- Actors: Li Gong, Wei Li, Baotian Li, Ma Chong, Zhijun Cong
- Directors: Fengliang Yang, Yimou Zhang
- Writers: Heng Liu
- Producers: Hu Jian, Wenze Zhang, Yasuyoshi Tokuma
- Format: Import
- Language English
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Ica
- VHS Release Date: 1 Oct 1999
- Run Time: 95 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CN41
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,156 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Zhang Yimou, the celebrated "fifth generation" filmmaker from China, trained as a cinematographer before he turned to directing, and it shows in every colour-drenched, exquisitely composed frame of this 1989 romantic tragedy. The ageing Yang Jin-shan (Li Wei) runs a successful textile dying factory and purchases the beautiful Ju Dou (Gong Li) to continue his line, but when his own impotence shatters all hope of progeny, he takes his anger out on his innocent young bride. Gentle Yang Tian-qing (Li Bao-Tian) is the sole employee in the lonely factory and his tender friendship with Ju Dou blossoms into love. When Yang Jin-shan becomes wheelchair-bound, the lovers take their affair out into the open, producing a child that he must claim as his own to save face. The stark drama plays out against the astounding backdrop of coloured clothes draped throughout the factory and courtyard, like a rainbow holding out promise of a rich, vibrant world just out of reach. By contrast, the subdued performances hide the inner emotions behind a mask of social control. As the masks are pulled away behind the protective walls of the factory, the fragile triangle collapses as the child grows up espousing traditional values. The film was banned in China, where leaders saw it as an unflattering metaphor for modern Chinese life, a society ruled by a coterie of ageing, controlling men. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
It's difficult to truly do this film justice in a review. If you haven't seen any of the films of Zhang Yimou or Chen Kaige then you haven't really lived. If you're already a convert, then I can assure you that this is every bit as good as Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine. A story of family rivalry against a backdrop of imperialist China, Ju Dou manages to be depressing, frustrating and wonderful all at the same time. Gong Li is superb as the purchased wife of an ageing factory owner. Her husband's crippling condition and her infidelity lead to desperate attempts on his part to save face and win over his "adopted" son.
Superb.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I saw this film at the cinema when it first came out. It was beautiful, the colours of the silks, the atmosphere of the village and, of course, Gong Li.
However, this transfer to DVD is abysmal. It couldn't be less clear if it had been filmed with a webcam. The colour balance is all wrong - mostly yellow - and makes the colourful silks a murky mess.
Perhaps the version from Razor Digital Entertainment is better, this version from Escapi Media BV is a bitter disappointment.
However, this transfer to DVD is abysmal. It couldn't be less clear if it had been filmed with a webcam. The colour balance is all wrong - mostly yellow - and makes the colourful silks a murky mess.
Perhaps the version from Razor Digital Entertainment is better, this version from Escapi Media BV is a bitter disappointment.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I purchased this dvd to replace my Laserdisc expecting technology to have moved on - it was a bitter disapointment. Apart from the colours, very evident on the laserdisc, being washed out this dvd version is scratched and very poor quality. A great great film that deserves better than what is offered here. It is NOT an old film and there is no excuse for this dvd offering which looks as though it has been taken straight from a poor quality video.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Terrible Transfer
I have rarely been so disappointed with a DVD. Saw the film in the cinema and was blown away by the beautifully saturated colours. I even had it on video. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Josie-Jo
Excellent film
I saw this film some years ago on TV and I'd never forgotten it so when I saw this on Amazon I decided to buy it. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2010 by slowfish
Fantastic Drama
This is drama so strong that you wonder that Shakespeare isn't turning in his grave wishing he had written it first! Read more
Published on 26 May 2009 by K. Harvey
Great film, awful quality
I have been a big fan of Zhang Yimou for a long while and now have most of his films on DVD. This film is as good as any, the story is powerful and it is beautifully acted. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2009 by R. Short
a riposte
I wasn't intending to review this but when I read the first reviewer I thought I'd better. I didn't see this in the cinema, I've just watched it on dvd and I loved it. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2009 by will's wife
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