Zhang Yimou
Known for: Directing
Born: April 2, 1950
Place of birth: Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
Zhang Yimou (born November 14, 1950 or 1951) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum. Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with Best Foreign Film nominations for Ju Dou in 1990 and Raise the Red Lantern in 1991, Silver Lion and Golden Lion prizes at the Venice Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. One of Zhang's recurrent themes is the resilience of Chinese people in the face of hardship and adversity, a theme which has been explored in such films as, for example, To Live (1994) and Not One Less (1999). His films are particularly noted for their rich use of colour, as can be seen in some of his early films, like Raise the Red Lantern, and in his wuxia films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers.
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Filmography
71 movies · 14 TV shows, newest first
9.0
The Lead
2026
6.7
Scare Out
2026
8.1
The First Shot
2024
6.9
Article 20
2024
5.8
Under the Light
2023
NR
Beijing 2022
2023
6.0
Full River Red
2023
NR
Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony
2022
6.5
Beijing 2022 Olympics Closing Ceremony
2022
7.0
Behind the Opening Ceremony: The Director's Cut
2022
7.7
Beijing 2022 Olympic Opening Ceremony
2022
6.9
Snipers
2022
6.0
My Country, My Parents
2021
4.5
极：《悬崖之上》电影纪录片
2021
6.7
Cliff Walkers
2021
7.3
One Second
2020
1.0
A Documentary About The Movie One Second
2020
6.2
My People, My Homeland
2020
NR
The 40th Anniversary of Chinese Film Since China's Reform and Opening-Up
2018
NR
Zhang Yimou's "Shadow"
2018
6.7
Shadow
2018
7.4
Bergman: A Year in a Life
2018
7.0
Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang
2017
6.0
The Great Wall
2016
7.3
Suddenly Seventeen
2016
8.0
最忆是杭州
2016
8.8
Thirteen Talks
2016
4.6
Lady of the Dynasty
2015
NR
Stories Through 180 Lenses
2014
7.3
Coming Home
2014
6.6
Trespassing Bergman
2013
7.4
The Flowers of War
2011
8.5
Making of "The Flowers of War"
2011
7.8
Under the Hawthorn Tree
2010
4.9
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
2009
NR
60th Anniversary Of Founding Of The People's Republic Of China
2009
NR
Zhang Yimou's 2008
2009
NR
奥运档案
2009
1.0
激荡·1978-2008
2008
8.6
Beijing 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremony
2008
7.9
Beijing 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony
2008
6.4
To Each His Own Cinema
2007NR
Secrets Within: Inside Look at 'Curse of the Golden Flower'
2007
6.9
Curse of the Golden Flower
2006
7.1
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
2005NR
图兰朵：法兰西体育场
2005
NR
Turandot
2005
6.8
Making of House of Flying Daggers
2004
NR
'Hero' Defined: A Look at the Epic Masterpiece
2004
7.3
House of Flying Daggers
2004
NR
Beauty and Pureness
2004
7.5
Hero
2002
7.8
Cause: The Birth of Hero
2002
8.9
The Grand Mansion Gate
2001
7.1
Happy Times
2000
7.5
Not One Less
1999
7.5
The Road Home
1999
8.0
Puccini: Turandot at the Forbidden City of Beijing
1999NR
知识改变命运
1999
6.3
Dragon Town Story
1997
7.5
Keep Cool
1997
6.3
Lumière & Company
1995
6.8
Shanghai Triad
1995
NR
Big Fish in China
1994
8.0
The Great Conqueror's Concubine: Part I
1994
8.1
To Live
1994
7.3
The Story of Qiu Ju
1992
7.9
Raise the Red Lantern
1991
7.2
Ju Dou
1990
6.6
A Terra-Cotta Warrior
1989
5.4
Codename Cougar
1989
NR
New Chinese Cinema
1989
9.5
Celebrity Talk Show
1989
7.2
Red Sorghum
1988
5.9
The Big Parade
1986
7.1
Old Well
1986
9.0
Forced Take-off
1984
7.2
Yellow Earth
1984
5.8
CMG Spring Festival Gala
1983
6.0
One And Eight
1983
5.0
The Red Elephant
1982
9.0
Golden Horse Awards
1962NR
Cliff Walkers 2
—NR
The Three-Body Problem
—
NR
Sunshine Thief
—