# What is the best Zhang Yimou movie of all time?

> From intimate period dramas drenched in color to breathtaking martial arts epics, Zhang Yimou has redefined what Chinese cinema can be on the world stage. Which film is his masterpiece?

*By YPB Team · Published April 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-zhang-yimou-movie-of-all-time*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Raise the Red Lantern**
   A young woman becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy lord, entering a household of rigid ritual, jealousy, and quiet cruelty.
2. **Hero**
   A nameless warrior claims he has defeated three deadly assassins threatening the King of Qin, unfolding his story in dazzling, color-coded episodes.
3. **House of Flying Daggers**
   A police captain goes undercover to infiltrate a rebel group by escorting a beautiful dancer, but his loyalties soon become dangerously complicated.
4. **Red Sorghum**
   A young woman is carried to a remote winery against her will, eventually finding unexpected freedom and love in Zhang Yimou's bold debut feature.
5. **Ju Dou**
   A forbidden romance between a woman and her husband's nephew in a 1920s textile mill leads to tragedy in this visually ravishing forbidden-love story.
6. **To Live**
   A Chinese family survives decades of historical upheaval — civil war, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward — through resilience and quiet love.
7. **Shadow**
   A king uses a secret body double to wage a covert war, rendered in stunning black-and-white ink-wash visuals that look like a painting come to life.

Tags: movies, directors, historical, zhang yimou, china