Where to watch
No streaming service listed it when we checked on 13 October 2026. It may still be available where you are.
Streaming data from JustWatch
Raise the Red Lantern
1991
· Movie
· 125 min
A
MEANRANK
84/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #190
- IMDb #277
- Rotten Tomatoes #72
- Letterboxd #93
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #243
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #181
Every rating
76–97
out of 100
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Criticker on 76, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 97. Critics average 97, everyone else 82.
See the most agreed on films →In 1920s China, a young woman becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy lord. She enters the strict and oppressive world of his walled compound, where the wives compete for his favor. The master's favor is shown by which wife's courtyard has a red lantern hung that night, leading to jealousy, betrayal, and tragedy.
Details
- Director
- Zhang Yimou
- Writer
- Ni Zhen
- Based on
- Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong
- Released
- 18 December 1991
- Country
- China, Hong Kong
- Language
- Mandarin
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Budget
- $1.0M
- Box office
- $16.6M
- Awards
- 13 wins, 6 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (11) →
Awards & nominations
See all 19 →13 wins from 19 nominations across 15 ceremonies
| Academy Awards 1992 | Best Foreign Language Film | Hong Kong | Nominee |
| Independent Spirit Awards 1992 | Best International Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |
| Australian Film Institute Awards 1993 | Best Foreign Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |
| Belgian Film Critics Association 1993 | Grand Prix | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
| British Academy Film Awards 1993 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
| Hundred Flowers Awards 1993 | Best Picture | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
| Hundred Flowers Awards 1993 | Best Actress | Gong Li | Winner |
| Boston Society of Film Critics 1992 | Best Foreign Language Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Why Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time
The case rests on comedy, emotional precision, versatility and sustained achievement, tested against the strongest rival claims.
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
MCU canon explained: the main timeline, other universes and the TV shows
Daredevil counts. Alternate universes are not automatically non-canon. A practical guide to Marvel continuity without treating every cameo as a blanket answer.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — Raise the Red Lantern
×Full cast — Raise the Red Lantern
×
19 awards — Raise the Red Lantern
×
Academy Awards
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Language Film | Hong Kong | Nominee |
Independent Spirit Awards
1 nomination
| Best International Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |
Hundred Flowers Awards
2 nominations, 2 won
| Best Actress | Gong Li | Winner |
| Best Picture | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
National Society of Film Critics Awards
2 nominations, 2 won
| Best Cinematography | Zhao Fei | Winner |
| Best Foreign Language Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
David di Donatello Awards
2 nominations, 1 won
| Best Foreign Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
| Best Foreign Actress | Gong Li | Nominee |
Venice International Film Festival
2 nominations, 1 won
| Silver Lion | Zhang Yimou | Winner |
| Golden Lion | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |
Belgian Film Critics Association
1 nomination, 1 won
| Grand Prix | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
Boston Society of Film Critics
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Language Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
British Academy Film Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
Kansas City Film Critics Circle
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Language Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
London Film Critics' Circle
1 nomination, 1 won
| Foreign Language Film of the Year | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Cinematography | Zhao Fei | Winner |
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Language Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Winner |
Australian Film Institute Awards
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |
Guldbagge Awards
1 nomination
| Best Foreign Film | Raise the Red Lantern | Nominee |