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Devils on the Doorstep

Play trailer Poster for Devils on the Doorstep 2000 2h 42m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
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.

Critics Reviews

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Stephen Holden New York Times 12/18/2002
3.5/5
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. Go to Full Review
V.A. Musetto New York Post 12/18/2002
3/4
A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire. Go to Full Review
Dennis Lim Village Voice 12/17/2002
Shot in rich, shadowy black-and-white, Devils chronicles, with increasingly amused irony, the relationship between reluctant captors and befuddled captives. Go to Full Review
Andrew Heskins easternKicks.com 09/24/2020
4/5
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... Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 08/21/2005
3/5
Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star 02/07/2003
3.5/4
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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10/15/2021 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。 See more 07/06/2016 It was good until it got bad. Excessive direction. Excessive bad acting. Less is more. See more 09/30/2015 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. See more 09/22/2014 A grim, comedic tragedy. See more 08/15/2013 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. See more 06/06/2013 (****): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Darkly funny, well-acted, and well-directed. A great film. See more Read all reviews
Devils on the Doorstep

My 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
Wen Jiang
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)