To Live

1994 2h 13m ZH

🙌

8.1

BANGER

★8.1TMDB · 396

DramaRomanceWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ge You
Xu Fugui
Gong Li
Xu Jiazhen
Niu Ben
Town Chief
Guo Tao
Chunsheng
Jiang Wu
Wan Erxi
Ni Dahong
Long'er
Liu Tianchi
Xu Fengxia
Zhang Lu
Young Fengxia

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Zhang Yimou
Writers: Lu Wei, Yu Hua
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China, Hong Kong

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

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Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Zhang Yimou, shot by Lü Yue. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Zhao Jiping. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ge You and Gong Li and Niu Ben carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0110081 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zhang Yimou directs. Lü Yue behind the camera. Zhao Jiping scores. Du Yuan cuts. Produced in China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

132 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.
3Directed by Zhang Yimou, shot by Lü Yue. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Zhao Jiping. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Du Yuan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ge You and Gong Li and Niu Ben carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0110081 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "child abuse", "china", "gambling", "gambling debt".
9Released under 17 different titles around the world.