Zhang Yimou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Yimou 张艺谋
Zhang Yimou honored at the Hawaii International Film Festival 2005
Born	November 14, 1951 (age 55) Xi'an, China
Spouse(s)	Hua Xie

Zhang Yimou (Simplified Chinese: 张艺谋; Traditional Chinese: 張藝謀; pinyin: Zhāng Yìmóu; Listen (help·info)) (born November 14, 1951) is an internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker and one-time cinematographer. He made his directorial debut in 1987 with the film Red Sorghum.

[edit] Early career

Zhang Yimou was born in the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. An over-aged student who was accepted only after extensive appeals, Zhang graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 along with compatriots Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang. He then began working as a cinematographer for the Guangxi Film Studio. Zhang's first work, One and Eight (as director of photography), was made in 1984.

Zhang then collaborated with Chen Kaige, the latter acting as director, to photograph one of the defining Chinese films of the 1980s, Yellow Earth (1984). This is widely considered the inauguration film for the Chinese Fifth Generation directors that were apart of an artistic reemergence in China after the end of the Cultural Revolution[1]. Zhang continued to work with Chen for the latter's next film, The Big Parade (1985).

In 1985, Fourth Generation director Wu Tianming invited Zhang to Xi'an Film Studio, where the former was head, for his upcoming project Old Well. Filming of Old Well was completed in 1986, with Zhang as cinematographer and actor — a role that won him Best Actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival. In return for his participation in Wu's project, Zhang made Wu promise logistics support for his own first directorial effort.

[edit] 1980s

[edit] Red Sorghum

In 1987 Zhang embarked on his directorial debut, Red Sorghum, starring Chinese actress Gong Li in her first leading role. Released to widespread critical praise, Red Sorghum catapulted Zhang into the forefront of the world's art directors, winning him the Golden Bear for Best Picture at the Berlin Film Festival. Its rich visual style of narrative storytelling came to be the hallmark of Zhang's early films.

[edit] Codename Cougar

Codename Cougar (or The Puma Action), a minor experiment in the political thriller genre, was released in 1989, featuring Gong Li and eminent Chinese actor Ge You in major roles. However, it garnered less-than-positive reviews at home and Zhang himself later dismissed the film as his worst. [2]

[edit] Ju Dou

In the same year, Zhang began work on his next project, the period drama Ju Dou. Starring Gong Li as the titular main character along with Li Baotian in the male leading role, Ju Dou was an early example of Zhang's unique use of colors and lush cinematography. The picture garnered much critical acclaim in film circles and became the first entry in Chinese cinema to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

[edit] 1990s

[edit] Raise the Red Lantern

Fresh after the success of Ju Dou, Zhang began work on what has been considered by many as his magnum opus, Raise the Red Lantern. Based on novelist Su Tong's book Wives and Concubines, the film depicted the realities of life in a rich family compound during the 1920s. Gong Li was again featured in the leading role, her fourth collaboration with director Zhang. With a unique filmmaking style characterized by highly intense scenes through controlled, formalized color photography, Raise the Red Lantern was Zhang's most personal effort to this point.

The film was released in its home country in 1991 to immediate political controversy, due to officials fearing that the story would be taken as an allegory against Chinese communist authoritarianism. Although the screenplay had been approved by censors prior to shooting, the film itself was initially banned from theatrical release in China.

On the other hand, international reaction to Raise the Red Lantern was almost unanimous acclaim. Film critics such as Roger Ebert noted Zhang's work for its "voluptuous physical beauty" [3] and sumptuous use of colors. Gong Li's acting was also praised as starkly contrasting from the roles she played in Zhang's earlier films. Raise the Red Lantern was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 1991 Academy Awards, being the second Chinese film to earn this distinction (behind Zhang's Ju Dou). It eventually lost out to Gabriele Salvatores's Mediterraneo.

[edit] The Story of Qiu Ju

The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) marked a significant change in direction for Zhang. Far less unrelenting with scenes of everyday humor, Zhang used non-professional actors together with his long-time collaborator Gong Li to achieve a neorealist effect in telling a tale of Chinese peasantry waddling through ineffective bureaucracy. It was also released to critical praise, winning the Golden Lion for Best Picture at the 1992 Venice International Film Festival.

[edit] To Live

Subsequently, Zhang directed To Live, a film based on the acclaimed novel by Yu Hua. To Live featured an epic framework about the resilience of the ordinary Chinese folks, personified by its two leads, amidst three generations of historical upheavals throughout Chinese politics of the 20th century. The film was released at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize (the second-highest accolade behind the prestigious Palme d'Or), as well as a Best Actor prize for Ge You.

[edit] Shanghai Triad

Having received international recognition for his earlier works, Zhang completed a major phase of his directorial work with the period gangster drama Shanghai Triad. The film, which was released in 1995, featured leading actress Gong Li in her seventh film under Zhang's direction. The two had previously formed the basis for their professional collaboration behind an ongoing romantic relationship. However, this would end during production of Shanghai Triad, and Zhang and Gong would not work together again for a decade.

[edit] Keep Cool, The Road Home, and Not One Less

1997 saw the release of Keep Cool, a small-scale film about life in modern China. After its release, Zhang found his new leading lady in the form of the young actress Zhang Ziyi. His 1999 film The Road Home, featuring Zhang Ziyi in her film debut, is a simple throw-back narrative centering around a love story between the narrator's parents. As in The Story of Qiu Ju, Zhang returned to the neorealist habit of employing non-professional actors and location shooting, taking it further by sometimes even retaining the original names of actors in the script, for the highly effective companion piece in Not One Less (1999), and won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice International Film Festival for the second time.

[edit] 2000–present

[edit] Happy Times

Happy Times, a relatively minor film by Zhang, represented his second foray into modern Chinese city life. A seriocomic drama starring popular Chinese actor Zhao Benshan and actress Jie Dong, it was an official selection for the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002.

[edit] Hero

Zhang's next major project was the ambitious wuxia drama Hero (2002). The film was a major change in direction for Zhang, as it represented his first foray into epic filmmaking. Boasting an impressive lineup of Asian stars, including Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen, Hero introduced a fictional tale revolving around Ying Zheng, the king of the State of Qin (later the first Emperor of Qin) and his would-be assassins. The film became a huge international hit and, with the intervention of American director Quentin Tarantino, was released in North America two years after its Chinese release after being shelved by American distributor Miramax Films. Hero became one of the few foreign-language films to debut at #1 at the U.S. box office, and was one of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2003 Academy Awards.

[edit] House of Flying Daggers

Zhang followed up the huge success of Hero with another martial arts epic, House of Flying Daggers, in 2004. Set in the Tang Dynasty of China, it starred Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro as characters caught in a dangerous love triangle. House of Flying Daggers was generally received well among critics, who noted the flamboyant use of color that harked back to some of Zhang's earlier works. However, compared to Hero, it was a more modest international success.

[edit] Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

Released in China in 2005, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles was a return to the more low-key drama that characterized much of Zhang's earlier pieces. The film stars legendary Japanese actor Ken Takakura, who wishes to repair relations with his alienated son, eventually led by circumstance to set out on a journey to China. Zhang claims that he had been an admirer of Takakura for over thirty years, and as such has fulfilled his own wish of working with the Japanese veteran on a film project. [4]

[edit] The First Emperor

Zhang produced The First Emperor, an opera by Tan Dun (composer of the soundtrack for Hero and other wuxia films), which had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 21 December 2006.

[edit] Curse of the Golden Flower

Recently, Yimou cast Gong Li (with whom he had last worked with on Shanghai Triad), Jay Chou, and Chow Yun-Fat in his 2006 period epic Curse of the Golden Flower.

[edit] Themes

One of Zhang's recurrent themes is a celebration of the resilience, even the stubbornness, of Chinese people in face of hardships and adversities, a theme which has occurred from To Live (1994) through to Not One Less (1999). His works are particularly noted for its sensitivity to color, as can be seen in his early trilogy (like Raise the Red Lantern) or in his wuxia films, Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

[edit] Other works

Zhang Yimou has also directed an acclaimed version of the music opera, Puccini's Turandot, at the Forbidden City, Beijing, with Zubin Mehta as conductor. He also directed a portion of the Closing Ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and is currently co-directing the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing alongside Zhang Jigang.[5]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Director

Red Sorghum (红高粱 1987)
Codename Cougar (代号美洲豹 1989)
Ju Dou (菊豆 1991)
Raise the Red Lantern (大红灯笼高高挂 1992)
The Story of Qiu Ju (秋菊打官司 1992)
To Live (活着 1994)
Shanghai Triad (摇啊摇，摇到外婆桥 1995)
Lumière and Company (1995) - segment of a short film anthology
Keep Cool (有话好好说 1997)
Not One Less (一个都不能少 1999)
The Road Home (我的父亲母亲 1999)
Happy Times (幸福时光 2000)
Hero (英雄 2002)
House of Flying Daggers (十面埋伏 2004)
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (千里走单骑 2005)
Curse of the Golden Flower (满城尽带黄金甲 2006)

[edit] Cinematographer

One and Eight (一個和八個 1982)
Yellow Earth (黃土地 1984)
Old Well (老井 1986)
The Big Parade (大阅兵 1986)

[edit] Actor

Old Well (老井 1986)- Shun Wangquan
Red Sorghum (红高粱 1987)
Fight and Love with a Terracotta Warrior (古今大战秦俑情 1989) - Tian Fong
Keep Cool (有话好好说 1997) - Junk Peddler

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Zhang Yimou withdraws from Cannes

Films directed by Zhang Yimou

Red Sorghum (1987) • Codename Cougar (1989) • Ju Dou (1990) • Raise the Red Lantern (1991) • The Story of Qiu Ju (1992) • To Live (1994) • Shanghai Triad (1995) • Keep Cool (1997) • The Road Home (1999) • Not One Less (1999) • Happy Times (2000) • Hero (2002) • House of Flying Daggers (2004) • Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005) • Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

Cinema of China
Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • Film chronology • Cinematographers • Festivals • Producers • Screenwriters •

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../z/h/a/Zhang_Yimou_3ea8.html"

Categories: 1951 births | Living people | Chinese film directors | Chinese cinematographers | People from Shaanxi