Shanghai Triad

R

Released Dec 22, 1995

1h 48m

Crime

Drama

List

90%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

When teenager Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao Cuihua) arrives to Shanghai from the country, he is brought by his uncle (Li Xuejian) to work for gang leader Tang (Baotian Li). Tang assigns Shuisheng to aid his girlfriend Xiao Jinbao (Gong Li), a nightclub singer. After a rival gang kills some of Tang's men, he takes Shuisheng and Jinbao to an island hideout. Here Jinbao forms a friendship with peasant Cuihau (Jiang Baoying), while Tang attempts to determine if there are traitors in his ranks.

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Critics Consensus

Well-acted and beautifully filmed, Shanghai Triad deftly depicts a young man's coming of age against the backdrop of mob violence and its punishing legacy.

Read Critics Reviews

David Ansen

Newsweek

A deep, powerful and rivetingly complex study of Tienanmen - and, ironically, it's far more evenhanded in its account of the massacre that killed more than a thousand protesters than the Chinese government might suspect.

Feb 26, 2018

Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Mike Clark

USA Today

Shanghai Triad concludes the sublime seven-movie collaboration of Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li with a bang worthy of the most jubilant New Year's Eve.

Rated: 4/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

Though autobiography may not have been Zhang Yimou's intention with Shanghai Triad, it's hard not to see the film as a form of self-critique, not least because Boss may be ruthless, but he's also clever, charismatic, and perceptive...

Rated: 3/4

Aug 23, 2022

Full Review

Wilson Kwong

VCinema

In the end, Shanghai Triad isnt the most complex or nuanced film out of Zhangs varied filmography, but it still manages to be a layered examination of the triad world.

Feb 12, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A typically formidable performance by Gong Li .

Rated: 3/4

Aug 16, 2020

Full Review

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Alec B

The tragedy of the ending is hurt by the meandering narrative that precedes it (I do like the nightclub scenes but I think they should have added a lot more character focused material to balance this out) which is a shame because the cinematography and set/costume designs are exquisite.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The tragedy of the ending is hurt by the meandering narrative that precedes it (I do like the nightclub scenes but I think they should have added a lot more character focused material to balance this out) which is a shame because the cinematography and set/costume designs are exquisite.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

freeson w

A brutal, dark tale of a classic gangster story that feels fresh by being told from a different perspective. We see a lot of what we would see from a typical gangster story in this film, but everything has kind of a different spin on it. Refreshing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

peter w

We get an interesting perspective of 1930s gangland Shanghai through the eyes of the servant, Shuisheng, and the godfather's lover, Bijou, and it is far from complimentary. Shuisheng sees the wanton violence of the gang, and Bijou tries to stare down the godfather who objectifies her as an ornament. Many films romanticize gangster power dynamics but Zhang Yimou choses instead to turn a critical eye against it from characters outside of, but critical to the performance of, the power brokers.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

william k

A carefully and beautifully staged period gangster drama reveals - behind all its splendour - the true deprivations of high-end crime, especially the exploitation of women; the ending is rather depressing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sumptuous period piece - but director Zhang Yimou can't seem to settle on which story to tell: the coming of age of the boy Shuisheng or the humanization of his "Miss" Bijou. Zhang's stumblebum Shanghai mob just gets in the way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Yimou Zhang

Director

Gong Li

Xiao Jingbao

Baotian Li

Tang

Li Xuejian

Liu

Chun Sun

Song

Wang Xiaoxiao Cuihua

Shuisheng

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Synopsis

When teenager Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao Cuihua) arrives to Shanghai from the country, he is brought by his uncle (Li Xuejian) to work for gang leader Tang (Baotian Li). Tang assigns Shuisheng to aid his girlfriend Xiao Jinbao (Gong Li), a nightclub singer. After a rival gang kills some of Tang's men, he takes Shuisheng and Jinbao to an island hideout. Here Jinbao forms a friendship with peasant Cuihau (Jiang Baoying), while Tang attempts to determine if there are traitors in his ranks.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Producer: Yongde Zhu, Wang Wei
Screenwriter: Bi Feiyu, Li Xiao
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Shanghai Film Studio, Alpha Films, UGC, La Sept Cinéma
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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