Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Red Sorghum

Original title: Hong gao liang
  • 19881988
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
9K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Hong gao liang (1988)
  • Drama
  • History
  • Romance
When a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunka... Read allWhen a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunkard lover, and the invading Japanese army.When a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunkard lover, and the invading Japanese army.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
9K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Yimou Zhang
  • Writers
    • Jianyu Chen
    • Yan Mo(books "Red Sorghum" and "Sorghum Wine")
    • Wei Zhu
  • Stars
    • Gong Li
    • Wen Jiang
    • Rujun Teng
Top credits
  • Director
    • Yimou Zhang
  • Writers
    • Jianyu Chen
    • Yan Mo(books "Red Sorghum" and "Sorghum Wine")
    • Wei Zhu
  • Stars
    • Gong Li
    • Wen Jiang
    • Rujun Teng
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 27Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 18 wins & 8 nominations

    Photos12

    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Gong Li in Hong gao liang (1988)
    Gong Li in Hong gao liang (1988)
    Gong Li in Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)
    Hong gao liang (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gong Li
    Gong Li
    • Wo Nainai (My Grandma)as Wo Nainai (My Grandma)
    Wen Jiang
    Wen Jiang
    • Wo Yeye (My Grandpa)as Wo Yeye (My Grandpa)
    Rujun Teng
    • Wo Luohan Yeye (Uncle Luohan)as Wo Luohan Yeye (Uncle Luohan)
    Ji Liu
    • Wo Die (My Dad)as Wo Die (My Dad)
    Ming Qian
    • Wo Nainai ta Die (My Grandma's Dad)as Wo Nainai ta Die (My Grandma's Dad)
    Chunhua Ji
    Chunhua Ji
    • Sanpaoas Sanpao
    Chunhua Zhai
    Zhaoji Jia
    Yuxiang Zhang
    Guiyun Zhou
    Qianbin Yang
      Guoqing Xu
      Erga Yao
      Yusheng Li
      Kun Dong
      Hongguang Wang
      Xiaoguang Hu
      Guoguang Du
      • Director
        • Yimou Zhang
      • Writers
        • Jianyu Chen
        • Yan Mo(books "Red Sorghum" and "Sorghum Wine")
        • Wei Zhu
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

      More like this

      Ju Dou
      7.6
      Ju Dou
      The Story of Qiu Ju
      7.6
      The Story of Qiu Ju
      Raise the Red Lantern
      8.1
      Raise the Red Lantern
      To Live
      8.3
      To Live
      Keep Cool
      7.2
      Keep Cool
      Not One Less
      7.7
      Not One Less
      Coming Home
      7.2
      Coming Home
      Shanghai Triad
      7.1
      Shanghai Triad
      The Road Home
      7.8
      The Road Home
      In the Heat of the Sun
      8.1
      In the Heat of the Sun
      Farewell My Concubine
      8.1
      Farewell My Concubine
      Codename Cougar
      4.1
      Codename Cougar

      Storyline

      Edit
      In 1930s China a young woman is sent by her father to marry the leprous owner of a winery. In the nearby red sorghum fields she falls for one of his servants. When the master dies she finds herself inheriting the isolated business. —Brian Rawnsley <rawnsleb@natlib.govt.nz>
      • wine
      • 1930s
      • arranged marriage
      • sino japanese war
      • world war two
      • 25 more
      • Plot summary
      • Add synopsis
      • Genres
        • Drama
        • History
        • Romance
        • War
      • Certificate
        • Not Rated
      • Parents guide

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        The films screenplay was based on the novel of the same name by Chinese author Mo Yan. In 2012, Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy awarded him the prize as an author "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".
      • Connections
        Featured in The Turandot Project (2000)

      User reviews34

      Review
      Top review
      10/10
      Red Sorghum is a cinematic wonder...
      Red Sorghum will delight those that enjoy the art of cinematography. This visually stunning film truly deserves its international acclaim simply because of the way it presents the tale through its remarkable use of imagery, lighting, and filters.

      Until I saw this film, I would have never thought that one could say so much about character, setting, mood and plot simply through the use of layout and image composition. This controversial film set in the 1920's - 1930's, by the rebellious Zhang Yimou, follows the life of sorghum wine farmers from Northern China.

      If you follow the history of Chinese film, you will see how nicely this film combines motif's of many of its precursor films. Chinese history and culture has been vastly explored through many Chinese films, however I believe that this is a good film for the average American film goer to get a taste of the Chinese film industry and culture through their perspective. I say this for a variety of reasons, the pacing of this drama is quicker and faster moving compared to other related Chinese films before its time. Generally Chinese film have a tendency to be slow, when set aside the general American preferred standards.

      It presents to us some of the Northern Chinese cultural traditions. Its display of the Japanese brutality could not have been better presented. The Japanese have been quite swinish during this period in Chinese history. All I can say is it says it all as it really was, very well indeed.

      This is the last but most important reason to watch this film... look at its cinematography. It has to be among the best I have ever seen. It amazed me to see how resourceful a cinematographer can be when working for a film of little budget. Yimou showed me how simple things can be filmed to be works of art. Unfortunately I have not been able to see the film in its original cinematic scope however, even in full screen it is still quite visually stunning. The aperture, f-stop and lens settings were set just perfectly giving the film a very rich vibrant look making Yimou my favorite Chinese film cinematographer/director of all time to date. Oh, it is a film that you just have to see for yourself! Hope you enjoy it! Happy Viewing!
      helpful•48
      4
      • P-Style
      • Dec 8, 1999

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • February 1989 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • China
      • Languages
        • Mandarin
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
        • Das rote Kornfeld
      • Filming locations
        • China
      • Production company
        • Xi'an Film Studio
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross worldwide
        • $108,371
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 31 minutes
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 2.35 : 1

      Related news

      ‘One Second’ Review: Zhang Yimou’s Lovely, Poignantly Imperfect Tribute to the Delight and the Delusion of Cinema
      ‘One Second’ Review: Zhang Yimou’s Lovely, Poignantly Imperfect Tribute to the Delight and the Delusion of Cinema
      Sep 19Variety Film + TV
      Cliff Walkers | Review
      Cliff Walkers | Review
      May 1IONCINEMA.com

      Contribute to this page

      Suggest an edit or add missing content
      Hong gao liang (1988)
      Top Gap
      By what name was Hong gao liang (1988) officially released in India in English?
      Answer
      • See more gaps
      • Learn more about contributing
      Edit page

      More to explore

      View list
      List
      The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
      See the full list
      View list
      List
      2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
      See the full list

      Recently viewed

      Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
      Get the IMDb App
      • Get the IMDb App
      • Help
      • Site Index
      • IMDbPro
      • Box Office Mojo
      • IMDb Developer
      • Press Room
      • Advertising
      • Jobs
      • Conditions of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interest-Based Ads

      © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.