Raise the Red Lantern

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Raise the Red Lantern

PG,

In Theaters Nov 6,

2h 5m,

Drama

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Watchlist

97%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

94%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Teenage Songlian (Gong Li), whose family has been devastated by the recent death of her father, becomes the third concubine of wealthy Master Chen (Ma Jingwu). She soon discovers that behind the palatial luxury of life in the master's house, she and her fellow concubines, Zhuoyan (Cao Cuifeng) and Meishan (He Caifei), are pitted against each other in a struggle for his affections. The situation inevitably leads to deception, jealous rages and the revelation of each other's darkest secrets.

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In Theaters Nov 6

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Critics Consensus

Visually thrilling and rich with emotion, Raise the Red Lantern offers an engrossing period drama anchored by an outstanding performance from Gong Li.

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Yimou Zhang

Director

Gong Li

Songlian

Jingwu Ma

The Master

Saifei He

Meishan (Third Wife)

Cao Cuifeng

Zhuoyan (Second Wife)

Jin Shuyuan

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Oct 14, 2026

It is perhaps Yimou's most lavish and stately film, quite unlike his others in style. It is also his most resonant.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Oct 14, 2026

The atypical symmetry and stillness of the compositions stress the strait-jacket mores of a stagnant feudal culture. The acting is excellent, too, but one can't help but feel that Zhang has said it all before and more imaginatively.

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Ted Shen

Chicago Reader

May 26, 2022

3/4

Zhang seems to suggest, the price for rebellion and transgression is still death or madness.

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

Aug 30, 2024

5/5

Once again making exceptional use of bright colour, symbolic compositions, stylised sets and the breathtaking rural landscape, director Zhang Yimou has fashioned a compelling and at times erotic story about the repression of women in 1920s China.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Feb 12, 2022

4/4

In Raise the Red Lantern, Zhang Yimou's most widely acclaimed film, the Chinese director portrays life as a series of performative gestures under the duress of cultural tradition, prescribed gender roles, and hierarchical power structures.

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Tom Meek

Cambridge Day

Jul 15, 2020

4/4

The feminist anthem here is a subtle wisp bolstered by sumptuousness, Zhang's masterful composition and Gong.

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Ron P

Apr 5, 2019

Este filme incomparavelmente bonito acelera e escurece em um drama fascinante de polÃtica sexual em uma ï¿ 1/2 (C)poca em que as mulheres eram pouco mais que prisioneiros mimadosuma alegoria, mas tambï¿ 1/2 (C)m simboliza o seu tema com uma fotografia belÃssima

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Feb 20, 2019

å¤§çº¢ç?¯ç¬ 1/4é«~é«~æ, in Chinese Characters

Hagrid R

Jul 12, 2018

For me the beauty of this film resides in the fact that despite being aseptic and claustrophobic, is packed of emotions. Not long into the movie you will fall in love with the amazing visuals, and soon enough you will be entangled in the complicated net of feelings and emotions. Really must be in any "must watch" list.

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Finn W

Feb 24, 2018

1001 movies to see before you die.

Poe R

Feb 17, 2018

This is amazing for about the first two-thirds, and I really appreciate the director's daring in plunging you straight into the action with almost no backstory, leaving you as perplexed as the new young wife herself, who's trying to find a way to survive and prosper amidst all the arcane customs and complex relationships (especially with the other women) in her new household. However I found the last third of the film a bit disappointing - the earlier subtleties give way to some rather cheap melodrama and the behaviour of the young bride makes it hard to retain sympathy with her to the end.

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Theodore M

Jan 12, 2018

I read the reviews and I thought I would really enjoy this movie, and I kind of did. But it also reminded me of Korean/Turkish Soap opera lol Hence the 3.5 star.

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Synopsis

Teenage Songlian (Gong Li), whose family has been devastated by the recent death of her father, becomes the third concubine of wealthy Master Chen (Ma Jingwu). She soon discovers that behind the palatial luxury of life in the master's house, she and her fellow concubines, Zhuoyan (Cao Cuifeng) and Meishan (He Caifei), are pitted against each other in a struggle for his affections. The situation inevitably leads to deception, jealous rages and the revelation of each other's darkest secrets.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Fu-Sheng Chiu
Screenwriter: Su Tong, Ni Zhen
Distributor: Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: China Film Co-Production Corporation, Salon Films, Century Communications, ERA International
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 10, 1991, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Nov 6, 2026
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 4, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.6K
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby

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