Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 5024165293553
Format: HiFi Sound, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Artificial Eye
Languages: EnglishSubtitledCantonese ChineseOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Artificial Eye
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Artificial Eye
Release Date: June 07, 1994
Running Time: 150 minutes
Studio: Artificial Eye
Theatrical Release Date: October 15, 1993

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
The panorama of 20th-century Chinese history swirls past two men, celebrated actors with their own decidedly specialised view of things. We first observe their lives as children at the Peking Opera training school, a brutal and demanding arena for future actors. While still in training, the effeminate Douzi is chosen to play the transvestite role and the masculine Shitou is chosen to play the royal role in a ritualised play about a king and a concubine. The actors are so good at this performance that they become identified with these roles for their entire careers; through World War II, through the takeover by the Communists, through the insanity of the Cultural Revolution, they are known for their famous parts. Leslie Cheung and Zhang Fengyi are powerful as the two men, and Gong Li (the beautiful leading lady of Raise the Red Lantern) plays the wife of the latter. The movie may be stronger on good old-fashioned melodrama than on profound conclusions, but boy, does it fill up the eyes. The director is Chen Kaige, one of the most talented members of China's "Fifth Generation" of filmmakers, whose daring subject matter (and sometimes bald international ambitions) have often irked the Chinese government. Indeed, though Farewell My Concubine shared the top prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival and snagged two Oscar nominations, it had difficulty gaining official approval from China. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com




Rating: - unimaginable
This has to be one of the greatest films ever made. I can add nothing to the previous reviews other than this little anecodte...
The first time I went to see this film was after a hectic week of theatre work. I had been in the constant company of one of my fellow actors for over a week, including rehearsals, performances and the party on the last night of the show. The cast had then all slept in the same house, breakfasted and gone their ways. My friend suggested we go to see some arty Chinese ... Read More

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Rating: - One of the greatest films of all time!
Farewell My Concubine is a masterpiece of not only Chinese cinema, but of film the world over that everybody should have seen at least once in his or her lifetime. It may be a Chinese film dealing with Chinese culture and history but the insights it provides and the home truths about human nature that it exposes are universal. Farewell My Concubine is a powerful and deeply moving study of unrequited love and betrayal and the destructive impact that politics can have on art and human relationships. ... Read More

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Rating: - A personal window to an entire country through time
This is a film about turbulances. The personal stories are minitures of the story of China going through changing times. Great performances from the main characters supported by well-crafted cinematography and carefully nurtured dialogues. For those who are ignorant of Chinese opera, this could be a starting point on a curioius journey.

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Rating: - A must watch film.
An overview of 20th Century Chinese history seen through the eyes of two Chinese opera performers. The casting, costumes and cinematography are superb. Although its a long movie, it will keep you absorbed throughout.

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