Film Forum

China/Hong Kong, 1991
Directed by Zhang Yimou
Starring Gong Li, Saifei He, Jingwu Ma, Cuifen Cao
In Mandarin with English subtitles
Approx. 125 min.

Nineteen-year-old Songlian, a promising student whose family has been destroyed by her father’s death, is forced to abandon her studies and marry into wealth, becoming the fourth and newest concubine of the aging, unseen Master Chen. Inside his walled estate, she discovers a household ruled by a merciless ritual: each night, red lanterns are lit outside the chambers of whichever wife the master chooses to visit, granting her privilege and status while the others are cast into cold irrelevance. Songlian is drawn into the orbit of her rivals, each shaped by years of fighting for the same scraps of attention. Determined at first to rise above the games, Songlian is gradually worn down by isolation and humiliation until she strikes back, trading secrets and favors to secure her place in Master Chen’s hierarchy. As petty cruelty turns even more dire, Songlian is forced to confront what these desperate measures will cost her soul. Newly restored, RAISE THE RED LANTERN remains a landmark of Fifth Generation Chinese cinema and 1990s international film.

The 4K restoration of RAISE THE RED LANTERN was carried out by the Udine Far East Film Festival on the occasion of its 26th edition. The original image and sound negatives were used under the supervision of Director Zhang Yimou. The vintage positive copy, presented at the 1991 Venice International Film Festival and preserved at the Venice Biennale's Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts, was used for color reference. The restoration was made in 2024 at L'Immagine Ritrovata (Hong Kong – Bologna).

Presented with support from The Reginald S. Reinhardt, Ling-Makekau Fund for Asia-Pacific Films

A FILM MOVEMENT RELEASE

Trailer

Reviews

“Gong Li delivers a performance of exquisite expressiveness that, like the film itself, is unnerving in its emotional nakedness.”
– Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

CRITIC’S PICK. “A beautifully crafted and richly detailed feat of consciousness-raising and a serious drama with the verve of a good soap opera... As visually striking as it is dramatically effective.”
– Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Zhang’s film is a biting examination of sexual politics... Stunningly gorgeous to look at, this melodrama transcends all borders and eras to speak to the ages.”
– Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle

“There is the sensuous pleasure of the architecture, the fabrics, the color contrasts, the faces of the actresses. But beneath the beauty is the cruel reality of this life, just as beneath the comfort of the rich man’s house is the sin of slavery.”
– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Related Events