Rating: 
Summary: A domestic drama
Review: This is an exquisite film in every detail. Beauty is in every frame. Were it not so well made, I would describe it as a slow-moving domestic drama: Jane Austen with claws. I couldn't quite accept Gong Li as a Chinese woman of the 1920s. She looked a little too tall, well fed, and healthy: a modern look that showed through the gorgeous costumes and scenery.
Rating: 
Summary: A near-perfect film
Review: The basic story: A woman is sold into marriage by her father to a wealthy merchant who already has 3 other wives. She moves from her small village to his large house, is given a servant girl while learning the ways of the household. She meets the other wives and soon discovers that life is very different than what she was used to in her small village.Gong Li plays the young woman and is excellent at capturing her character's transistion from naive girl to knowledgeable woman and eventual break from reality upon her treatment for discovering a crime within the family. The film is beautifully shot, considering that there is basically one set used for the entire work: the large, multi-family house. It is carefully divided into seasons (each marked with calligraphy between chapters) and each season brings a new level of awareness to the characters as well as the viewer in this "key-hole" look into an era long-past in China's culture. The film's title is derived from the red lanterns that are raised in front and throughout the particular wife's "house" that the husband is staying with for the night. She is given control over what is eaten for dinner (which they all eat together) and other special treatments. This becomes the crux and the protaganistic element of the film and is eventually the downfall of two wives and a servant girl. Each wife has their own distinct personality, ranging from the wisdom of the elderly first wife, the quiet, falsely sympathetic persona of the second, the playful, cat-like fiestiness of the opera-star third wife and the naive curiousity of the newest forth. We learn about the household thru each of these characters and we see how one wife's actions can affect the entire group. The music is authentic throughout and it blends beautifully with the cinimatography and acting, making this a near-perfect film. My only critisism would be that in places the dialog (which is entirely in chinese with subtitles)is a bit muddy, but that would only matter to a Chinese-speaking person. Other than that, I would highly recommend this engrossing film to anyone interested in Chinese culture, polygamy or art films.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Achievement
Review: Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern" is an extraordinary achievement. Like Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" alerting the cinematic world to the rising of the French New Wave, Yimou's film serves as fair warning to all that the best films in the world are now coming out of Asia. No, I'm not overstating it. In 1920s China, 19-year-old Songlian (Gong Li) is sent to the home of a feudal nobleman to become his fourth wife. While the servants treat her as a princess, it doesn't take Songlian long to realize that she is trapped in a gilded cage and that her life, and the lives of all around her, now revolve around the whims of one very selfish man. Songlian dreams of what her life could have been had she been allowed to finish her education. The third wife dreams of what her life could have been had marriage not ended her opera career. The second wife dreams of what her life could have been had she been able to give the Master a son. And the female servants dream of how wonderful life must be to live as one of the Master's wives. Yimou films the story with an astonishing beauty, giving even a scene of deadly violence (mercifully hidden from the camera) a gorgeous look. Yimou is also very aware of his leading actress's incredible beauty and he coaxes more expressions from Gong Li's face than it would seem one person is capable of making. If you have any hesitations about viewing a subtitled film, put them aside and allow yourself to be taken on one of the most wonderful cinematic journeys you will ever travel.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is the movie that turned me on to Chinese art films and it has stood the test of time. Everything about this movie is exquisite - its not available in the US on DVD yet; but, I was able to purchase a DVD version with English (and chinese) subtitles on E-Bay. Just make sure you buy Region 0 (will play on DVDs in any part of the world) NTSC format (will play on American television sets).
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, Just Stunning
Review:
Director Zhang Yimou creates one of the most visually mesmerizing films through his brilliant use of color, setting and cinematography. His direction is masterful......the wealthy master always shot at a distance signifying his smallness and unimportance......the vast palatial estate shot nearly devoid of people signifying the emptiness of the people who dwell within. Just superb.
Gong Li is equally stunning in her portrayal of an educated woman trapped within China's social structure serving as Fourth Mistress to the wealthy nobleman. Though strong-willed and highly independent she ultimately succumbs to the complex scheming of the mistresses as they vie for the attention of the master. This is one film that has to be seen to fully appreciate why so many reviewers just rave about it.
Rating:
Summary: Who Can We Beg For a DVD Version?
Review: That's what I want to know. This is a beautiful movie. Why is it not on DVD? Several metric tons of nothing have been DVD'd, but not "Raise the Red Lantern," easily one of the best movies of the past 20 years, and nearly as good as The Last Emperor, which won 1997's Oscar for Best (Foreign) Picture?
Ridiculous. What capricious gods make these idiot decisions? If you know, tell me: I want a friggin DVD of this movie, posthaste. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: 4 and 1/2 stars; Extremely well-made,
Review: almost hypnotically gripping -- I literally did not take my eyes away from the screen for one moment.
But sad, tragic, even horrrifying. I love lanterns, and I will never be able to look at them in quite the same way again. But I was warned -- the foreshadowing was there almost from the beginning, but I still chose to stay with the film, because I was, as I indicated, mesmerized. (And also because I'm a Sinophile.)
Rating:
Summary: A Chinese Conformist
Review: All my expectations about this film were continually being reformulated, even up to its unexpected ending. Zhang Yimou surely lures us through a maze, darkly. Through? Well, part of me never quite made it out of Zhang's little red lacquered box.
The political metaphors are as heavy as the endless customs and rules of the House of Chen. Songlian, the Fourth Mistress, begins the story innocently enough, careless, then defiant of tradition. But with each passing day she falls victim to the push and shove of this microcosm. Her mounting jealousy and effacement trick her into exploiting the dreadful rules of this world she now cannot escape.
By the end she...well, suffice to say that the clack-clack of the foot (massage) hammers, which proceeds each nightly visit of the master, begins to sound more and more like a rattlesnake or the accelerated ticking of a clock about to break. But it's not the master who kills. It's the superhuman code of law. A masterpiece of acting, design, and direction.
Rating: 
Summary: horrible copy
Review: listen to me and dont bite!!!! unfortunately I did not get to see the previuos post about the quality of this CD....the camera moves and the quality is aweful ...lots of lines like an old movie this was done in a theatre with a camera IMO... I dont care what they say... Taiwan is not a third world country... This CD looks like a boot leg made in Thailand....I love this movie for the beautiful cinematogrophy which is all lost in this copy
Rating:
Summary: Gong Li at her best!
Review: This Movie is one of the most visually sumptuous feasts I have ever seen. Set in a long ago era, it brings to you the ancient lifestyle of the chinese women and men living in a feudal society. The cinematography in this movie is worth watching alone. I first saw this movie 10 years ago and have loved it ever since. This is a must see. Gong Li at her stunning best.
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