Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou) directed this fascinating, visually formal 1991 film about an educated woman (Gong Li) who is sent off to become the newest wife of a feudal nobleman in 1920s China. Nearly isolated in his spooky, palatial home, she develops relationships with several of the other wives and slowly becomes aware of a hideous legacy of punishment toward more willful women. The film has a brittle and dry quality that is deliberate, but also suggestive of Zhang working through various explorations of his own style (which he resolved in his next film, The Story of Qiu Ju). Gong Li, one of the world's great actresses, is superb. --Tom Keogh

Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 07/24/2007 Run time: 125 minutes Rating: Pg

Unbelievably bad DVD rendition of this film. The first thing to greet you are the constant film damage blips and scratches which continue throughout the film. They couldn't find an undamaged celluloid original to copy to DVD? One of the most acclaimed Chinese films of its time and its presented this way? Shame! And then there's the translation. What a pathetic translation. It's all over the place with misspellings, typos, disjointed sentences, missing words, and ridiculous transliterations. You have to grapple with this translation to comprehend the meanings. They couldn't find an actual English speaker with a minimum sixth grade education to double-check the English? Beyond comprehension.

I give it one star to ward you off from this edition. I should expect the more recent editions are the production this version should have been. It's truly beyond belief that they placed this version into production. Were they in a hurry? What a disgrace.

As to the drama itself? Wow, what a bummer. It definitely wasn't "groovy." Another Chinese woman caught in a claustrophobic cultural/social cage story. Never seen one of those before, have you? But Gong Li was gorgeous and talented as always, and it was all well acted and filmed and costumed. The story continued straight ahead to depressing, but if that's your thing, go for it. I would have given it four stars. It's a good film, all in all. Zhang Yimou is the "in" Chinese director these days, so you're not supposed to say bad things, so I won't say anymore.

But if you like this one, you must see "Farewell, My Concubine" if you haven't already. Different director (of different talents) but also starring (partly) Gong Li. Cultural traps again, but much more complex. For me, that one travels miles over this one, is a much richer experience, and won't leave you feeling at the bottom of the bottomless pit. Same historical period but it operates on so many more levels. That one is one of the greatest films of all time.

I recomend this film to those who enjoy viewing other societies as it will take you away with the day to day struggles of life and the marriage concept of other lands. Worth every penny!

In the world of concubines, a young woman becomes a 4th wife to a rich man. She was educated and chose the man because of money. The life of a rich man isn't as easy as she thought, as a wife with three others ahead of her, she must compete for the master's affection and secure her place by having a son. Life is generally friendless as the women are competing against each other and the master only visits them one by one. The misery of life leads to a tragedy.

A look at male/female relationships in the old times and the options (or lack thereof) opened to women. Yet even in such a dreary setting with limited scenery the cinematography and the costumes were brilliant. The lanterns were truly beautiful. Gong Li played her part well.

I work in a public high school, where this was shown in a high school history class as part of a cultural literacy program of China in the early 1900's. This was a very compelling video, and led to excellent class discussions. Strongly recommended.