A Great Wall [DVD]

REVIEWING the Blu Ray copy of this obscure but unique film. I owned the original DVD copy of it and this BD gives no image improvement, a shame that this title fell into the hands of Kino-Lorber who was never conscientious in their film transfers (take Tampopo, or Come And See, and Great Wall, of course). If you owned the DVD, by all means skipped this edition, the colors remained muted, and image is fairly soft. But the film in its unremastered high-def format remains resonant and nostalgic in the sense that it was released in the year I graduated from high-school, where China still wasn't "rich", and a Chinese-hybrid type of perestroika/glasnost thats confined only in the economic sphere - was something like still a decade away. Peter Fang seemed to have saw a "slit' - a cultural thaw during that time where Chinese paranoia against anything Western is starting to slackened, the result is a film that for me I don't want to end - well at least that it should get going for three or more hours. The far more interesting characters are the ones by Lili and the Chinese boy, while the younger Wang role will never be emphatic because he played the typical irreverent, foul-mouthed, sports-crazed white Western dude - in a Chinese man's body.Lending comical relief is the boy that's Diao's best friend, who has not aspired to a higher ambition - in this case going into Beijing University, and liking Luciano Pavarotti. The best thing about this film is that it was made in 1985 where the US appears an economic, social paradise (the superpower beast wasn't yet wounded on its head) while China look unspoilt, still very much the "sleeping dragon."

As a comparison of two cultures this film is as relevant today as it was in 1986. The post-secondary placement exam-the gaokao-plays a central role in the film as it does in 2019. As an added bonus it shows a Beijing, including traditional hutong life, that is lost forever. If anyone involved in the making of this film stumbles on this review now 33 years later, you made something special. Well done!

I'm surprised no one has wanted to review this film, though maybe with the current interest in comic-book heroes, slam-bang action features, violence, etc etc etc, this film is a little too benign for many. At any rate, I highly recommend it: Peter Wang stars as the father of his Chinese-American family. They visit China to re-connect with his wife's relatives and visit his own father's grave after many years. The film is full of tender and amusing moments, especially when the Chinese relatives meet their American relatives, and the American electric blanket starts smoking from being plugged into Chinese current, or when the Chinese father remarks that the Americans don't know how to use chopsticks, and his wife reminds him that he doesn't know how to use a fork. The Chinese-American athletic son turns the head of the Chinese daughter, who temporarily begins to think and dress "American," provoking critical reactions from her Chinese boyfriend and various onlookers, but finally the son loses in a hard-fought ping-pong game (to the boyfriend), confusions of identity and self-concept are straightened out, and the film ends on the most pleasant of notes. This film is not only well worth seeing, but ought to be on DVD. I suppose the bottom-line, cost/benefit analysis mentality rules the better format out. But there ought to be, somewhere, in the shark-infested waters of the film industry, moments of selflessness, where someone says, "This is a really wonderful, heartwarming film--let's make it available. We can make plenty of money on other things with far less humanity."

I liked this movie - it did a wonderful job of portraying the culture shock encountered by a Chinese-American family living in San Francisco that takes a vacation trip to Beijing for the father to visit his sister and her family. The San Francisco family consists of the father who was born in China but came to the U.S. early in his life, who still retains his basic roots although has become Americanized, his born in the U.S. Chinese-American wife who is much more Americanized and doesn't speak Chinese but still retains the basic culture, and their totally Americanized son. It's interesting to see how each of them reacts to their experience in China, in particular to the sister's family consisting of her, her very traditional husband, and their impressionable daughter.The experience is handled in a warm and believable way - there's nothing hugely dramatic but then there doesn't have to be. It's a movie about cultural differences and everything is handled tastefully. I also enjoyed the many scenes of Beijing - the grander tourist attractions as well as the everyday living that most people never see. It was very interesting. This is a very well done film and I heartily recommend it.

Actually got this DVD, A Great Wall, because it has table tennis in it. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Not only did I get a new glimpse of China (at the time the movie was made), but it is a very good movie showing the different ways people in different countries live and admire each other's habits. A very good family story involving culture, family, and sport...

Not quite a comedy, more drama... "A Great Wall" was a good 1980's-style look at the cultural differences between a Chinese American family and their Mainland Chinese relatives. The film also shows Post-Mao China during the beginning of the Deng Xiaoping era. This is a China that one will no longer see if visiting the country today. I would only recommend this film for those with an interest in 1980's China nostalgia... or is a fan of that Wham music video "Freedom" (the one that shows the group's 1985 China tour). I was constantly thinking of that Wham video and song while watching "A Great Wall".

so many of these movies say audio..english, and they are not

This indie film is an outstanding example of a film done not for commercial consideration, but to tell an important story. I personally identify with the characters in this film as it mirrors my own experience.

I watched this film as a child on laser disc and was really glad to see it on DVD! A Great Wall is one of those great Chinese American films like Joy Luck Club, but without all the hardship and sobbing. This film was made in the 80's when Beijing was still referred to as Peking, and if you like vintage, this film has lots of it - from the hair, to the dresses to the architecture. Absolutely love the courtyard house the Chinese family lives in.