Shanghai Triad
Encyclopedia
Shanghai Triad is a 1995
Chinese film
, directed by Zhang Yimou
and starring Gong Li
. The film is set in the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai
, Republic of China
and spans seven days. Shanghai Triad's Chinese title reads "Row, row, row the boat to Grandma Bridge", refers to a well known traditional Chinese lullaby
.
The film was the last collaboration between Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li
in the 1990s, thus ending a successful partnership that had begun with Zhang's debut, Red Sorghum
, and had evolved into a romantic relationship as well. With the wrapping of filming for Shanghai Triad the two agreed to end their relationship both professionally and personally. Gong Li and Zhang Yimou would not work together again until 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower
.
), a cabaret singer and girlfriend of the Boss. She mocks Shuisheng's upbringing and derides him as a "country bumpkin." It is soon learned that Jinbao is also carrying on an affair with the Boss's number two man, Song (Sun Chun).
On the third night, Shuisheng witnesses the aftermath of a bloody gang fight between the Boss and a rival boss, Fat Yu. Among the dead are Shuisheng's uncle. In response to this attack, the Boss and a small entourage, including Shuisheng and Jinbao, retreat to a peasants' island. There, Jinbao befriends Cuihau (Jiang Baoying), an unassuming peasant woman who prepares meals for the visitors, while Shuisheng befriends Ajiao (Yang Qianguan), Cuihau's nine-year-old daughter. When Jinbao unwittingly meddles with Cuihua's business, it results in the Boss's men killing Cuihua's lover from a neighboring island. Furious, Jinbao confronts the Boss, who throws her accusations back at her, claiming that had she never meddled, he and his men would have been none the wiser. Jinbao, at this point, reveals to Shuisheng that she, too, came from the countryside. She gives him some silver coins and tells him to start a shop as soon as he is able, away from Shanghai and its depravity.
By the seventh day, Song arrives to the island along with Zheng (Fu Biao
), the Boss's number three man. During a mahjong
game, the Boss calmly confronts Song with evidence of his treachery. He tells Song that he knew of the younger man's affair with Jinbao and of the fact that Song had been working with Fat Yu to supplant him as king of the Shanghai underworld. The gang kills Song's men and buries Song alive. The Boss then informs Jinbao that she will have to die as well for her role in Song's betrayal. He grants her one last wish in accordance to the "rules," and she asks that he leave Cuihua and Ajiao alone. The Boss goes back on his word and tells her that Cuihua has already been killed for knowing too much, while Ajiao will be taken to Shanghai with him (saying she will be the new Jinbao when she is older). As Shuisheng attempts to save his mistress from her fate, he is thrown back and beaten. The film then ends with Shuisheng tied to the sails of the ship as it sails back to Shanghai with the boss and Ajiao on board.
's seventh feature film. Zhang's previous film, To Live had landed the director in trouble with Chinese authorities, and he was temporarily banned from making any films funded from overseas sources. Shanghai Triad was therefore only allowed to continue production after it was officially categorized as local production. The director has since noted that his selection of Shanghai Triad to follow up the politically controversial To Live was no accident, as he hoped that a "gangster movie" would be a conventional film.
The film was originally intended to be a straight adaptation of the novel Gang Law by author Li Xiao. This plan eventually changed with Gong Li's character becoming more important and the story's viewpoint shifting to that of the young boy, Tang Shuisheng. As a result the film's title was changed to reflect its new "younger" perspective.
, To Live and Raise the Red Lantern
), Shanghai Triad was nevertheless generally praised by critics upon its release, with an 85% "fresh" rating on the review-database, Rotten Tomatoes
. With its headline position in the New York Film Festival
, The New York Times
critic Janet Maslin opened her review that despite the cliched genre of the "gangster film," Shanghai Triad nevertheless "movingly affirms the magnitude of [Zhang Yimou's] storytelling power." Derek Elley of the entertainment magazine Variety
similarly found the film to be an achievement, particularly in how it played with genre conventions, calling the film a "stylized but gripping portrait of mob power play and lifestyles in 1930 Shanghai." Roger Ebert
, however, provided a counterpoint to the film's praise, arguing that the choice of the boy as the film's main protagonist ultimately hurt the film, and that Shanghai Triad was probably "the last, and ... certainly the least, of the collaborations between the Chinese director Zhang Yimou and the gifted actress Gong Li" (though Gong would again work with Zhang in 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower
). Even Ebert however, conceded that the film's technical credits were well done, calling Zhang one of the "best visual stylists of current cinema."
of 1.85:1.
Chinese films of the 1990s
This is a list of films produced in mainland China ordered by year of release in the 1990s. For an alphabetical listing of Chinese films see :Category:Chinese films- 1990 :- 1991 :- 1992 :- 1993 :- 1994 :- 1995 :- 1996 :- 1997 :...
Chinese film
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
, directed by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou 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....
and starring Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
. The film is set in the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
and spans seven days. Shanghai Triad's Chinese title reads "Row, row, row the boat to Grandma Bridge", refers to a well known traditional Chinese lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
.
The film was the last collaboration between Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
in the 1990s, thus ending a successful partnership that had begun with Zhang's debut, Red Sorghum
Red Sorghum
Red Sorghum is a 1987 Chinese film about a young woman's life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. It is based on a novel by Mo Yan....
, and had evolved into a romantic relationship as well. With the wrapping of filming for Shanghai Triad the two agreed to end their relationship both professionally and personally. Gong Li and Zhang Yimou would not work together again until 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower is a 2006 Chinese epic drama film directed by Zhang Yimou.With a budget of US$45 million, it was at the time of its release the most expensive Chinese film to date, surpassing Chen Kaige's The Promise...
.
Plot
Shanghai Triad takes place over the course of seven days in the 1930s. The story begins as a fourteen-year-old boy, Tang Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao) has just arrived in Shanghai from the countryside. He is met at the docks by his uncle, Liu, who has sent for Shuisheng to work as a servant for a Triad Boss (played by Li Baotian), also named Tang and a distant relative. Before he meets his new employers, however, he is taken to a warehouse where two rival groups of Triads carry out an opium deal that goes wrong, leaving one of the rival members dead. Shuisheng is then taken by his uncle to Tang's palatial home, where he is assigned to serve Xiao Jinbao (Gong LiGong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
), a cabaret singer and girlfriend of the Boss. She mocks Shuisheng's upbringing and derides him as a "country bumpkin." It is soon learned that Jinbao is also carrying on an affair with the Boss's number two man, Song (Sun Chun).
On the third night, Shuisheng witnesses the aftermath of a bloody gang fight between the Boss and a rival boss, Fat Yu. Among the dead are Shuisheng's uncle. In response to this attack, the Boss and a small entourage, including Shuisheng and Jinbao, retreat to a peasants' island. There, Jinbao befriends Cuihau (Jiang Baoying), an unassuming peasant woman who prepares meals for the visitors, while Shuisheng befriends Ajiao (Yang Qianguan), Cuihau's nine-year-old daughter. When Jinbao unwittingly meddles with Cuihua's business, it results in the Boss's men killing Cuihua's lover from a neighboring island. Furious, Jinbao confronts the Boss, who throws her accusations back at her, claiming that had she never meddled, he and his men would have been none the wiser. Jinbao, at this point, reveals to Shuisheng that she, too, came from the countryside. She gives him some silver coins and tells him to start a shop as soon as he is able, away from Shanghai and its depravity.
By the seventh day, Song arrives to the island along with Zheng (Fu Biao
Fu Biao
Fu Biao was a famous Chinese actor.-Biography:Fu Biao was born in the family of an army officer on September 27, 1963, in Beijing. After graduating from high school, he entered a film academy in Beijing to learn acting. As a film actor, he acted for the first time in the Shanghai Triad...
), the Boss's number three man. During a mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
game, the Boss calmly confronts Song with evidence of his treachery. He tells Song that he knew of the younger man's affair with Jinbao and of the fact that Song had been working with Fat Yu to supplant him as king of the Shanghai underworld. The gang kills Song's men and buries Song alive. The Boss then informs Jinbao that she will have to die as well for her role in Song's betrayal. He grants her one last wish in accordance to the "rules," and she asks that he leave Cuihua and Ajiao alone. The Boss goes back on his word and tells her that Cuihua has already been killed for knowing too much, while Ajiao will be taken to Shanghai with him (saying she will be the new Jinbao when she is older). As Shuisheng attempts to save his mistress from her fate, he is thrown back and beaten. The film then ends with Shuisheng tied to the sails of the ship as it sails back to Shanghai with the boss and Ajiao on board.
Cast
- Wang Xiaoxiao as Tang Shuisheng, the young teenage boy who serves as the film's protagonist. Shuisheng has recently come under the care of his uncle Liu when he falls under the spell of the boss's mistress, Jinbao.
- Gong LiGong LiGong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
as Xiao Jinbao, a country girl-turned-Shanghai nightclub singer, Jinbao is the mistress of the Triad Boss. - Li XuejianLi XuejianLi Xuejian is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his role as Song Jiang in The Water Margin, a 1997 television series adapted from the Chinese classical novel of the same title. Li has also played the roles of military personnel in television dramas set in the Chinese Civil War...
as Uncle Liu, a low-level servant to a Triad organization and Tang Shuisheng's uncle who has called him to Shanghai. Uncle Liu tries to show Shuisheng how to properly serve the Boss and his minions, but he meets an untimely end at the hand of one of the Boss's primary rivals only days after Shuisheng's arrival. - Li Baotian as Tang the Triad Boss, seemingly sophisticated and soft-spoken, the Boss hides a ruthless side.
- Sun Chun as Song, the Boss's ambitious number two man, Song's affair with Jinbao sets up the film's main conflict.
- Fu BiaoFu BiaoFu Biao was a famous Chinese actor.-Biography:Fu Biao was born in the family of an army officer on September 27, 1963, in Beijing. After graduating from high school, he entered a film academy in Beijing to learn acting. As a film actor, he acted for the first time in the Shanghai Triad...
as Zheng, the Boss's number three man. - Yang Qianguan as Ajiao, a young girl living on the secluded island with her mother; she serves to remind Jinbao of her own youth.
- Jiang Baoying as Cuihao, Ajiao's mother, a peasant woman who prepares meals for the Boss while he is hiding on his island estate.
Production
Shanghai Triad was director Zhang YimouZhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou 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....
's seventh feature film. Zhang's previous film, To Live had landed the director in trouble with Chinese authorities, and he was temporarily banned from making any films funded from overseas sources. Shanghai Triad was therefore only allowed to continue production after it was officially categorized as local production. The director has since noted that his selection of Shanghai Triad to follow up the politically controversial To Live was no accident, as he hoped that a "gangster movie" would be a conventional film.
The film was originally intended to be a straight adaptation of the novel Gang Law by author Li Xiao. This plan eventually changed with Gong Li's character becoming more important and the story's viewpoint shifting to that of the young boy, Tang Shuisheng. As a result the film's title was changed to reflect its new "younger" perspective.
Reception
Though perhaps less well known than some of Zhang Yimou's more celebrated films (notably Ju DouJu Dou
Ju Dou is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States...
, To Live and Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong...
), Shanghai Triad was nevertheless generally praised by critics upon its release, with an 85% "fresh" rating on the review-database, Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. With its headline position in the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
critic Janet Maslin opened her review that despite the cliched genre of the "gangster film," Shanghai Triad nevertheless "movingly affirms the magnitude of [Zhang Yimou's] storytelling power." Derek Elley of the entertainment magazine Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
similarly found the film to be an achievement, particularly in how it played with genre conventions, calling the film a "stylized but gripping portrait of mob power play and lifestyles in 1930 Shanghai." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, however, provided a counterpoint to the film's praise, arguing that the choice of the boy as the film's main protagonist ultimately hurt the film, and that Shanghai Triad was probably "the last, and ... certainly the least, of the collaborations between the Chinese director Zhang Yimou and the gifted actress Gong Li" (though Gong would again work with Zhang in 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower
Curse of the Golden Flower is a 2006 Chinese epic drama film directed by Zhang Yimou.With a budget of US$45 million, it was at the time of its release the most expensive Chinese film to date, surpassing Chen Kaige's The Promise...
). Even Ebert however, conceded that the film's technical credits were well done, calling Zhang one of the "best visual stylists of current cinema."
Awards and nominations
- Cannes Film Festival1995 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
(19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
)- Technical Grand Prize
- Camerimage Awards (19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
)- Golden Frog — Lü YueLü YueLü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Born in Tianjin, Lü is today among the most important cinematographers of recent Chinese cinema, and is particularly well known for his collaborations with director Zhang Yimou with whom he served as director of photography in three films...
(nominated)
- Golden Frog — Lü Yue
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1995)Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1995The 21st Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1995, were announced on 16 December 1995 and given on 17 January 1996.-Winners:*Best Picture:**Leaving Las Vegas**Runner-up: A Little Princess...
- LAFCA Award, Best CinematographyLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyThe Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual film awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
— Lü YueLü YueLü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Born in Tianjin, Lü is today among the most important cinematographers of recent Chinese cinema, and is particularly well known for his collaborations with director Zhang Yimou with whom he served as director of photography in three films...
- LAFCA Award, Best Cinematography
- New York Film Critics Circle AwardsNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsNew York Film Critics' Circle Awards are given annually to honor excellence in cinema worldwide by an organization of film reviewers from New York City-based publications. It is considered one of the most important precursors to the Academy Awards....
(19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
)- NYFCC Award, Best CinematographyNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographyThe New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
— Lü YueLü YueLü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Born in Tianjin, Lü is today among the most important cinematographers of recent Chinese cinema, and is particularly well known for his collaborations with director Zhang Yimou with whom he served as director of photography in three films...
- NYFCC Award, Best Cinematography
- National Board of Review (19951995 in film-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
)- NBR Award, Best Foreign Language FilmNational Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the annual awards given by the National Board of Review.Note: This list is incomplete.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
- NBR Award, Best Foreign Language Film
- 53rd Golden Globe Awards53rd Golden Globe AwardsThe 53rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1995, were held on 21 January 1996.-Best Actor – Drama: Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas* Richard Dreyfuss – Mr...
(19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
)- Golden Globe, Best Foreign Language FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(nominated)
- Golden Globe, Best Foreign Language Film
- 68th Academy Awards68th Academy AwardsThe 68th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The ceremony was watched 44.48 million viewers, with 30.5% households watching...
(19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
)- Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
— Lü YueLü YueLü Yue is a Chinese cinematographer and film director. Born in Tianjin, Lü is today among the most important cinematographers of recent Chinese cinema, and is particularly well known for his collaborations with director Zhang Yimou with whom he served as director of photography in three films...
(nominated)
- Best Cinematography
DVD release
Shanghai Triad was released on December 12, 2000 in the United States on region 1 DVD by Sony Pictures' Columbia Tristar label. The DVD edition includes English and Spanish subtitles. The DVD is in the widescreen letterbox format with an aspect ratioAspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
of 1.85:1.
See also
- Triads — Chinese underground societies that play a major part of the film
External links
- Shanghai Triad homepage at Sony Pictures ClassicsSony Pictures ClassicsSony Pictures Classics is an art-house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 that distributes, produces and acquires specialty films from the United States and around the world. Its co-presidents are Michael Barker and Tom Bernard...