The Battle at Lake Changjin

"Do they fall out of the goddamn sky?"

2021 2h 58m ZH

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 159

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Korean War, winter 1950. In the frozen and snowy area of Changjin Lake, a bloody battle is about to begin between the elite troops of the United States and China.

“Do they fall out of the goddamn sky?”

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Cast

Wu Jing
Wu Qianli
Jackson Yee
Wu Wanli
Duan Yihong
Tan Ziwei
Zhu Yawen
Mei Sheng
Kevin Lee
Colonel Allan MacLean
Jerry Lee
Yu Congrong
John F. Cruz
General O.P. Smith
Elvis Han
Ping He

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chen Kaige
Writers: Lan Xiaolong, Huang Jianxin
Languages: Mandarin, English
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.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 178 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Budget of $200M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Battle at Lake Changjin Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chen Kaige, shot by Luo Pan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chen Kaige directs. Luo Pan behind the camera. Elliot Leung scores. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 178 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Budget of $200M — blockbuster tier. Only ~1% of films ever made reach this.
3Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
4Released 5 years ago.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
6International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.
7Part of the "The Battle at Lake Changjin Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
8Directed by Chen Kaige, shot by Luo Pan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
9Original score by Elliot Leung. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
10Wu Jing and Jackson Yee and Duan Yihong carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Do they fall out of the goddamn sky?".
12IMDB entry: tt13462900 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Luo Pan
Original score: Elliot Leung
Runtime: 178 min · 2h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000,000
Box office: $902,540,935
Return: 451% of budget
Original language: ZH
IMDB: The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021)

Awards

Huabiao Award for Outstanding Film
Hundred Flowers Award for Best Picture
Golden Rooster Award for Best Picture

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

Part of

The Battle at Lake Changjin Collection

Korean War, winter 1950. In the frozen and snowy area of Changjin Lake, a bloody battle is about to begin between the elite troops of the United States and China.