City of Life and Death (2011)
91%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: 17 wins & 13 nominations
Lu Chuan’s City of Life and Death is a cinematic masterpiece that captures the horrors of war with a rare authenticity and emotional depth. Shot in striking black and white, the film immerses the audience in the brutal siege of Nanjing, telling the story from both the perspective of the Japanese occupiers and the Chinese civilians. The performances are outstanding, with even the extras delivering searing portrayals of fear, defiance, cruelty, and guilt. Chuan’s attention to detail and dramatic complexity is exquisite, making this film a timelessly great work of art that commands our collective attention. It is not for the squeamish, but for those who can handle the relentless savagery, City of Life and Death is a must-see film that will leave you profoundly shaken and emotionally satisfied.
City of Life and Death is a movie that will leave you feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck, but in a good way. Okay, maybe not a good way, but definitely a way that will make you appreciate life a little more. The black and white cinematography is stunning, and the performances are so raw and real that you’ll forget you’re watching a movie. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s an important one. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.
Production Company(ies)
3ality Digital Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Changchun, China
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for wartime violence and atrocities including sexual assault, and for some sexuality and brief nudity
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):Mandarin, English, Japanese, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Oct 25, 2011
Genre(s)
War
Keyword(s)
war, Chinese, Japanese, occupation, Nanking, conflict, soldier, officer, atrocities, Hideo Nakaizumi, Ye Liu, directed by Chuan Lu, written by Chuan Lu, produced by Sanping Han, box office gross $119.9K, reviewed by Tom Long, David Lewis, Joe Williams, John Hartl, Peter Rainer, Leonard Maltin, Joanne Laurier, Ard Vijn, Mattie Lucas, Kelly Jane Torrance, Ian Buruma, genre, MPAA rating, black and white, historical, drama, epic, emotional, powerful, haunting, authentic, searing, fear, defiance, cruelty, guilt, compassion, savagery, senseless, detail, complexity, atmosphere, feeling
Worldwide gross: $10,687,316
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,771,054
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,823
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,610,802
US/Canada gross: $122,558
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $169,389
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,575
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,610
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $7,754
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,752
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $12,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $16,585,329
Production budget ranking: 1,470
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $8,931,199
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$10,745,474
ROI to date (est.): -42%
ROI ranking: 1,633
Yuanyuan Gao – Miss Jiang
Hideo Nakaizumi – Kadokawa
Yuko Miyamoto
Sam Voutas – Durdin
Wei Fan – Mr. Tang
Director(s)
Chuan Lu
Writer(s)
Chuan Lu
Producer(s)
Sanping Han
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
17 wins & 13 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (4)
It is not an easy film, and perhaps a touch too relentless, but it is a great reminder of how bloody, mad and awful this world can be.
October 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Lu Chuan makes this feature film soar by telling the story both through the eyes of the Japanese occupiers and the defenseless Chinese civilians in the ancient capital. It makes the savagery all the more senseless.
September 22, 2011 | Rating: 4/4
David Lewis
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Exquisitely shot in black and white, with a rare attention to detail and dramatic complexity, “City of Life and Death” is a timelessly great film that commands our collective attention.
July 8, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/4
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
In almost any form, the story of the Nanking atrocities can leave you profoundly shaken. But Lu Chuan’s version may be the most compassionate and emotionally satisfying treatment to date.
July 7, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Here, in bloodless miniature, is the true obscenity of war.
June 24, 2011 | Rating: B+
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor
TOP CRITIC
Chinese filmmaker Chuan Lu has tackled a vast and ambitious subject in City of Life and Death. I knew very little about the siege on Nanjing (or Nanking, as Westerners have long referred to it) in 1937; I feel as if I understand it now, in all…
June 17, 2011
Leonard Maltin
leonardmaltin.com
TOP CRITIC
Great effort and care has gone into recreating what is known as the Rape of Nanking.
March 4, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
Although it is not overtly gory, the film is powerfully shocking at times, and not for the squeamish. Those squeamish are missing something though… this movie is definitely recommended.
September 23, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Ard Vijn
ScreenAnarchy
Shot in striking black and white, the film almost feels like a living war document, with a haunting immediacy and authenticity that seems completely organic.
August 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
The performances, even of the extras, are all searing portrayals of fear, defiance, cruelty and guilt.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 4.5/5
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner
City of Life and Death is not an analytical film…it is stronger on atmosphere and feeling.
November 5, 2018
Ian Buruma
The New York Review of Books
…epic in scope (truly a cast of thousands must have been recruited), but like the best war films also focuses on the cost to the individuals involved including the victors.
August 10, 2016 | Rating: 7/10
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl…
Plot
During the 1937 occupation of Nanking, a conflicted Japanese soldier and a Chinese officer bring attention to the atrocities committed by Japanese forces in City of Life and Death.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Hideo Nakaizumi as a conflicted Japanese soldier.
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