Ba wang bie ji (1993)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Kaige Chen

Writers:

Lillian Lee (novel)
Lillian Lee (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The passionate story of two lifelong friends and the woman who comes between them.

Plot:

The story of two men, who met as apprentices in the Peking Opera, and stayed friends for over 50 years.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Peking Opera | Peking | Drug Addiction | Bathing

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Leslie Cheung	...	Cheng Dieyi (segment "Douzi")
Fengyi Zhang	...	Duan Xiaolou (segment "Shitou")
Li Gong	...	Juxian
Qi Lü	...	Master Guan
Da Ying	...	Manager
You Ge	...	Master Yuan
Chun Li	...	Xiao Si (in his teens)
Han Lei	...	Xiao Si (adult)
Di Tong	...	Zhang the Eunuch
Mingwei Ma	...	Douzi as a Child
Yang Fei	...	Shitou as a Child
Zhi Yin	...	Douzi as a Teenager
Hailong Zhao	...	Shitou as a Teenager
Dan Li	...	Laizi / Peking Opera schoolboy
Wenli Jiang	...	Douzi's Mother

Also Known As:

Farewell My Concubine (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Ba wong bit gei (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and strong depiction of thematic material.

Runtime:

171 min

Country:

China | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Black and White (some scenes) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

Trivia:

Jackie Chan was originally offered the role of Duan Xiaolou due to his own childhood experience of training in the Peking Opera. But he turned it down, fearing that the film, which deals with themes of homosexuality, might tarnish his image.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Douzi is first examined by the owner of the opera troupe, his extra finger is on his right hand below the thumb. When he withdraws the hand from the opera troupe owner, he pulls back his left arm. When his mother cuts the extra finger off a few moments later, it is now on his left hand, next to his pinkie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "American Dad!: Failure Is Not a Factory-installed Option (#2.3)" (2006)

A very lovely film...

The film paints the story of two actors, from their first encounter at school in the Twenties through their success as stars of the Peking Opera, difficulties during the Japanese occupation, the Communist takeover in 1949 and the traumas of the Cultural Revolution in the Sixties…

For the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, the film touches new ground on two fronts… In the first place, though it does not avoid from acknowledging the sufferings under the old regime, it takes an embittered view of Communist society and of the Cultural Revolution specifically…

The two friends, Xiaolou and Dieyi, adopt a young man, Xiao Si, who becomes one of the Red Guards and quickly informs the political sins of his benefactors…

Second the film is a love story of a rare kind… Dieyi is a homosexual and suffers rejection when Xiaolou begins an affair with Juxian (Gong Li), a gorgeous prostitute… The personal conflict of each character is the heart of this exceptional movie…