The Red Detachment of Women (1970)

Original title

红色娘子军

Directed by

Pan Wenzhan

Genre

musical film, propaganda film

Country

People's Republic of China

Runtime

1h 45m

Rating

5.8 of 10 from 10 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of women in 1930s China join a communist military unit to fight against oppressive landlords and the Nationalist army. They train and engage in battles while developing revolutionary discipline and solidarity.

triumphantheroicstylizedpurposefulpatrioticformalpropagandisticinspirational

What happens

The Red Detachment of Women (Chinese: 红色娘子军; pinyin: Hóngsè Niángzǐjūn) is a 1970 Chinese filmed performance of the Chinese ballet of the same name (originally produced in 1964) – which itself was a version of director Xie Jin's original 1961 film. The style is called 'yangbanxi' (revolutionary model dramas). It is one of eight approved revolutionary model dramas made during the Cultural Revolution. The film was screened at the 32nd Venice International Film Festival, marking the first time a Chinese film was presented at Venice. A Beijing Opera version was filmed by the August First Film Studio in 1972. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Defending Our Home Village
• Iron Soldier (1950)
• Youth of China (1937)
• Song of Youth (1959)
• The Red Detachment of Women (1961)
• Shu guang (1979)
• The Eight Hundred (2020)