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Audio Format: DD 2.0
Video Format: Letter Box 4:3
Languages: Mandarin
Subtitles: Korean
Region Code: ALL
Year Made: 1992
Running Time: 124
Release Date: 09/28/2007
 Zhang Yimou solidifies his standing as one of cinema's most brilliant craftsmen with Raise the Red Lantern, a heartbreaking and fascinating look into the life of a young, well-educated woman who gives up her future to become the fourth wife of a wealthy landowner in 1920s China. Gong Li, the director's longtime muse, delivers a performance nearly unsurpassed by anyone, male or female, in the 1990s (and many other decades, as well). Her opening close-up is an indelible image of sorrow and resignation capable of drawing tears out of a statue.
Zhang Yimou makes films as exquisitely composed as any master's painting, and his palette extends beyond the obvious beauty of Gong Li to include the details of the courtyards, lanterns, silks, and rooftops with an inexplicable mixture of tranquility and austerity.
A lyrically haunting tale about a young educated woman who is sold into marriage against her will, becoming the newest of four concubines kept by a wealthy man. Immediately at odds with her three predecessors (who can scarcely conceal their jealousy of her) and bewildered by her strict and mysterious master, she reacts to her new situation with a mixture of rebellion and resignation.
Director Zhang imbues the film with an extraordinary attention to detail, filming from the perspective of the fledgling concubine, giving the viewer a unique appreciation for the character's existential loneliness. Additionally, the film's understated dialogue and bewitching visual style amplify Zhang's compelling tale of the subjugation of women in feudal China. Chinese actress Gong is spellbinding as the young woman who finds herself trapped in the jaws of a regimented and unforgiving patriarchy.
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