City of Life and Death
Drama, History, War
-
2009
Available on
Country
In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.
Director:
,
Lu Chuan
Cast:
,
Liu Ye
,
John Paisley
,
Gao Yuanyuan
,
Hideo Nakaizumi
,
Jiang Yiyan
,
Fan Wei
,
Qin Lan
,
Ryu Kohata
,
Beverly Peckous
Similar
Details
Runtime:
132 min
Release date:
22 Apr 2009
Country:
CN, HK
Languages:
German, Chinese, Japanese, English
Budget:
$12,000,000
Revenue:
$10,652,498
Awards:
17 wins & 17 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
It is not an easy film, and perhaps a touch too relentless, but it is a great reminder of how bloody, mad and awful this world can be.
– Tom Long,
Detroit News,
7 Oct 2011
fresh:
Lu Chuan makes this feature film soar by telling the story both through the eyes of the Japanese occupiers and the defenseless Chinese civilians in the ancient capital. It makes the savagery all the more senseless.
– David Lewis,
San Francisco Chronicle,
22 Sep 2011
fresh:
Exquisitely shot in black and white, with a rare attention to detail and dramatic complexity, "City of Life and Death" is a timelessly great film that commands our collective attention.
– Joe Williams,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
8 Jul 2011
fresh:
In almost any form, the story of the Nanking atrocities can leave you profoundly shaken. But Lu Chuan's version may be the most compassionate and emotionally satisfying treatment to date.
– John Hartl,
Seattle Times,
7 Jul 2011
fresh:
Here, in bloodless miniature, is the true obscenity of war.
– Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
24 Jun 2011