fotografia não apenas belíssima, mas também simbólica.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Reid V

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… More
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.
Jan Marc M

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.
Adam M

Elegant staid compositions, flowing rooftops, a hundred shades of red and yellow light surrounded by grey, patriarchy depersonalized with long shots and curtains, Gong Li... The filmmakers seem a bit overeager for their ending, which is out of romantic fiction... Mao is coming, you… More
Elegant staid compositions, flowing rooftops, a hundred shades of red and yellow light surrounded by grey, patriarchy depersonalized with long shots and curtains, Gong Li... The filmmakers seem a bit overeager for their ending, which is out of romantic fiction... Mao is coming, you know
Cynthia S

Well, this movie is definitely not for someone who hates slow paced movies...cuz this is the slowest ever. But, it is so well done, and the storyline so boggles my mind, that I just couldn't stop watching it. This is one crazy culture.
Randy T

Picture this: 1920-something China. A rich man has four wives. Each wife has her own house. Each house is connected by a common courtyard. Every night the four wives stand by their door to see which house will get the red lantern. The house with the red lantern gets to… More
Picture this: 1920-something China. A rich man has four wives. Each wife has her own house. Each house is connected by a common courtyard. Every night the four wives stand by their door to see which house will get the red lantern. The house with the red lantern gets to 'host' the husband for the night. The wife with the red lantern also gets to decide what's for dinner, has general control of the combined households and, most importantly, gets a foot massage. Throw four women together in vicious competition for a foot massage and you've got the makings of top-notch drama. Five stars.
Jennifer X

Seriously, sometimes I feel like I enjoy Chinese movies more simply because they are in Chinese and I can identify more. Like, there were mannerisms displayed in Songlian I can detect in my mother. I know a woman who is just like the Third Wife, and also the Second Wife, and even the… More
Seriously, sometimes I feel like I enjoy Chinese movies more simply because they are in Chinese and I can identify more. Like, there were mannerisms displayed in Songlian I can detect in my mother. I know a woman who is just like the Third Wife, and also the Second Wife, and even the maid. Honestly it's never struck me so completely as it has in this movie, which is weird since it's a period film...but it doesn't feel like a period film. All that aside, this is an intensely searing film whose thin plot line seems to work continuously for two hours and not get tiresome. Or maybe it is the thin plot line that remarks on the ridiculousness of Chinese customs and monarchy at the time.
Robert C

I'm a sucker for a good "period piece". Throw in a great actress (Gong Li) a intriguing story and some amazing cinematography...and I'm hooked! While ultimately a very sad tale, it presents many interesting questions and is intriguing on many levels. An… More
I'm a sucker for a good "period piece". Throw in a great actress (Gong Li) a intriguing story and some amazing cinematography...and I'm hooked! While ultimately a very sad tale, it presents many interesting questions and is intriguing on many levels. An enjoyable experience over all.
Lanning :

A beautifully shot film with a beautiful mid-20s Gong Li. The subject, the life of the concubine, is not, however, beautiful. La vita is not bella. It is a tradition of slavery made palatable only to the point that it permits a lavish and pampered lifestyle -- in some ways these… More
A beautifully shot film with a beautiful mid-20s Gong Li. The subject, the life of the concubine, is not, however, beautiful. La vita is not bella. It is a tradition of slavery made palatable only to the point that it permits a lavish and pampered lifestyle -- in some ways these women are like calves being fatted for slaughter. Other than that, it is slavery by any other name, and it does not smell sweet. Brutal, harsh, mindless, insufferable, suffocating, soul-killing -- these are some of the adjectives that come to mind for the life depicted in these sumptuous settings.
Daisy M

It took me 3 days to finish this Yimou Zhang's movie Raise the Red Lantern but it was a fantastic movie with great acting by Gong Li and the rest of the cast.It was about 4 women of different ages,who were wives of a rich man. Although they had their own house and personal… More
It took me 3 days to finish this Yimou Zhang's movie Raise the Red Lantern but it was a fantastic movie with great acting by Gong Li and the rest of the cast.It was about 4 women of different ages,who were wives of a rich man. Although they had their own house and personal maids, still they were like slaves,and must be prepared to do their master services of love, whenever he felt like. Then lanterns were lighted in front of the chosen house, just to warn the other concubines that they were not the chosen ones for their master that night. In the beginning it started very slow and came over quite boring, due to the dark mood of the story and the lack of variation of the camera,as it was set in one place at a time. However, there was a lot importance scenes ,good story line and good acting and impressive ending that made this movie another masterpiece of Yimou Zhang.
hawk l

Voluptuous, visually astonishing and dramatically devastating, a damning portrait of women at the mercy of a rigid patriarchal power structure. Gong Li is scintillating.
MJS M

The highly regarded Zhang Yimou film about a woman who is forced to become the fourth wife to an aristocrat. The film should be remembered for its rich colorful cinematography alone, but there?s even more to like. Gong Li gives a remarkable performance, many have said she?s a lot… More
The highly regarded Zhang Yimou film about a woman who is forced to become the fourth wife to an aristocrat. The film should be remembered for its rich colorful cinematography alone, but there?s even more to like. Gong Li gives a remarkable performance, many have said she?s a lot better in her native language then she is in flicks like Miami Vice, and they?re right. The film reminds me a lot of British period pieces about domestic intrigue and class conflicts, except in a different cultural context. Some have seen it as an allegorical attack on communist China, I?m not sure how much that pans out, but it works well enough on the surface that it doesn?t matter.
FanGirl B

I need to see this one again.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings

Cast

Li Gong
as Songlian
He Caifei
as Meishan
Ma Jingwu
as Chen Zuoqian

Cao Cuifeng
as Zhuoyun
Jin Shuyuan
as Yuru
Lin Kong
as Yan'er

See full cast

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