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Zhang Yimou
Director 76 years old

Zhang Yimou

Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China

Zhang Yimou (born November 14, 1950 or 1951)  is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum. Zhang has won... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

27 titles
Jing zhe wu sheng

Jing zhe wu sheng

Zhang Yimou 2026 1h 44m

After a critical intelligence leak, a national security unit launches an intensive investigation. But successive setbacks in their arrest operations reveal a shocking truth: the trail leads back to within the unit itself. Amidst a storm of trust and betrayal, a silent battle begins to unfold...

Di er shi tiao

Di er shi tiao

Zhang Yimou 2024 2h 21m

Tells the story of prosecutor Han Ming who is involved in a difficult case where the intentional injury of people is turned into a legitimate defense.

Manjianghong

Manjianghong

Zhang Yimou 2023 2h 37m

During China's Song Dynasty, a mysterious murder occurs at Chancellor Quin Hui's palace after meeting delegates from the neighboring Jin Dynasty. The members become embroiled not just in a murder mystery, but a larger conspiracy concerning the fate of the empire.

Xuan ya zhi shang

Xuan ya zhi shang

Zhang Yimou 2021 2h

In the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, four Communist party special agents, after returning to China, embark on a secret mission. Sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides.

Yi miao zhong

Yi miao zhong

Zhang Yimou 2020 1h 44m 6.0

A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Ying

Ying

Zhang Yimou 2018 1h 56m 6.0

About a king who attempts to lead his displaced people out of exile, and those who play a role in his mysterious plans.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Zhang Yimou 2016 1h 43m 5.7

The story of an elite force making a last stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure.

Gui lai

Gui lai

Zhang Yimou 2014 1h 51m 9.0

Lu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no longer remembers him.

Jin líng shí san chai

Jin líng shí san chai

Zhang Yimou 2011 2h 26m 7.3

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

Shan zha shu zhi lian

Shan zha shu zhi lian

Zhang Yimou 2010 1h 53m 8.0

Romance sparks between a young woman and a young man from different economic backgrounds during China's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s.

San qiang pai an jing qi

San qiang pai an jing qi

Zhang Yimou 2009 1h 35m 6.7

The owner of a Chinese noodle shop's scheme to murder his adulterous wife and her lover goes awry.

Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence

Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence

Michael Cimino, Luc Dardenne 2007 1h 40m 7.4

A collective film of 33 shorts directed by different directors about their feeling about Cinema.

Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Zhang Yimou 2006 1h 54m 7.5

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Qian li zou dan qi

Qian li zou dan qi

Zhang Yimou 2005 1h 49m 8.0

Takada, a Japanese fisherman has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. Through a series of obstacles and relationships, he is brought unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son.

Shi mian mai fu

Shi mian mai fu

Zhang Yimou 2004 1h 59m 8.0

In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Ying xiong

Ying xiong

Zhang Yimou 2002 1h 39m 8.3

The impressive and epic martial arts film has ascetics written all over it. From dancing through the air to over saturated colors and grandiose fight scenes this film is not just for the martials art fan.

Xing fu shi guang

Xing fu shi guang

Zhang Yimou 2000 1h 42m 7.0

Zhao is an ageing bachelor, who has not been fortunate in love. Believing that he has finally met the female of his dreams, Zhao makes her believe that he is opulent and consents to a lavish wedding.

Yi ge dou bu neng shao

Yi ge dou bu neng shao

Zhang Yimou 1999 1h 46m 7.8

13-year old Wei Minzhi is the new substitute teacher of a mountain village school. She is told not to lose any of her pupils under any circumstances.

Wo de fu qin mu qin

Wo de fu qin mu qin

Zhang Yimou 1999 1h 29m

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

You hua hao hao shuo

You hua hao hao shuo

Zhang Yimou 1997 1h 33m

A spurned lover seeks a rich man for revenge. A random onlooker -- who witnessed the public assault committed by the rich man against the lover -- seeks for monetary compensation for his smashed computer. The lover's and the onlooker's lives intertwine as two people collaborate.

Yao a yao, yao dao wai po qiao

Yao a yao, yao dao wai po qiao

Zhang Yimou 1995 1h 48m 8.5

A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.

Lumière et compagnie

Lumière et compagnie

John Boorman, Michael Haneke 1995 1h 28m 6.0

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Huozhe

Huozhe

Zhang Yimou 1994 2h 13m 8.5

After Fugui and Jiazhen lose their personal fortunes, they raise a family and survive difficult cultural changes during 1940s to 1970s China.

Qiū Jú dǎ guān sī

Qiū Jú dǎ guān sī

Zhang Yimou 1992 1h 40m 8.0

When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.

Da hong deng long gao gao gua

Da hong deng long gao gao gua

Zhang Yimou 1991 2h 5m 8.1

China in the 1920's. After her father's death, 19 year old Songlian is forced to marry the much older lord of a powerful family. With three wives already, each living in a separate house within the great castle, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained. This competition gets out of hand...

Ju Dou

Ju Dou

Zhang Yimou 1990 1h 35m 8.3

Tianqing falls in love with Ju Dou, his uncle's wife who is tortured for being childless. However, after they have an affair, they discover that his uncle is impotent and try to conceal the truth.

Hong gao liang

Hong gao liang

Zhang Yimou 1987 1h 31m 8.0

An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu'er.

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