Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 Chinese-language period drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novella Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an acclaimed ballet of the same title by the National Ballet of China, also directed by Zhang. Set during the Warlord Era in the 1920s, the film tells the story of a young woman who becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy man. It was the third of eight collaborations between Zhang and Gong, following Red Sorghum in 1987 and Ju Dou in 1990. The film was shot in the Qiao Family Compound near the ancient city of Pingyao, in Shanxi Province.
Chinese theatrical release poster
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese filmmaker. Considered a key figure of China's Fifth Generation filmmakers, he made his directorial debut in 1988 with Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Zhang in 2023
Zhang Yimou at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 2005