Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

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

Writers:

Su Tong (original novel "Wives and Concubines" by), Ni Zhen (scriptwriter)

Stars:

Li Gong, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Li Gong	...	Songlian
Saifei He	...	Meishan (Third Wife)
Jingwu Ma	...	The Master
Cuifen Cao	...	Zhuoyan (Second Wife)
Qi Zhao	...	Housekeeper
Lin Kong	...	Yan'er
Shuyuan Jin	...	Yuru (First Wife)
Weimin Ding	...	Songlian's Mother (voice)
Zhengyin Cao	...	Old Servant
Zhigang Cui	...	Dr. Gao (as Zhihgang Cui)
Chu Xiao	...	Feipu

Storyline

China in the 1920's. After her father's death, nineteen year old Songlian is forced to marry Chen Zuoqian, the lord of a powerful family. Fifty year old Chen has already three wives, each of them living in separate houses within the great castle. The competition between the wives is tough, as their master's attention carries power, status and privilege. Each night Chen must decide with which wife to spend the night and a red lantern is lit in front of the house of his choice. And each wife schemes and plots to make sure it's hers. However, things get out of hand...

---

Plot Keywords:

1920s | power struggle | tradition | red lantern | china | 

---

Taglines:

China, 1920. One master, four wives.

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

China Hong Kong Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

18 December 1991 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Raise the Red Lantern

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,603,061

Company Credits

Production Co:

ERA International,China Film Co-Production Corporation,Century Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider.

---

Goofs

Around 01:18:59, there is a lot of smoke in front of the third wife. And there is almost no smoke in front of the second one.

---

Quotes

Songlian's mother: Rich man? If you marry a rich man, you will only be his concubine.
Songlian: Let me be a concubine. Isn't that the fate of a woman?

---

Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Fight the Power: Protest in Film (2011)

User Reviews

Masterpiece

I don't care what anyone says, this film belongs in the top 10 films of the 90s worldwide...the story, the implicit attacks on the Communist regime, cinematography, direction, and acting (Gong Li was superb) coelesced into one extraordinary piece of cinema magic that transcends both cultural and language differences. The film was so refreshing and exciting for me, yet it was also quite a dark film. Not a lot of "conventional action", instead, the intensity of the film comes from the actor's and their emotions. A very powerful film, and disturbing one at that. Job well done...Zhang Yimou was brilliant with this one. If you're a lover of great cinema, then this is a must. I'm already hounding at Criterion to take on this film.