Product Description

Chinese with English and Simplified Chinese subtitles. Summary: Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi are junior fellow apprentices and they are also good friends in Beijing Opera Troupe. Dieyi acts a female role and Xiaolou acts a male role. They often perform the opera ""Farewell to My Concubine,"" which is a well known opera in Beijing. Dieyi also regarded himself as the concubine in reality and Xiaolou as the overlord. Later Xiaolou marries Ju Xian therefore causes a rift between him and Dieyi. Due to various reasons, their friendship breaks up eventually. In Cultural Revolution in China, Xiaolou and Ju Xian are separated and Ju Xian kills herself since she hears that her husband doesn't love her at all. After the Cultural Revolution, Xiaolou and Dieyi meet with each other and they co-perform the opera Farewell to My Concubine again...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28369 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-15
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese, English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 164 minutes

Customer Reviews

If this isn't a masterpiece, I don't know what is..
What a movie! I am not of Chinese origin, but China with its rich history has always interested me. It is a country with 1.5 billion people and indomitable courage. It is a power that the world has recognized. What makes their story even more interesting is the crazy turns their history has taken in a short span of a century.

Farewell my concubine is an attempt to shed light on the history. It is an absolutely must watch literary masterpiece if you are interested in Chinese history. The story spans over a few decades. On the surface, it is just a story of two little boy who happen to become famous. They go through ups and downs like most of lesser mortals do. However, woven along is a story of transformation of an entire nation. From monarchy to democracy and then communism - the movie takes you through three different China.

Movie aces on script, dialogues, lighting, acting each and every section. The only downside would be its length and (if you are unfamiliar with slightest of Chinese history) the fact that it skips through various era so fast.

Overall, I would recommend this movie to any enthusiast.

Some consider this a masterpiece; some consider it
the greatest film of all time. They should back off some, and stop personalizing it. Though one character is apparently modeled upon an actual person -- Peking Opera superstar Mei Lanfang -- those who prefer to imagine otherwise have it wrong that he was the "gay" character. He did specialize in male roles (not especially noteworthy, as in Chinese opera, as with Shakespeare, all parts were originally played by men) -- but was also married -- heterosexually -- at least three times, and had children. (He also partnered with one of his wives, Meng Ziaodong, who happened to specialize in male roles.)

Where it's said the cinematography is masterful, etc., I find it mostly dark and colorless -- sepia-toned -- and claustrophobic. And with the Chinese-published edition -- the above being the cover of it -- the subtitles leave much to be desired, beginning with basic spelling.

The acting is not to be questioned: it is mostly superb throughout. But I do wonder if the "Masters" who beat the children-opera apprentices so viciously were overacting. Perhaps not.

Gong Li quickly reveals -- as in overdoes -- a "sighing" expression of impatience or frustration -- which is soon seen to be a cliche. A limitation in her acting. Otherwise, considering that the character she plays is essentially a stereotype, she's nothing spectacular. Or she's really good at making a stereotype come across as being a stereotype. Elsewhere I read the opinion that she can't act her way out of a paper bag (and odd place to put an actress or actor -- in a paper bag); or that she overplays. And otherwise that she's gorgeous, elegant, role model -- etc. I've yet to see any performance by her that wasn't "louder" than it should be, though I wouldn't say she can't act at all.

As for being gorgeous: a matter of taste; and not to my taste.

Well worth seeing for the history, and the acting of the two male leads. And Chinese Opera is itself fascinating, and enjoyable. But if it begins to feel a bit too weird, it may be because of some of the more repulsive incidents, that it is claustrophobic, and that it is longer than most films.