Men Behind the Sun 4 (1995)
"Hei tai yang: Nan Jing da tu sha" (original title)

In 1937, Japanese troops raid the Chinese city of Nanking to execute a planned massacre by subjecting over 300,000 helpless civilians to various tortures and atrocities before slaughtering them all.

Director:

Tun Fei Mou

Stars:

Liang Zhang, Yung Pan, Shao-tien Hsiung

Cast

Credited cast:
Liang Zhang
Yung Pan
Shao-tien Hsiung
Wen-ting Chiang
Wen-tu Pan
Hua Shao
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vincent Benziger
Hsi-ho Chang
Chiu-liang Chen
Liangyue Chen
Ming Chiang
Liang Chou
Wei-li Chou
Shiao-tan Chu
Jeremy W. Cleaver

Storyline

Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre is an uncompromising portrayal of the war crimes perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Army upon the Chinese military and civilian population of Nanking during the occupation of the city. Hailed by critics as one of the most disturbing films ever released, Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre is unflinching in it's depiction of the barbaric cruelty with which the occupying army raped, pillaged and terrorized the defeated populace.

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Plot Keywords:

massacre | chinese | japanese | war crime | gore | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

7 July 1995 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Men Behind the Sun 4

Company Credits

Production Co:

T.F. Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's opening prologue states: "On Sept. 4, 1937 the Japanese Emperor Hirohito issued an imperial directive on the conduct of the Greater East Asia War. It deliberately avoid reference that the Japanese military abide by the rules of warfare set by International Treaties. This set the stage for the forthcoming atrocities in the Nanking Massacre."

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Connections

Follows Maruta 2: Laboratory of the Devil (1992)

User Reviews

Pretty Solid Follow Up To "Men Behind The Sun"

THE NANKING MASSACRE is another solid piece of work from T.F. Mou regarding the atrocities that the Japanese brought upon the Chinese in WWII. Personally, I felt that this installment lacked the punch of MEN BEHIND THE SUN, but was still very effective in trying to relate the horrors of war and oppression. There are a few "gore" scenes, but to be quite honest, they almost come off a little comically (or i'm just sick...). I found the "forced abortion" and the "baby in the rice steamer" scenes to be pretty hilarious, though I'm sure they weren't meant to be - the FX just looked silly and not horrifying. That's not to make light of the film itself or of what actually happened in China at that time period. All-in-all I found the film to be very moving, and should really be looked at as a history lesson more than as a horror film. I know that "extreme" horror fans will seek this and MEN BEHIND THE SUN out for their notorious reputations as "shocking" and "horrific" gore films, but I think that those who are just looking for blood-and-guts will be severely disappointed. As I stated before, these are neither horror nor gore films, but a fictionalized recreation of events. Either way, I feel that they are both good films, although I prefer MEN BEHIND THE SUN over THE NANKING MASSACRE. Definitely not for everyone due to some graphic material, but highly recommended 7 1/2 out of 10