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      Devils on the Doorstep

      2000 2h 42m Comedy Drama List
      91% 11 Reviews Tomatometer 95% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score Villagers (Wen Jiang, Jiang Hongbo) in World War II China are unsure what to do with the two enemy prisoners who have been left in their care. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (11) Critics Reviews
      Stephen Holden New York Times In its dry and forceful way, it delivers the same message as Jiri Menzel's Closely Watched Trains and Danis Tanovic's No Man's Land. Rated: 3.5/5 Dec 18, 2002 Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire. Rated: 3/4 Dec 18, 2002 Full Review Dennis Lim Village Voice Shot in rich, shadowy black-and-white, Devils chronicles, with increasingly amused irony, the relationship between reluctant captors and befuddled captives. Dec 17, 2002 Full Review Andrew Heskins easternKicks.com Jiang Wen's deceptively daring film reduces the Japanese occupation to a farcical situation with two prisoners, and we're all the better for it... Rated: 4/5 Sep 24, 2020 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 21, 2005 Full Review Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star The tonal shifts are jolting, and though Wen's messages are profound and thoughtfully delivered, more thorough transitions would have made the film more cohesive. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 7, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Connor B Excellent film by Jiang Wen shows how the futility and absurdity of war can be a source of humor one moment and horror the next Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/05/23 Full Review Audience Member 非常好的一部电影，是我看过的第一部黑白片。鬼才导演姜文把中国人的看客心理表现得淋漓尽致。 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member It was good until it got bad. Excessive direction. Excessive bad acting. Less is more. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Devils on the Doorstep is a comically told tragedy. The characters and story-telling are great. It is a shame that the film was banned since it is very Chinese in spirit -- full of cynicism, vitality, and humor. Compared other war movies, DoD was not hard to take. The film prepares the viewer for its darker moments with its pacing and emphasis on absurdity. Because it winds up pretty grim, I could not recommend it to someone as a comedy but definitely recommend it as a film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member A grim, comedic tragedy. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Devils On The Doorstep is one strange film, but it sure is a great film no less. While the premise is simple on paper, the film itself is more complex and gleefully leaps into the depths of utter madness. It is beyond any doubt one of the strangest films I've ever seen. Still, it's a great historical piece, as well as a reflection of how the Chinese and Japanese felt about each other during this time period. It's a wonderful and very under-appreciated film that I didn't even know about until someone let me borrow it. I'm glad I got to see it because it is a very unique film. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Villagers (Wen Jiang, Jiang Hongbo) in World War II China are unsure what to do with the two enemy prisoners who have been left in their care.
      Director
      Wen Jiang
      Producer
      Dong Ping, Zheng Quangang
      Screenwriter
      You Fengwei, Shi Jianquan, Shu Ping, Wen Jiang
      Genre
      Comedy, Drama
      Original Language
      Japanese
      Release Date (DVD)
      Aug 9, 2005
      Runtime
      2h 42m
      Sound Mix
      Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.85:1)