During the ’80s, the art house spread beyond the boundaries of New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and other major cities. While many chains were building six-plex cinemas, the art house owners took over abandoned single or twin screens away from the shopping malls. Many of the art houses popped up in college towns where they could appeal to students who wanted more than a steady diet of Hollywood blockbusters. These were kids who wanted to feel a bit sophisticated. They wanted to see independent films that were more personal. They wanted to see movies made around the world. They were not afraid to read a film. They wanted to buy a bucket of popcorn featuring real butter, a Toblerone and a Dr. Brown Cream Soda and see what slightly obscure delight was screening that night. While an indie or foreign film opened in New York City, you never knew when a title would arrive at your local arthouse. In Raleigh for a while there was just The Rialto that had a single screen. I’d look at the titles in the Village Voice or hear Siskel and Ebert review a cool film and pray that they’d find their way down here to play in at the Rialto or the art house screens in Durham and Chapel Hill. Otherwise I would be waiting for the video to hit the shelf at North American Video. When Red Sorghum was released in 1988 by New Yorker Films, the previews got me interested since it was a Chinese film that didn’t seem filled with martial arts action. Although I only recall renting the VHS tape since I don’t think the 35mm played locally. The film marked the arrival of director Zhang Yimou who would eventually make Raise the Red Lantern, Hero and House of the Flying Daggers. This was also the feature film debut of Gong Li who would become known in America for Farewell My Concubine, Memoirs of a Geisha and Miami Vice.
Jiu’er (Gong Li) is being transported in a covered sedan chair to be married to Li Datou in a pre-arranged marriage. The men carrying her chair warn her through song to not let the old man touch her. He sounds rather gross. He can afford to marry Jui’er because he owns a distillery for sorghum. Things go bad as they cut through a field of sorghum when a bandit attacks. She’s grabbed by the guy, but one of the workers (Rogue One‘s Jiang Wen) rescues her. She continues her journey and at the end realizes that Li Datou isn’t the love of her life. She wants out of there. When she makes a run, a bandit grabs her once more. When he takes off his hood, she recognizes her abductor. This time she’s not eager to flee. The film deals with the passion between the two and her trying to revive the fortune of the Sorghum distillery. There’s also a problem with the Japanese invading the area.
Red Sorghum is a mix of beauty and inhumanity (especially when the Japanese show up). Zhang Yimou and Gong Li continued working together on several films including Raise the Red Lantern, To Live and Shanghai Triad. Their first collaboration is my favorite since there’s so much happening in 90 minutes. Plus I like the singing of the workers. The film is very risky since it’s narrated by the grandchild of Jiu’er, but it doesn’t give away the ending completely. Red Sorghum was and still is a great way to start enjoying the cinema of Mainland China. I’m thrilled to rewatch the film once more on Blu-ray to fully enjoy the imagery. Now I need to find a Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfers brings out the lush nature of the sorghum plants. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono in Mandarin. You’ll hear the stalks flapping in the field. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Michael Berry has him talk about how the film was the first movie from China to win a major award – the Berlin Film Festival. He gives a lot of details of the major cast and crew. He lets us know how Gong Li became the face of the new Chinese cinema into the early 2000s.
Red Redemption (13:31) is a video essay by historian Jonathan Clements. He talks about how the film could be a movie about a woman and her plucky employees making a business work, but the Japanese ruin that genre. He points out how the film was able to get approved by the Chinese communist party as a plot. We learn about what Zhang Yimou did during the Cultural Revolution. He informs us about the importance of the foot touching scene. The film’s budget was under $100,000.
Interview with Chinese film historian Tony Rayns (55:10) has him talk about the Fifth Generation filmmakers. The early films were made under the film years of the communist film industry. Things changed in the 1990s with other studios and even outsiders shooting within the country. Tony passed away a month ago. It’s nice to be able to spend an hour listening to him talk about Chinese cinema’s changes over the decades.
US Blu-ray Trailer (1:17) is for this release. It includes review quotes including one from Roger Ebert.
Whole Grain Pictures present Red Sorhum. Directed by Zhang Yimou. Screenplay by Chen Jianyu & Zhu Wei. Starring Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Ji Chunhua and Teng Rujun. Running Time: 95 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 14, 2026.
