Best 10 Films of China and Hong Kong

© William L. Sinclair
These rankings are from our compendium of all internet film polls, posted here..

Top ranked films on the net from China (7), Hong Kong (8), and Taiwan (8).

China
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang; 2000] #152 - China-Taiwan-US [photo above]
2. Spring in a Small Town [Fei Mu; 1948] #674 - China
3. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou; 2004] #710 - China
4. Yellow Earth [Chen Kaige; 1984] #854 - China
5. Red Sorghum [Zhang Yimou; 1987] #918 - China
6. Flight of the Red Balloon, The [Hsiao-hsien Hou; 2007] #943 - China
7. King of the Children [Chen Kaige; 1987] #1179 - China

Hong Kong
1. In the Mood for Love [Wong Kar-Wai; 2001] #272 - Hong Kong-France [photo rt]
2. Raise the Red Lantern [Zhang Yimou; 1991] #303 - Hong Kong
3. Farewell, My Concubine [Chen Kaige; 1993] #456 - Hong Kong-China
4. Chungking Express [Wong Kar-Wai; 1994] #534 - Hong Kong
5. Killer, The [Woo, John; 1989] #709 - Hong Kong
6. Happy Together [Wong Kar-Wai; 1997] #1085 - Hong Kong
7. Days of Being Wild [Wong Kar-Wai; 1990] #1118 - Hong Kong
8. Fallen Angels [Wong Kar-Wai; 1995] #1147 - Hong Kong

Taiwan
1. Yi yi [Yang, Edward; 2000] #223 - Taiwan-Japan
2. Time to Live and the Time to Die, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1985] #501 - Taiwan
3. City of Sadness, A [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1989] #509 - Taiwan
4. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King; 1969] #660 - Taiwan
5. Brighter Summer Day, A [Yang, Edward; 1991] #721 - Taiwan
6. Puppetmaster, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1993] #817 - Taiwan
7. Flowers of Shanghai [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1998] #898 - Taiwan
8. Vive L'Amour [Tsai Ming-Liang; 1994] #1062 - Taiwan
[Unfortunately, the films of Hou Hsaio-Hsien are hard to find; the only films on this list I've seen are Flowers of Shanghai, reviewed, and  Yi Yi, not reviewed]

These are all worth seeing, Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-Wai are among my favorite all-time directors, and Ang Lee never made a bad film in the east or west. [Of the Taiwan films, I've only seen Yi Yi] Two of Kar-Wai's best films were meant as one long film: Chungking Express, followed by Fallen Angels - together they inspired Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Yimou's films got him the job of planning the ceremonies at the Beijing summer Olympics, which were mind-boggling.

Omissions:
Zhang Yimou's Hero, top-grossing film in Chinese history, exciting action and a terrific screenplay with a winding plot about assassins after the King of Q'in.

Zhang Yimou's To Live, grand prize winner at Cannes, a beautiful romantic epic about a Chinese family, covers about four decades in their lives.

Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, audience winner at Sundance, introduced Ziyi Zhang to the west; a story of a lifetime marriage from its beginnings, and the long road home at the end.

Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman, from Taiwan; a delicious film about a master chef and his unmarried daughters.

Chien Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin, a beautiful historical costume epic with a twisty plot.

Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time Redux - a re-edited version of his samurai film about a wine that makes one forget

Combining all the above as just China, we get this list:
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang; 2000] #152 - China-Taiwan-US
2. Yi yi [Yang, Edward; 2000] #223 - Taiwan-Japan
3. In the Mood for Love [Wong Kar-Wai; 2001] #272 - Hong Kong-France
4. Raise the Red Lantern [Zhang Yimou; 1991] #303 - Hong Kong
5. Farewell, My Concubine [Chen Kaige; 1993] #456 - Hong Kong-China
6. Time to Live and the Time to Die, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1985] #501 - Taiwan
7. City of Sadness, A [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1989] #509 - Taiwan
8. Chungking Express [Wong Kar-Wai; 1994] #534 - Hong Kong
9. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King; 1969] #660 - Taiwan
10. Spring in a Small Town [Fei Mu; 1948] #674 - China
11. Killer, The [Woo, John; 1989] #709 - Hong Kong
12. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou; 2004] #710 - China
13. Brighter Summer Day, A [Yang, Edward; 1991] #721 - Taiwan
14. Puppetmaster, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1993] #817 - Taiwan
15. Yellow Earth [Chen Kaige; 1984] #854 - China
16. Flowers of Shanghai [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1998] #898 - Taiwan
17. Red Sorghum [Zhang Yimou; 1987] #918 - China
18. Flight of the Red Balloon, The [Hsiao-hsien Hou; 2007] #943 - China
19. Vive L'Amour [Tsai Ming-Liang; 1994] #1062 - Taiwan
20. Happy Together [Wong Kar-Wai; 1997] #1085 - Hong Kong
21. Days of Being Wild [Wong Kar-Wai; 1990] #1118 - Hong Kong
22. Fallen Angels [Wong Kar-Wai; 1995] #1147 - Hong Kong
23. King of the Children [Chen Kaige; 1987] #1179 - China

Ziyi Zhang, star of Hero, The Road Home,

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House

of Flying Daggers, and Memoirs of a Geisha

My favorites from all the nations above

1. Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002)
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) China
3. To Live (Zhang Yimou, 1994)
4. Together (Chien Kaige, 2002)
5. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994) Hong Kong
6. Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai, 1995) Hong Kong
7. The Road Home (Zhang Yimou, 1999)
8. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2001) Hong Kong
9. Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee, 1994) Taiwan
10. Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1988) Hong Kong
11. Devils On the Doorstep (Wen Jiang, 2000), bw
12. Spring in a Small Town (Fei Mu, 1948)
13. King of Masks (Bian Lian, 1997) China-Hong Kong
14. Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, 1993)
15. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004)
16. The Kite Runner (Marc Forster, 2007) US-China
17. Zhou Yu's Train (Zhou Sun, 2004) China
18. Not One Less (Zhang Yimou, 1999) China
19. Yi yi (Yang, Edward; 2000) #223 - Taiwan-Japan - not reviewed
20. Red Cliff (John Woo, 2008)

Special Mention
Himalaya (Eric Valli, 1999) Nepal [Listed as France-Switz.-UK-Nepal]

Others worth seeing
The Emperor and the Assassin (1998) China
Lust, Caution (2007) China
Ashes of Time Redux (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994) China
The Promise (Chien Kaige, 2005) China
The Killer (John Woo, 1989) Hong Kong (not reviewed)

Korea [unfortunately I haven't seen many, these are the best two]
Oldboy (2003) Korea
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.. and Spring (2003) Korea

Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels (1995)

Great Film: Zhang Yimou's Hero

Hero (2002) is a Chinese epic from director Zhang Yimou. Actor Jet Li said the screenplay (by Li Feng, Zhang Yimou, and Wang Bin) was the best he had ever read and left him in tears. They often call this Jet Li's Hero to distinguish it from an earlier U.S. film (also worth watching but nothing great) starring Andy Garcia and Dustin Hoffman. Along with Li, the film also stars the most popular actress in the world, Ziyi Zhang, shown in the still shots above from Hero. The visually stunning style of Hero is the ultimate for an action-adventure film, going even one level higher than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's no wonder that Quentin Tarantino wanted to get his name on this one as "Q.T. Presents....", like he had anything to do with creating this masterpiece! He did the same thing to the terrific crime film in two parts, Chungking Express, which inspired Pulp Fiction. The story is a story within the story, as a warrior relates his tale to the king of Qi'in (which became China), of how he killed three assassins from neighboring kingdoms who were plotting to kill him. Bose found the film so incredible that it used a famous sword master sequence in a tv ad for a new tv surround sound system; they claim to have a hidden camera on a family who is appropriately 'jaw-dropped' by the film and sound. Hero is full of memorable scenes and sequences, I won't describe any, they have to be experienced at least twice. Watch it once with subtitles, then again without any distractions to the visual poetry because this is the cinamatic art at its highest level. Other great visual action films: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (China, Ang Lee); Spiderman; The Matrix; House of Flying Daggers (China, Z.Yimou); The Seven Samurai (Japan); The Empire Strikes Back; The Replacement Killers; Diva (France); Aliens; The Road Warrior; Run, Lola, Run (Germany).