Terrorizers

1986 1h 49m ZH

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 181

DramaCrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An uncompromising look into urban life from the eyes of a voyeuristic photographer, a rebellious teenager, and a married couple teetering on the edge of adultery.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Cora Miao
Zhou Yufang
Lee Li-Chun
Li Lizhong
King Shih-chieh
Chen Weibin
Ku Pao-ming
Police Chief
Liu Ming
Shu An's Mother
Wang An
Shu An
Shao-Chun Ma
Little Qiang
Yu An-shun
Da Shun

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Edward Yang
Writers: Edward Yang, Hsiao Yeh
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: Taiwan

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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Edward Yang, shot by Chang Chan. 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 Xiaoliang Weng. 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 Liao Ching-sung 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

Cora Miao and Lee Li-Chun and King Shih-chieh carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0091355 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Edward Yang directs. Chang Chan behind the camera. Xiaoliang Weng scores. Liao Ching-sung cuts. Produced in Taiwan. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Edward Yang, shot by Chang Chan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Xiaoliang Weng. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Liao Ching-sung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cora Miao and Lee Li-Chun and King Shih-chieh carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0091355 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Chang Chan
Original score: Xiaoliang Weng
Editing: Liao Ching-sung
Costume design: Chu Mei-Yu
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Status: Released
Original language: ZH
IMDB: Terrorizers (1986)

Awards

Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film

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

Also by

Edward Yang

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-09-04
★ 7/10
This is my first foray into the world of Edward Yang and though I cannot claim to have followed all of the plot in this complex drama, it is still an oddly compelling watch. Oddly? Well that's because though the characters appear real enough in a plausible sense, the storyline develops itself and them in a none-too-predictable, not always coherent, fashion. We start with a scene that I suspect would have had the local tourist board in conniptions. A shoot-out between a drug-dealing gang and the police that leaves a body lying in the street. Even trying to move that proves perilous. That peril continues to run throughout the story as we meet a dysfunctionally married couple. He, "Li" (Li-Chun Lee) is a writer who's suffering from a fairly terminal block. She "Zhou" (Cora Miao) is an aspiring clinician who cannot quite reconcile the significance of his failure with her own need for satisfaction (professionally and emotionally). This relationship continues to serve as a conduit for a rather broad-brush look at urban life in Taiwan that includes just about every aspect of human behaviour including the scene-stealing efforts of brothel-keeper "Shu An" (Wang An) who fleeces her clients whilst they are in flagrante delicto and who is, herself, the object of the desire of a photographer who proves to be of some interest to the police. What's curious about this film is that you start off assuming it's all a sort of gangster flick with the locals under the yoke. What it gradually turns into is a story about "terror" in it's multiple guises - and the most potent illustrations of that are not necessarily located where we think they ought to be. I reckon this needs a couple of viewings to get the best from it as there's plenty to get your teeth into as these characters develop quite distinctly into people - love them or hate them!

Production companies