Classic Chinese cinema is rich and diverse, covering various periods and themes. Here are 19 recommended classic Chinese movies:
1.Havoc in Heaven (1961): This animated film directed by Wan Laiming tells the story of the Monkey King's havoc in the Heavenly Palace, based on the traditional Chinese mythological story "Journey to the West". The film has beautiful graphics, smooth movements, and full of imagination, and is a classic of Chinese animation.
2."Red Sorghum" (1987): This film directed by Zhang Yimou tells the love story of Jiu'er and Yu Zhanao, set in rural China in the 30s of the 20th century. The film has strong colors and full pictures, with a strong visual impact and emotional appeal.
3."Sunny Days" (1995): This film directed by Jiang Wen tells the story of the protagonist Ma Xiaojunying's adolescent life during the Cultural Revolution. The film has a unique style and sincere emotions, showing the growth and confusion of a generation.
4."Sweet Honey" (1996): A love film directed by Chen Kexin, starring Li Ming and Maggie Cheung, tells the story of Li Xiaojun and Li Qiao, who came to Hong Kong from Chinese mainland to beg for life, and two lonely strangers produced the story of true love.
5."Alive" (1994): A feature film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Ge You and Gong Li, adapted from Yu Hua's name**, tells the story of the civil war, the three antis and five antis, the Great Leap Forward, "* and other social changes in the background, Xu Fugui's life and family continue to suffer, and in the end, all his relatives have left him one after another, leaving only the old man and an old cow to rely on each other. The film profoundly shows the impermanence and tenacity of life.
6."Hero" (2002): A martial arts film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Chen Daoming, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen, tells the story of the last years of the Warring States Period, the Seven Heroes rose together, but the Qin State was the most powerful, eager to annex the Six Kingdoms and dominate the world.
7."Infernal Affairs" (2002): Directed by Lau Wai-keung and Mak Siu-fai, starring Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Huang Qiusheng, Zeng Zhiwei, etc., a police film about two men with confused identities are ** and *** undercover agents, after a fierce gladiatorial fight, they are determined to find their own story.
8."Let the Bullets Fly" (2010): Directed by Jiang Wen, starring Jiang Wen, Chow Yun-fat, Ge You, Carina Lau, Chen Kun, Zhou Yun, Liao Fan, Jiang Wu, etc., adapted from Ma Shitu's ** "Ten Tales of the Night" in the chapter "The Story of the Thief", which tells the story of the gangster Zhang Muzhi who changed his name to the Qing official "Ma Bangde" to become the magistrate of Goose City, and started a fierce battle with Huang Shilang, the bully who guarded Goose City.
9."Tangshan Da**" (2010): directed by Feng Xiaogang, co-starring Xu Fan, Zhang Jingchu, Li Chen, Chen Daoming, Lu Yi, Zhang Guoqiang and Chen Jin. The film tells the story of a mother's mental journey of resolving the hatred in her heart and repairing her relationship with her daughter in the 32 years after the earthquake.
10."Fanghua" (2017): Directed by Feng Xiaogang, written by Yan Geling, starring Huang Xuan, Miao Miao, and Zhong Chuxi. The film is adapted from Yan Geling's name**, set in the 1970s to 1980s, and tells the story of a group of young people in the prime of life in the military art troupe full of ideals and passion, experiencing the germination of love in growth and the life fate story full of variables.
11."Wolf Warrior" (2017): Directed by Wu Jing and starring Wu Jing, Frank Grillo, Wu Gang, Zhang Han, Lu Jingshan, Chun Yu Shanshan, Ding Haifeng, etc.
12."I Am Not the God of Medicine" (2018): Directed by Wen Muye, co-produced by Ning Hao and Xu Zheng, and starring Xu Zheng, Zhou Yiwei, Wang Chuanjun, Tan Zhuo, Zhang Yu, Yang Xinming, etc. The film tells the story of Cheng Yong, the owner of an Indian god oil shop, from a male health care product vendor who can't pay the rent to the exclusive distributor of the Indian generic drug "Grenin".
13."Nezha: The Demon Boy Descends to the World" (2019): An animated film directed and written by Dumpling, with the participation of Lu Yanting, Yu Sen Sef, Hanmo, Chen Hao, Lu Qi, Zhang Jiaming, Yang Wei, etc. The film is adapted from Chinese mythology and tells the story of Nezha's growth experience of "being born a demon" but "fighting against the sky to the end".
14."The Wandering Earth" (2019): A science fiction movie directed by Guo Fan, starring Qu Chuxiao, Wu Jing, Li Guangjie, Wu Mengda, Zhao Jinmai, etc. The film tells the story of the desperate situation, human beings will start the "Wandering Earth" plan, trying to escape the solar system with the earth and find a new home for mankind.
15."Young You" (2019): Directed by Zeng Guoxiang, starring Zhou Dongyu and Yi Yang Qianxi. The film tells the story of two teenagers whose fate was changed by a campus accident on the eve of the college entrance examination, and how they protect each other to become the adults they want to be.
16."One Second" (2020): A feature film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Zhang Yi, Liu Haocun and Fan Wei. The film is adapted from Yan Geling's long story "Lu Guilty of Knowledge", which tells the story of Zhang Jiusheng who did not hesitate to risk heavy penalties to cross thousands of miles of yellow sand in order to see his daughter's images, and met Liu's daughter who was looking for waste film as a lampshade on the way, and Fan Film, a film projectionist who never made mistakes, and the story of the three forming an indissoluble bond.
17."Eight Hundred" (2019): Directed by Guan Hu, Zhang Yi, Wang Qianyuan, Jiang Wu, Zhang Jun.
1. War-themed films starring Ou Hao and others. The film is based on the Battle of Songhu in 1937, and tells the story of a reinforced battalion of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division of the Third Theater of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, known as the "Eight Hundred Heroes", who stuck to the Sixing Warehouse on the bank of the Suzhou Creek and blocked the Japanese army.
18."My Hometown and Me" (2020): Zhang Yimou is the director, Ning Hao is the chief director, Zhang Yibai is the chief planner, Ning Hao, Xu Zheng, Chen Sicheng, Yan Fei and Peng Damo, Deng Chao and Yu Baimei are respectively directing five stories. Through five story units, the film tells the hometown stories that take place in the five major regions of China.
19."Home at One Point" (2020): Produced by Chen Sicheng, directed by Xu Hongyu, and starring Liu Haoran, Peng Yuchang, and Yin Fang, a rural-themed comedy. The film tells the story of three young people with very different personalities who returned to the thousand-year-old village in Yunnan from the big city, and by chance they partnered to do e-commerce, and they were "incompatible" with the ancient village, and they changed everyone with sincerity, and started an innocent and absurd entrepreneurial journey.
Each of these films has its own characteristics, covering different themes and styles, whether it is animation, martial arts, police and bandits, dramas or comedies, all of which showcase the rich diversity and innovative spirit of Chinese cinema. Through wonderful stories, vivid performances and unique artistic techniques, they show the ups and downs of life, the variety of society, and the brilliance and contradictions of human nature. These movies not only have ornamental value, but also have profound ideological connotation and social significance, which are worthy of our repeated taste and thinking.