Back to 1942

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Back to 1942

Released Nov 30, 2012

2h 26m

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

36%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

The fortunes of a well-off Chinese landlord (Zhang Guoli) fall to ruin, as a devastating famine holds the country in its grip in 1942.

Mark Jenkins

Washington Post

"Back to 1942" shows the director's mastery of chaotic spectacle, massed human motion and elegant camera movements.

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 30, 2012

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Los Angeles Times

Director Feng Xiaogang captures the epic scale of the exodus as well as the often-harrowing details, yet emotional connection proves more elusive.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 29, 2012

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Bruce DeMara

Toronto Star

A chronicle of unrelenting misery, sorrow and human degradation that has powerful moments but is hardly uplifting.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 29, 2012

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Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The film could do with more pruning and fewer undeveloped characters.

Jun 5, 2015

Full Review

Daniel Eagan

Film Journal International

A relatively even-handed account of a famine which killed three million people, but the storytelling is so careful that it fails to build much interest or emotion.

Nov 30, 2012

Full Review

Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

Disaster movie and war movie in one dramatic realisation of a dark chapter in China's history, Back to 1942 is epic in its intentions and its scope

Nov 24, 2012

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Audience Member

A lost opportunity to share amazing stories and characters, heroes who saved and alleviated the suffering of many 'forgotten-Chinese', during this tumultuous period of Chinese history.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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georgan g

Although interesting historically, this film was too long with too many characters that you didn't learn to like. It was also 98% in Chinese with subtitles that were often too quick to read.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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william d

Respectable depiction of a tragic event of WWII.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Even though the film is in Chinese, the acting is really expressive. The refugee scenes are tragic and unforgettable. Epic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Simply too many undeveloped characters. It's hard to care for so many people when you can't really remember who's who.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

ok WWII epic post WWII

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Feng Xiao-Gang

Director

Guoli Zhang

Landlord Fan

Tim Robbins

Father Thomas Morgan

Adrien Brody

Theordore E. White

Xu Fan

Huazhi

Wang Ziwen

Xingxing

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Synopsis

The fortunes of a well-off Chinese landlord (Zhang Guoli) fall to ruin, as a devastating famine holds the country in its grip in 1942.

Director: Feng Xiao-Gang
Producer: Zhonglei Wang, Sanping Han, Chen Kuo-fu, Albert Yeung, Peter Lam, Dai Song
Screenwriter: Zhenyun Liu
Distributor: China Lion Film Distribution
Production Co: China Film, Media Asia Films Ltd. [hk], Huayi Brothers Media Group
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 30, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 11, 2013
Runtime: 2h 26m