Raise the Red Lantern (MGM World Films)

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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.

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