Greatest Chinese Movies of All Time
by Dibyayan_Chakravorty | created - 21 Mar 2016 | updated - 01 Apr 2017 | PublicIn honor of the United Nations Chinese Language Day (April 20), which of these all-time greatest Chinese movies is your personal favorite?
After voting, you may discuss the poll here.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Wo hu cang long (2000)
PG | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chen Chang
Votes: 248,543 | Gross: $128.08M
2. Fa yeung nin wah (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors, a woman and a man, form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Maggie Cheung, Ping Lam Siu, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 117,702 | Gross: $2.73M
3. Mou gaan dou (2002)
PG | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak | Stars: Andy Lau, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Eric Tsang
Votes: 115,869 | Gross: $0.17M
4. Yip Man (2008)
13+ | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka Tung Lam
Votes: 206,635
5. Chi bi (2008)
14A | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang
Votes: 42,927 | Gross: $0.63M
6. Ba wang bie ji (1993)
R | 171 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and will endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Li Gong, You Ge
Votes: 24,097 | Gross: $5.22M
7. Spring in a Small Town (1948)
98 min | Drama, Romance
A lonely housewife finds her monotonous life altered when her childhood sweetheart returns to town.
Director: Mu Fei | Stars: Chaoming Cui, Wei Li, Yu Shi, Wei Wei
Votes: 2,456
8. Ying xiong (2002)
PG | 120 min | Action, Adventure, History
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 171,396 | Gross: $53.71M
9. Da hong deng long gao gao gua (1991)
125 min | Drama, History, Romance
A young woman becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy lord, and must learn to live with the strict rules and tensions within the household.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Li Gong, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He, Cuifen Cao
Votes: 28,391 | Gross: $2.60M
10. Jing wu men (1972)
PG | 106 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
Director: Wei Lo | Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi
Votes: 25,230 | Gross: $1.29M
11. Chung Hing sam lam (1994)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two melancholy Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Faye Wong
Votes: 59,183 | Gross: $0.60M
12. Tian mi mi (1996)
G | 118 min | Drama, Romance
Two Chinese-mainlanders living in Hong Kong form a close friendship. Over the years this grows into love, but there are obstacles.
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Stars: Maggie Cheung, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, Kristy Yeung
Votes: 4,724
13. Enter the Dragon (1973)
13+ | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 93,692 | Gross: $25.00M
14. Yi yi (2000)
173 min | Drama, Romance
Each member of a middle class Taipei family seeks to reconcile past and present relationships within their daily lives.
Director: Edward Yang | Stars: Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issei Ogata, Kelly Lee
Votes: 19,310 | Gross: $1.14M
15. Kung fu (2004)
14A | 99 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Siu-Lung Leung
Votes: 123,919 | Gross: $17.11M
18. Se, jie (2007)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Romance
During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang
Votes: 36,356 | Gross: $4.60M
19. Ying hung boon sik (1986)
18A | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Emily Chu
Votes: 19,878
20. Shi mian mai fu (2004)
14A | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 106,058 | Gross: $11.05M
21. Jing Ke ci Qin Wang (1998)
14+ | 162 min | Drama, History, Romance
In pre-unified China, the King of Qin sends his concubine to a rival kingdom to produce an assassin for a political plot, but as the king's cruelty mounts she finds her loyalty faltering.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Li Gong, Fengyi Zhang, Zhou Sun, Xiaohe Lü
Votes: 5,849 | Gross: $1.33M
22. Do ma daan (1986)
104 min | Comedy, Action
The movie is set in chaotic 1920's China, when warlords fought each other for power while Sun Yat-Sen's underground movement tried to establish a democratic republic. The movie tells the ... See full summary »
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh, Cherie Chung, Mark Cheng
Votes: 2,085
23. Du bei dao (1967)
115 min | Action, Drama
A noble swordsman, whose arm had been chopped off, returns to his former teacher to defend him from a villainous gang of rival swordsmen.
Director: Cheh Chang | Stars: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chiao Chiao, Chung-Hsin Huang, Yin-Tze Pan
Votes: 2,711
24. Dung che sai duk (1994)
AA | 100 min | Action, Drama
A broken-hearted hit man moves to the desert where he finds skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
Votes: 12,764 | Gross: $0.17M
25. Tau ming chong (2007)
R | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
China, 1860s: Having his army slaughtered, General Qingyun joins 2 bandit leaders in raids on rebels and in blood oath. They form a Qing loyal army with eyes on rebel held Suzhou and Nanjing.
Directors: Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Wai-Man Yip | Stars: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu
Votes: 25,468 | Gross: $0.13M
26. Mang jing (2003)
92 min | Crime, Drama
Two Chinese coal miners have hit upon the perfect scam: murder one of their fellow mine workers, make the death look like an accident, and extort money from the boss to keep the incident ... See full summary »
Director: Yang Li | Stars: Yixiang Li, Baoqiang Wang, Shuangbao Wang, Jing Ai
Votes: 2,401 | Gross: $0.03M
27. Dip huet seung hung (1989)
18+ | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu
Votes: 44,772
28. Ma lu tian shi (1937)
91 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
In old Shanghai, two sisters, a prostitute and a singer, tried to escape from the local scoundrels with the help of a trumpet player and a newspaper seller.
Director: Muzhi Yuan | Stars: Dan Zhao, Heling Wei, Xuan Zhou, Jiting Wang
Votes: 715
29. Lan feng zheng (1993)
140 min | Drama
The lives of a Beijing family throughout the 1950s and 1960s, as they experience the impact of the Hundred Flowers Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution.
Director: Zhuangzhuang Tian | Stars: Tian Yi, Wenyao Zhang, Xiaoman Chen, Liping Lü
Votes: 2,585 | Gross: $0.36M
30. Lat sau san taam (1992)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 45,645
31. He ni zai yi qi (2002)
G | 116 min | Drama, Music
A violin prodigy and his father travel to Beijing, where the father seeks the means to his son's success while the son struggles to accept the path laid before him.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Yun Tang, Peiqi Liu, Hong Chen, Zhiwen Wang
Votes: 4,180 | Gross: $0.60M
32. Wong Fei Hung (1991)
R | 134 min | Action, Adventure, History
Late 1800s Foshan, Guangdong: Wong Fei Hung/Jet Li trains men in martial arts to help defend against foreign powers already holding Hong Kong and Macau. He looks after cute 13th Aunt, who's just returned from England. Lots of fight scenes.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Biao Yuen, Jacky Cheung
Votes: 16,749
33. Ging chaat goo si (1985)
PG | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Kwok-Hung Lam
Votes: 27,993 | Gross: $0.11M
34. Wo de fu qin mu qin (1999)
G | 89 min | Drama, History, Romance
Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hao Zheng, Yulian Zhao
Votes: 12,138 | Gross: $1.28M
35. Yi ge dou bu neng shao (1999)
106 min | Drama
In a remote mountain village, the teacher must leave for a month, and the mayor can find only a 13-year old girl, Wei Minzhi, to substitute. The teacher leaves one stick of chalk for each ... See full summary »
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Minzhi Wei, Huike Zhang, Zhenda Tian, Enman Gao
Votes: 8,058 | Gross: $0.59M
Tell Your Friends