Wu Ziniu

Wu Ziniu
Chinese name 吳子牛 (traditional)
Chinese name 吴子牛 (simplified)
Pinyin Wú Zìniú (Mandarin)
Born (1953-11-03) November 3, 1953
Leshan, Sichuan
Occupation Film director, screenwriter
Years active 1980s-2000s

Wu Ziniu (born November 3, 1953), is a Chinese film director and a member of the "Fifth Generation" film movement, a movement of filmmakers who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in the early 1980s.[1] Unlike his better-known contemporaries, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, who made their names with historical dramas, Wu Ziniu is best known for his early war films.[1] His 1985 film on the Sino-Vietnamese War, Dove Tree, was the first film by a Fifth Generation director to be banned by the Chinese government.[1]

Directorial career

A member of the 1982 graduating class of the Beijing Film Academy, Wu was assigned to the Xiaoxing Film Studio.[1] There he directed four films, including the children's film, The Candidate, the war films Secret Decree and Dove Tree, and the drama, The Last Day of Winter.[1] After The Last Day of Winter, Wu expanded to other studios, working with the August First Film Studio to produce the war film, Evening Bell, which, despite the heavy hand of censorship, managed to win several international awards, including the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.[1][2]

Throughout the late 1980s, Wu would continue to direct films, often highlighting the brutality of war and the effect on civilians, as in 1988's Joyous Heroes and its sequel Between Life and Death.[1] With the 1990s, Wu would draw on foreign capital, primarily from Hong Kong to help produce his historical films Sparkling Fox and The Big Mill.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Notes
1983 The Candidate
候补队员
Directorial debut; co-directed with Chen Lu; also known as A Probation Member
1984 Secret Decree
喋血黑谷
Co-directed with Li Jingmin
1985 Dove Tree
鸽子树
1986 The Last Day of Winter
最后一个冬日
1988 Evening Bell
晚钟
1988 Joyous Heroes
欢乐英雄
Also known as To Die Like a Man
1988 Between Life and Death
阴阳界
1990 The Big Mill
大磨坊
1992 Mountains of the Sun
太阳山
1993 Sparkling Fox
火狐
Won an Honourable Mention at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival[3]
1995 Don't Cry, Nanking
南京1937
Also known as Nanking 1937
1999 The National Anthem
国歌
2000 The Sino-Dutch War 1661
英雄郑成功
Also known as Hero Zheng Chenggong

Television

Year Title Notes
2005 Zhen Guan Chang Ge
贞观长歌
Also known as The Story of Zhen Guan
2007 Ming Dynasty
天下

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Zhang, Yingjin & Xiao, Zhiwei (1998). Encyclopedia of Chinese Film. Taylor & Francis, p. 372. ISBN 0-415-15168-6.
  2. "Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  3. "Berlinale: 1994 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
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