Fresh
In its dry and forceful way, it delivers the same message as Jiri Menzel's Closely Watched Trains and Danis Tanovic's No Man's Land.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Devils on the Doorstep
Comedy to carnage, in one remote village.
2001 · 2h 19m · N/A
Drama, War
Directed by
Jiang Wen
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Devils on the Doorstep
Overview
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
92%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Fresh
Shot in rich, shadowy black-and-white, Devils chronicles, with increasingly amused irony, the relationship between reluctant captors and befuddled captives.
Dennis Lim, Village Voice
Rotten
There's a gem of an idea lurking inside this movie, but the film is burdened with an overwrought and static first hour and wild tonal fluctuation.
Hollywood Reporter
More films
Waiting for Anya (2020)
Drama · War · N/A
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
- Runtime
- 1h 49m
- Cast
- Noah Schnapp, Thomas Kretschmann, Frederick Schmidt
IMDb
6.0
Rotten Tomatoes
41%
Metacritic
38
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Drama · History · War · PG
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity a...
- Runtime
- 2h 33m
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson
IMDb
7.7
Rotten Tomatoes
75%
Metacritic
62
Battleground (1949)
Action · Drama · War · Approved
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need ...
- Runtime
- 1h 58m
- Director
- William A. Wellman
- Cast
- Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban
IMDb
7.4
Rotten Tomatoes
78%
The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)
Adventure · Thriller · War · NOT RATED
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.
- Runtime
- 2h 21m
- Director
- Tsui Hark
- Cast
- Zhang Hanyu, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tong Liya
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
69%
Metacritic
61
55 Days at Peking (1963)
Drama · History · War · Unrated
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals.
- Runtime
- 2h 34m
- Director
- Nicholas Ray, Guy Green
- Cast
- Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven
IMDb
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes
57%
I Served the King of England (2007)
Comedy · R
Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the inter-war period. Jan Dítě, a young and clever waiter who wants to become a millionaire, comes to the conclusion that to achieve his ambitious goal he must be diligent, listen and observe as much as he can, be always discreet and use what he learns to his own advantage; but the turbulent tides of hist...
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
- Director
- Jiří Menzel
- Cast
- Ivan Barnev, Oldřich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch
IMDb
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes
79%
Metacritic
72
My Sweet Little Village (1985)
Comedy · PG
The movie's main storyline follows the life of Otík, a young man, in a tight-knit village community. The sweet-tempered Otík works as an assistant truck driver with Mr. Pávek, his older colleague and practical-minded neighbor. Pávek's family takes care of Otík, whose parents are dead. However, the two coworkers become at odds over Otík...
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Jiří Menzel
- Cast
- János Bán, Marián Labuda, Zdeněk Svěrák
IMDb
7.8
Rotten Tomatoes
80%
Larks on a String (1990)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · N/A
In post-WWII Communist Czechoslovakia, several characters considered bourgeois are sentenced to work in a junkyard for rehabilitation. Among them is a young man who pines for a female convict.
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- Director
- Jiří Menzel
- Cast
- Rudolf Hrušínský, Václav Neckář, Jitka Zelenohorská
IMDb
7.3
Cutting It Short (1981)
Comedy · N/A
Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed r...
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- Director
- Jiří Menzel
- Cast
- Magda Vášáryová, Rudolf Hrušínský, Petr Čepek
IMDb
8.0
The Snowdrop Festival (1984)
Comedy · Drama · N/A
An episodic film about the inhabitants of Kersko, their hardships and their joys, most prominently hunting. A lyrical and humorous adaptation of writings by Bohumil Hrabal.
- Runtime
- 1h 23m
- Director
- Jiří Menzel
- Cast
- Rudolf Hrušínský, Jaromír Hanzlík, Josef Somr
IMDb
7.5
Comments
Talk about the film with other members