Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou (born November 14, 1950 or 1951) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum. Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with Best Foreign Film nominations for Ju Dou in 1990 and Raise the Red Lantern in 1991, Silver Lion and Golden Lion prizes at the Venice Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. One of Zhang's recurrent themes is the resilience of Chinese people in the face of hardship and adversity, a theme which has been explored in such films as, for example, To Live (1994) and Not One Less (1999). His films are particularly noted for their rich use of colour, as can be seen in some of his early films, like Raise the Red Lantern, and in his wuxia films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

Works

Beijing 2022

Shot over more than two years, the official film of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing goes behind the scenes to share the stories of international and Chinese athletes, volunteers, medical personnel and officials - against the backdrop of a global pandemic.

Release Date:2023-04-22

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Full River Red

During China's Song Dynasty, a mysterious murder occurs at Chancellor Quin Hui's palace after meeting delegates from the neighboring Jin Dynasty. The members become embroiled not just in a murder mystery, but a larger conspiracy concerning the fate of the empire.

Release Date:2023-01-22

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:147

Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the XIII Paralympic Winter Games, held in Beijing, China at 4 March 2022.

Release Date:2022-03-04

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Beijing 2022 Olympics Closing Ceremony

On February 20, 2022, the closing ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games was held at the Beijing National Stadium.

Release Date:2022-02-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Beijing 2022 Olympic Opening Ceremony

On February 4, 2022, the opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games was held at the Beijing National Stadium.

Release Date:2022-02-04

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:5

The Great Wall

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Release Date:2016-12-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:5183

Suddenly Seventeen

When Liang Xia's obsession for a perfect wedding puts a strain in the relationship with her fiancé, he ultimately calls it quits and breaks up with her. In a heartbroken state, Liang Xia carelessly ingests a magical item, which transports the 28-year-old’s mind back to when she was only seventeen years old.

Release Date:2016-12-09

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Vote Count:29

最忆是杭州

Release Date:2016-09-04

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1

Lady of the Dynasty

The tragic story of a Tang Dynasty imperial consort who was the favorite of the Emperor Xuanzong.

Release Date:2015-07-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:20

Coming Home

Lu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no longer remembers him.

Release Date:2014-05-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:190

The Flowers of War

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

Release Date:2011-12-15

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:802

Under the Hawthorn Tree

The daughter of a right-winger, schoolgirl Jing Qiu is sent to the countryside for reeducation, and tasked to help write a textbook. There she meets Lao San, a young soldier with a bright future ahead. Despite the class divide and parental disapproval, romance blooms against turbulent times.

Release Date:2010-09-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:140

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

Wang is a gloomy, cunning and avaricious noodle shop owner in a desert town in China. His neglected, sharp-tongued wife is involved in a secret affair with Li, one of Wang’s employees. A timid man, Li reluctantly keeps the gun his lover has bought to kill her husband. But Wang is watching their every move. He bribes patrol officer Zhang to murder the illicit couple. It seems like a perfect plan: the affair will come to a cruel, bloody but satisfying end or so he thinks. The equally wicked Zhang has an agenda of his own. As the plot twists, more blood will flow, and ever greater violence will erupt.

Release Date:2009-12-11

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:72

Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese culture. Featuring more than 15,000 performers, the ceremony lasted over four hours and cost over $100 million USD to produce.

Release Date:2008-08-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:32

To Each His Own Cinema

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

Release Date:2007-10-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:138

Curse of the Golden Flower

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Release Date:2006-12-14

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:735

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

Takada, a Japanese fisherman has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. Through a series of obstacles and relationships, he is brought unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son.

Release Date:2005-12-22

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:82

Making of House of Flying Daggers

Main Characters/Performers: 1. Xiao Mei - first appearing as new star dancer in lavish Peony Pavilion brothel, Mei is believed to be the blind daughter of a rebel group's recently assassinated leader- played by Zhang Ziyi . 2. Jin - police captain in the ruling Tang emperor's service, enlisted by his superior Leo to play the role of double agent by helping Mei escape and getting her to lead him - and government troops - to the rebel stronghold - played by Takeshi Kaneshiro. 3. Leo - introduced as a high ranking policeman in the Tang emperor's service, Leo turns out to a mole planted years earlier by the rebels working to overthrow the corrupt ruling Tang government - played by Andy Lau.

Release Date:2004-12-31

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:Self

Vote Count:7

House of Flying Daggers

In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Release Date:2004-05-19

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1648

Hero

During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.

Release Date:2002-07-22

Department:Writing

Job:Author

Vote Count:2281

Happy Times

Zhao is an old laid-off worker who's dreaming of getting married. After trying unsuccessful proposals, he finally pairs off with a gargantuan divorcée with two children. She, however, demands a lavish wedding and that Zhao finds a job and another place to stay for her blind step-daughter. Pretending he's the General Manager of a non-existent posh hotel "Happy Times", Zhao has to find ways and means of keeping both mother and stepdaughter happy.

Release Date:2000-12-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:52

Not One Less

Set in the People's Republic of China during the 1990s, the film centers on a 13-year-old substitute teacher, Wei Minzhi, in the Chinese countryside. Called in to substitute for a village teacher for one month, Wei is told not to lose any students.

Release Date:1999-10-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:176

The Road Home

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

Release Date:1999-10-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:206

Puccini: Turandot at the Forbidden City of Beijing

Turandot at the Forbidden City is a 1998 live production of Puccini's opera Turandot directed by Zhang Yimou. The opera was performed by Giovanna Casolla, Audrey Stottler, and Sharon Sweet alternating as Princess Turandot; Kristján Jóhannsson, Sergej Larin and Lando Bartolini as Calàf; and Barbara Frittoli, Angela-Maria Blasi and Barbara Hendricks as Liù, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Release Date:1999-04-13

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

Dragon Town Story

A woman works with an assassin to get revenge upon the man who murdered her family nine years earlier.

Release Date:1997-11-13

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Vote Count:7

Keep Cool

China, the 1990s. A young bookseller is in love with a woman. The woman is now with another guy, a rich man. The rich man sends his people to beat the bookseller. In the fight, the laptop computer from a man looking at the scene gets broken. Who will pay for the computer? The bookseller wants revenge. Will it be useful? The bookseller and the laptop owner are from different ages and classes. They are two different points of view, two different Chinas. How will they fight for justice?

Release Date:1997-05-16

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:Poet Reader

Vote Count:48

Lumière & Company

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Release Date:1995-12-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:66

Shanghai Triad

Shanghai, China, 1930. When young Shuisheng arrives from the countryside, his uncle Liushu puts him at the service of Bijou, the mistress of Laoda, supreme boss of the Tang Triad, constantly threatened by his enemies, both those he knows and those lurking in the shadows.

Release Date:1995-09-14

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:97

The Great Conqueror's Concubine

Insurrection deposes the tyrannical first emperor of China during the evil Qin Dynasty. Warrior/general Xiang Yu and the cunning peasant Liu Pang join forces to win through civil war. Xiang Yu's weakness for Lady Yu combine with Liu Pang's treachery result in Liu founding the legendary Han dynasty

Release Date:1994-06-04

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Vote Count:6

To Live

Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry. Addicted to gambling, Fugui loses everything. In the years that follow he is pressed into both the nationalist and communist armies, while Jiazhen is forced into menial work.

Release Date:1994-05-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:321

The Story of Qiu Ju

When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.

Release Date:1992-08-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:140

Raise the Red Lantern

In 1920s China, nineteen-year-old Songlian becomes a concubine of a powerful lord and is forced to compete with his three wives for the privileges gained.

Release Date:1991-12-18

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:721

Ju Dou

A woman married to the brutal and infertile owner of a dye mill in rural China conceives a boy with her husband's nephew but is forced to raise her son as her husband's heir without revealing his parentage in this circular tragedy. Filmed in glowing technicolour, this tale of romantic and familial love in the face of unbreakable tradition is more universal than its setting.

Release Date:1990-04-21

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:159

Code Name: Cougar

A commercial airliner on a routine flight between Taipei and Seoul is hijacked and taken to mainland China by the Taiwan Revolutionary Army Front. Chinese authorities cannot seize the plane because of the presence of an important business figure on board, but agree to cooperate with Taiwanese authorities to defuse the tense situation.

Release Date:1989-11-29

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:10

Red Sorghum

An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu'er. When the Japanese invaders subject the area to their rule and cut down the sorghum to make way for a road, the community rises up and resists as the sorghum grows anew.

Release Date:1988-10-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:

Vote Count:209

Old Well

A married village worker teams up with an old girlfriend to try to dig a well for his water-starved village. The well collapses and they are trapped. Their enforced confinement leads to them exploring their feelings for each other and those around them.

Release Date:1987-09-25

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Character:

Vote Count:14

The Big Parade

Army volunteers train for places in China's 1984 National Day parade, where they are expected to be a perfect marching unit.

Release Date:1986-11-20

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Character:

Vote Count:5

Yellow Earth

A communist soldier is sent to a remote region of China in order to collect folk songs. Staying with a peasant family (a widower with two small children), he discovers a community whose way of life is completely alien to him, but he gradually wins their trust…

Release Date:1984-08-19

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Vote Count:55

One And Eight

Director Zhang Junzhao's superbly tense revisionist war film (featuring striking cinematography from future Fifth Generation standard bearer Zhang Yimou) is widely considered to be the first work of Mainland Fifth Generation cinema.

Release Date:1983-01-01

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Vote Count:9

The Red Elephant

In the southwest frontiers of China there lie many luxuriant forests where live a great variety of plants and animals. Three kids of Daizu minority is told by a granny that a red elephant which is the symbol of God lives in the forest so in a summer vacation they go into the forest to look for the elephant and finally they discover the secret of the elephant.

Release Date:1982-07-15

Department:Camera

Job:Director of Photography

Vote Count:1

Cliff Walkers 2

The sequel to Cliff Walkers. Plot TBA.

Department:Directing

Job:Director

The First Shot

In 1997, before the anti-drug bureau was established, Halan City in Northeast China formed a temporary elite team to tackle a sudden drug crisis. Despite their skills, they are unfamiliar with new drugs and must confront ruthless traffickers and devious smuggling methods while grappling with moral dilemmas and the tests of justice and humanity. United by their courage and determination, they create a stirring legend of fighting crime and corruption.

Release Date:2024-09-03

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Episode Count:32

Vote Count:5

Article 20

Tells the story of prosecutor Han Ming who is involved in a difficult case where the intentional injury of people is turned into a legitimate defense.

Release Date:2024-02-10

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:41

Under the Light

Officers Su Jianming and Li Huilin investigate a crime involving wealthy businessman Li Zhitian. As clues emerge, the investigation becomes more and more like a game of chess.

Release Date:2023-09-28

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:30

Behind the Opening Ceremony: The Director's Cut

This riveting, behind-the-scenes look reveals the massive project to create the opening spectacle for Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics. Set in the iconic 'Bird's Nest,' the story is told in the words of key figures involved, including director Zhang Yimou.

Release Date:2022-02-04

Character:Self

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:1

Snipers

The story of sharpshooter Zhang Taofang, a young army recruit who at age 22 sets a record during the Korean War by reportedly killing or wounding 214 American soldiers with 435 shots in just 32 days.

Release Date:2022-02-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:32

My Country, My Parents

This anthology drama presents four short films honoring Chinese families, spotlighting the struggles of key groups across four pivotal eras: the revolution, construction, reform and opening up, and the new era, while highlighting their perseverance, dedication to ideals, and commitment to passing on the national spirit through generations.

Release Date:2021-09-30

Character:TV Station Director (segment "Duck Prophet")

Vote Count:20

极：《悬崖之上》电影纪录片

Release Date:2021-05-15

Episode Count:5

Vote Count:1

Cliff Walkers

In the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, four Communist party special agents, after returning to China, embark on a secret mission. Sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides.

Release Date:2021-04-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:91

One Second

A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Release Date:2020-11-27

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:96

A Documentary About The Movie One Second

Release Date:2020-11-17

Character:Himself

Vote Count:1

The 40th Anniversary of Chinese Film Since China's Reform and Opening-Up

Documentary about China's film industry and the monumental changes in the past 40 years from beginning with propaganda films to the "5th generation" filmmakers and beyond, who embraced art and commercial films to make China the second largest box office market in the world after Hollywood.

Release Date:2018-11-19

Character:Self

Episode Count:9

Zhang Yimou's "Shadow"

Documentary about the making of Zhang Yimou's fiction movie Shadow.

Release Date:2018-10-12

Character:Self

Shadow

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a shadow, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

Release Date:2018-09-30

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:392

Bergman: A Year in a Life

The year 1957 was one of the most prolific for the Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman: he shot two films, released two of his most celebrated films and produced four plays and a TV movie while juggling with a complicated private life.

Release Date:2018-07-12

Character:Self

Vote Count:36

Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang

Known for his spectacular pyrotechnic displays, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang creates his most ambitious project yet: Sky Ladder, a visionary, explosive event that he pulls off in his hometown in China after 20 years of failed attempts.

Release Date:2017-09-22

Character:Self

Vote Count:20

Thirteen Talks

Release Date:2016-05-17

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:4

Trespassing Bergman

In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)

Release Date:2013-08-28

Character:Self

Vote Count:27

Beijing 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony

Release Date:2008-08-24

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:4

Zhang Yimou's Three-Body Problem Movie

Based on the novel.

Department:Directing

Job:Director

My People, My Homeland

In different parts of rural China, various people explore what makes their communities unique.

Release Date:2020-10-01

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Vote Count:31

Making of "The Flowers of War"

Release Date:2011-11-14

Episode Count:5

Vote Count:1

Zhang Yimou's 2008

Release Date:2009-01-26

Episode Count:8

奥运档案

Release Date:2009-01-05

Character:Self

Episode Count:11

图兰朵：法兰西体育场

Release Date:2005-12-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Sunshine Thief

It tells the story of Lu Fei helping a parent find out why his child wanted to commit suicide, but discovered many doubts. Through unremitting efforts to find out the truth, he finally saved lives and families lingering on the verge of tragedy.

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

激荡·1978-2008

Release Date:2008-12-01

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Character:

Episode Count:[ 31 ]

Vote Count:1

'Hero' Defined: A Look at the Epic Masterpiece

Release Date:2004-11-30

Beauty and Pureness

A documentary on the filming of the movie House of Flying Daggers

Release Date:2004-06-28

Cause: The Birth of Hero

The movie follows director Zhang Yimou as he is preparing to make the movie Hero.

Release Date:2002-12-05

Character:Himself

Vote Count:2

The Grand Mansion Gate

This Chinese period drama series follows the fortunes of a prominent merchant family engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine during the waning years of the Ching dynasty. The affairs of this family of doctors/pharmacists (which in those days were one and the same) are intimately linked with social upheavals of the time such as the encroachment of Christian missionaries and foreign imperialism as well as conflicts that inevitably emerge in a large upper class family. Comparable in scope and production value to such recent titles as "Downton Abbey", the lives and character of both masters and servants intertwine in plot lines that spans more than a generation.

Release Date:2001-04-14

Character:李莲英

Episode Count:40

Vote Count:13

知识改变命运

Release Date:1999-01-02

A Terra-Cotta Warrior

An awakened immortal warrior struggles between defending the emperor and the actress he believes to be his love of old.

Release Date:1989-12-18

Character:General Meng Tianfang

Vote Count:23

New Chinese Cinema

Tony Rayns presents the work of the 'Fifth Generation' and other innovative filmmakers who emerged during the 1980s in China.

Release Date:1989-04-09

主角

This is a legendary story about a strong female protagonist. Yi Qin'e is taken to the cultural troupe by her uncle Hu Sanyuan to learn to sing Qinqiang Opera. From then on, her life unfolds with ups and downs. She achieves glorious artistic accomplishments, yet also experiences a profound sense of loneliness that is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:1

Celebrity Talk Show

Release Date:1989-03-10

Character:张艺谋

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:1

Golden Horse Awards

The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (Chinese: 台北金馬影展; pinyin: Táiběi Jīnmǎ Yǐngzhǎn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-pak Kim-má iáⁿ-tián) is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is usually held in November or December in Taipei, although the event has also been held in other locations in Taiwan in recent times

Release Date:1962-10-31

Character:Self

Episode Count:1