Devils on the Doorstep

"Comedy to carnage, in one remote village."

2001 2h 19m ZH

🙌

8.2

BANGER

★8.2TMDB · 198

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?

“Comedy to carnage, in one remote village.”

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Cast

Jiang Wen
Ma Dasan
Jiang Hongbo
Yu'er
Teruyuki Kagawa
Kosaburo Hanaya
David Wu
Major Gao
Yuan Ding
Dong Hanchen
Cong Zhijun
Grandfather
Li Congxi
Liu Wang
Li Haibin
Me

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jiang Wen
Writers: Jiang Wen, Jiang Wen, Haiying Li
Languages: French, Mandarin, Japanese, English
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Mandarin, Japanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jiang Wen, shot by Gu Changwei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Folmer Wiesinger shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jiang Wen and Jiang Hongbo and Teruyuki Kagawa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Comedy to carnage, in one remote village.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0245929 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jiang Wen directs. Gu Changwei behind the camera. Folmer Wiesinger cuts. Produced in China. Dialogue in French, Mandarin, Japanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

125 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Mandarin, Japanese, English.
3Directed by Jiang Wen, shot by Gu Changwei. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Folmer Wiesinger shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jiang Wen and Jiang Hongbo and Teruyuki Kagawa carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Comedy to carnage, in one remote village.".
7IMDB entry: tt0245929 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gu Changwei
Editing: Folmer Wiesinger
Production design: Shi Jianquan
Sound: Steve Burgess
Stunt coordinator: Yan Geng
Runtime: 139 min · 2h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $20,000
Original language: ZH
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Devils on the Doorstep (2001)

Awards

Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jiang Wen

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-03-06
★ 8/10
A fantastic anti-war narrative by Jiang Wen that clocks in at 140 minutes and is so well-paced that it feels like half that time. The comedic overtone that permeates the movie serves to provide comic relief and underscore the strong anti-war, anti-nationalist message.

Production companies