Raise The Red Lantern
Raise The Red Lantern
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The Razor Digital Entertainment DVD release has been widely criticised. DVD Times states "Many other viewers will find this DVD release simply intolerable." DVDTown criticised the same release, giving the video quality 1 out of 10 and the audio quality 6 out of 10, summarising that "the video is a disaster". DVDFile adds to this stating "this horrible DVD is only recommended to those who love the movie so much, that they’ll put up with anything to own a Region 1 release." The translation on this version has been also widely criticised for its numerous inaccuracies. A release by Rajon Vision has also received poor commentary
Era's first release received similar attention but the second digitally remastered edition has been more warmly received with DVD Times stating that "It's a film that really needs a Criterion edition with a new print or a full restoration, but in the absence of any likelihood of that, this Era Hong Kong edition is about as good as you could hope for." DVDBeaver broadly agrees stating "Now, this is not Criterion image quality, but it is not bad at all. It is easily the best digital representation of this film currently available." DVD Talk, though, believes that "This new version is a stunner".
A new MGM release in 2007 has also received some positive feedback.
It has also been released as a Laserdisc, quality unknown.
Described as "one of the landmark films of the 1990s" by Jonathan Crow of Allmovie, where it received 5 stars, since its release Raise the Red Lantern has been very well received. James Berardinelli named it his 7th best film of the 1990s. It has a 96% certified fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes and TV Guide gave it 5 stars. However, there was a small number of negative reviews. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post stated that "the story never amounts to much more than a rather tepid Chinese rendition of "The Women."" The film ranked #28 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
The film has also been praised for its artistic merit. Desson Howe of The Washington Post states that "In purely aesthetic terms, "Raise the Red Lantern" is breathtaking" and James Berardinelli states that "the appeal to the eye only heightens the movie's emotional power". John Hartl of Film.com describe it to be "a near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent films."
The film has been interpreted by some critics as a criticism of contemporary China, although Zhang Yimou himself has sternly denied this.. Jonathon Crow of Allmovie states that "the perpetual struggle for power that precludes any unity among the wives provides a depressingly apt metaphor for the fragmented civil society of post-Cultural Revolution China". James Berardinelli makes a similar analogy in his review where he states that "Songlian is the individual, the master is the government, and the customs of the house are the laws of the country. It's an archaic system that rewards those who play within the rules and destroys those who violate them."
The film's popularity has also been attributed to a resurgence in Chinese tourism after the government response to the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 due to its use of exotic locations.
Films A-Z · Animation · Awards · Festivals · Production Companies · StudiosActors · Cinematographers · Directors · Producers · ScreenwritersFilms by decade: 1905–1919 · 1920s · 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
Era's first release received similar attention but the second digitally remastered edition has been more warmly received with DVD Times stating that "It's a film that really needs a Criterion edition with a new print or a full restoration, but in the absence of any likelihood of that, this Era Hong Kong edition is about as good as you could hope for." DVDBeaver broadly agrees stating "Now, this is not Criterion image quality, but it is not bad at all. It is easily the best digital representation of this film currently available." DVD Talk, though, believes that "This new version is a stunner".
A new MGM release in 2007 has also received some positive feedback.
It has also been released as a Laserdisc, quality unknown.
Described as "one of the landmark films of the 1990s" by Jonathan Crow of Allmovie, where it received 5 stars, since its release Raise the Red Lantern has been very well received. James Berardinelli named it his 7th best film of the 1990s. It has a 96% certified fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes and TV Guide gave it 5 stars. However, there was a small number of negative reviews. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post stated that "the story never amounts to much more than a rather tepid Chinese rendition of "The Women."" The film ranked #28 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
The film has also been praised for its artistic merit. Desson Howe of The Washington Post states that "In purely aesthetic terms, "Raise the Red Lantern" is breathtaking" and James Berardinelli states that "the appeal to the eye only heightens the movie's emotional power". John Hartl of Film.com describe it to be "a near-perfect movie that often recalls the visual purity and intensity of silent films."
The film has been interpreted by some critics as a criticism of contemporary China, although Zhang Yimou himself has sternly denied this.. Jonathon Crow of Allmovie states that "the perpetual struggle for power that precludes any unity among the wives provides a depressingly apt metaphor for the fragmented civil society of post-Cultural Revolution China". James Berardinelli makes a similar analogy in his review where he states that "Songlian is the individual, the master is the government, and the customs of the house are the laws of the country. It's an archaic system that rewards those who play within the rules and destroys those who violate them."
The film's popularity has also been attributed to a resurgence in Chinese tourism after the government response to the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 due to its use of exotic locations.
Films A-Z · Animation · Awards · Festivals · Production Companies · StudiosActors · Cinematographers · Directors · Producers · ScreenwritersFilms by decade: 1905–1919 · 1920s · 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
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