Red River Valley

Starring:Jing Ning, Bing Shao, Zhen Ying, Paul Kersey, Nicholas Love
Director: Xiaoning Feng
Studio: Facets
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Red River Valley (aka Man of the Frontier)

Manufacturer: Synergy Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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One of Gene Autry's early Republic westerns, the film has plenty of action and songs by Autry and Burdette, along with other musical novelty acts. Gene and his friend Frog help the valley's irrigation company solve the mystery of who's behind the terror tactics of those fighting the dam. In the process, they become implicated in a payroll robbery and must clear their names while pursuing the real robbers and trying to save the dam for the valley's drought-ravaged landowners.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating for Most of the Wrong Reasons
Conflict between East and West
Don't get discouraged by those 'historian' reviewers - an absolute worthwhile movie
Poorly acted, directed, Chinese propaganda
2 stars for historical content ONLY!!!

Red River Valley
Starring: Jing Ning , Bing Shao , Zhen Ying , Paul Kersey , and Nicholas Love
Director: Xiaoning Feng
Manufacturer: Facets
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000VV3Z0
Release Date: 2003-12-16

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating for Most of the Wrong Reasons.......2007-01-27

I wanted so much to like this film. I am a Chinese film buff who has lived and traveled extensively in the country. I liked Ning Jing as an actress in In the Heat of the Sun (1994) and I was captivated by the stunning physical beauty captured in the film's adroit cinematography. But, alas, the director allowed political considerations not only to distort the historical record of the British campaign in Tibet in 1904 but to reduce the main characters to caricatures.

The acting is mixed: the herdsman provides perhaps the most convincing performance, although it is mostly non-verbal. Ning Jing is, on the other hand, unconvincing as a Tibetan princess, especially when she suddenly summons the courage to resist the British intruders. Her would-be British suitor, a battlefield photographer, is portrayed by her real-life husband, an American fluent in Mandarin Chinese. While he enables the (mostly Chinese) audience to see the humane side of foreigners with his multi-dimensional role, his character is not sufficiently developed either.

The first part of the film is more interesting, and not coincidentally refrains from making subtle political statements. But as soon as the British troops arrive on the scene, all objectivity is lost. Historians of this "lost imperial campaign" are thoroughly justified in taking issue with the plot development. The British are made out to be relentlessly heartless, duplicitous, and otherwise conniving. In a word: soul-less. Never mind that the Tibetans eventually feared Chinese machinations more than those of the British once Lhasa was taken. Neither are any Sikhs, Sherpas, and Gurkhas shown in the British invasion force. The Tibetans, for their part, are portrayed as noble savages but savages nonetheless. Pure-minded but child-like, one is given the impression that they are not as civilized as their Han enablers. Actually, the Chinese government did almost nothing to come to the aid of the Tibetans during the conflict and even escorted the British commander into Lhasa, something deliberately omitted in the film. While it is true that the Tibetan forces were pathetically outgunned, the film leaves the viewer with the impression that the British were out to slaughter non-combatants as well. Indeed, some of the harshest criticism of the campaign came not from the Chinese but from the British citizenry. Nor is the reason for the invasion--the overblown concern that Russian forces would eventually enter Tibet and threaten the British empire in India--made clear.

These things aside, one is repeatedly given the impression that the Han and Tibetan peoples live in harmony; nothing could have been further from the truth. Shortly after the end of this conflict, the Chinese began to assert their claim to Tibet, especially with the success of the 1911 Revolution. Of course, no mention is made of this or the subsequent invasion of Communist forces in 1959, followed by the forced exile of the Dalai Lama. So the film on this score is an exercise in supreme irony, if not outright hypocrisy.

Even taken on its own artistic merits, the film moves too quickly from the pastoral images of life on the harsh but beautiful Tibetan plateau to the larger conflict described above. Stock characterization serving to symbolize politically acceptable iconography makes the dialogue stilted. Thus, this film reveals more about Chinese perceptions of Tibetans than anything else.

Conflict between East and West.......2005-08-27

This Chinese movie is not well known but is fascinating just for the fact that it adopts a pro-Tibetan stance when, in fact, the
Chinese communists have later terrorized the Tibetan Buddhists.
Filmed as an epic, it depicts the conflict between English capitalism with its weapon superiority against the faith of the Tibetan Buddhist people during the British invasion of Tibet in 1904. The outstanding photography alone makes the film worthwhile

Don't get discouraged by those 'historian' reviewers - an absolute worthwhile movie.......2005-08-15

I doubt that the earlier 2 reviewers know much, if at all, about the history of tibet or about the anti-british war in 1904 - bringing out Chinese communist government 'progaganda' to discredit this movie is ammature to its least since the war itself had no involvment of any Chinese government (the then corrupted late Qing dynasty who was too scared to send its army to Tibet to fight the British), less the then non-exisiting communist party government. The movie's thesis is about the Tibtan spirit - the fearless fight for freedom and survivla, and the reservation of their faith and tradition, either be it against the british, or while dealing with the migrating lifestyle/challenges that Han or other individuals brought in (the Tiabetan adopted Han girl and Han hunters in the movie, who became part of Tibet and defend its freedom). It is a movie about the Tibetan spirit in Tibetan people (and others who came to embrace the spirit), and a love story (on that we should thank the Hollywood influence on glamourzing romance, not the communist government, LOL). While there are undeniable traces of Chinese "accents" in the acting (e.g., when it comes to the glamourized heroism of dying for faith/freedom, and romance), but remember so is Hollywood!

The movie was a collaboration among Chinese (Han and Tibetan), American and English staff. About the story of the movie - a group of British scientists (including an independent American scholar) entered the South Tibet in a friendly way, later the British group took on the leadership in the Biritsh military task to colomnize Tibet. During the fight against the British army, a small group of Han migrant hunters joined and died along side of the villagers and monks. Hunting riffles and other primitive weapons were all they had, besides their unbeatable souls. Monks, Tibetan civillians and ethnic minorities around the area continued to come to the aid and incredibly the British army was frustrated in the end. It was a war won by the people and faith, not the governments. The 2 love stories in the movie also evidenced the universal language of freedom, coscience and love beyond religions, ethinicities and cultures. The peace-loving but timid American young man fell in love with the wild and fearless Princess of the county (a side note: the actress and the actor in real life after the movie married each other and have two children); A Han girl who was seperated from her family and later adopted by a Tibetan family, regardless all her offenses to Tibetan custome in her innocent misconception, grew up with a handsome Tibetan young man and proudly imbraced the Tibetan womanhood.

The scenery was, in a lame word, breathtaking (when I visited the area where the war took place and the movie was shot, it was beyond human speech), a reason why I would give this movie otherwise 3 star (on acting), a 4 star - the crew did a fantastic job! For instance, Yamdrok-tso lake was where the Han girl took a forbidden bath, the water is turqouise and there is a huge inner island totally sorrounded by water and 2 above-5000m-sea-level mountain passes. For those who are first-timers to Tibet, this area, besides Mt Everest base camp, is a must! Watch this movie before you visit (or revisit) Tibet.

Another attribute American viewers including myself would see as a plus is the beautiful actors in the movie (i.e., the hunky young Tibetan hero and the exotic princess)

I first saw this movie in 1997 in Chinese shortly after its release with a couple of Chinese professors who helped put perspectives of the history on that war (Again, if AFTER the movie you want to explore the history on that, do so with an open mind). I then became facinated by the storyline (another reason why I felt suprised with the 2 reader reviews, so heavy on the politics!) For years after that I looked for this movie in US and strangely enough in a time where you can find all kinds of Chinese movies (including hybrid garbage), such a box-office hot shot in China could not be found in US market (only) for half a decade - Politics? Perhaps, but on what level? Maybe it was just not liked by American critics since they self-entitledly know best about world history and politics - As a viewer, I believe we perhaps should just open our eyes first while acknowledging we are not political critics, as if we are watching the movie "the Ants" (which is of all twisted science, but so what, the moral is great). I'm not sure about the quality of the English subtitle of this movie in American market (I'm buying it today to have a look), but my over-all experience with Asian movies is, the capacity of English lacks the accuracy in matching up in translation, and often words and sentences are skipped. So don't dulge on a few words that don't make clear sense.

In sum, if one knows little about Tibetan's history, or his/her version of knowlege is of a natrually biased America's anti-communist view (as opposed to one reached upon the comparative study of Chinese, Western, modern Tibetan and Dalai Lama's versions), s/he will be too rejudiced to enjoy this movie, even its scenery, or to understand the real message behind it - it is not about politics - history does not give a dime about what America, or China, or Dalai Lama, says today. It rather is a story telling about the history of people, of the fight for love and freedom, once and always, of Tibet, and of the human race.

Poorly acted, directed, Chinese propaganda.......2004-01-19

Good: Tibetan scenery
Bad: pretty much everything else. Acting is over the top or just plain bad. Cinematography and direction (awkward splicing, visible sound booms, etc.) make me question the time frame they had to film and produce this one. Above all it is a barely hidden vehicle for the Chinese government's reaction against their Tibetan policies and history.
Avoid unless you want to see an artifact of how the Chinese government uses the arts to promote the "official line."

2 stars for historical content ONLY!!!.......2003-10-08

This is probably one of the most melodramatic and badly acted films ever. Here is an example of how an otherwise good story can be totally destroyed by poor direction, poor acting, poor editing, poor visual effects, and overall poor quality. This is really too bad because I think this is a story that should be told to the masses about the subjugation of one ethnic minority culture by another self-proclaimed civilized culture in the name of "freeing" them of their traditions. If the story being told were not so horribly true I would say this movie is pracically laughable it's so bad. If you want to see a good movie about the Tibetan people/culture I highly recommend "Himalaya", but please don't waste your time on this movie. I can't even sell my copy because my conscience won't allow me to... the best I can do is donate to the library.

Average customer rating:

The Red River Valley (Dance Drama)

Manufacturer: Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Co.Ltd
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

The dance drama " Red River Valley" adapted from the movie with the same title " Red River Valley" depicts the thrilling emotional entanglement and conflicts of the five main characters such as Dan Zhu, the daughter of the Head, Ge Sang, the Tibetean servant, Shan Mei, a girl of Han Minority, Roceman, the EnglisCommander and the Head as well as the moving story that Han Zu and Tibetan unite with each other and defend against the English invaders to Tibet in 1904 in the fight of blood and fire, live and dead.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating for Most of the Wrong Reasons
Conflict between East and West
Don't get discouraged by those 'historian' reviewers - an absolute worthwhile movie
Poorly acted, directed, Chinese propaganda
2 stars for historical content ONLY!!!

Red River Valley
Starring: Jing Ning , Bing Shao , Zhen Ying , Paul Kersey , and Nicholas Love
Director: Xiaoning Feng
Manufacturer: Knight Mediacom
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

New Year Sacrifice: Celebration of Chinese Cinema
Rickshaw Boy
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Warm Spring
A Soul Haunted by Painting

ASIN: B0000ADXGD
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating for Most of the Wrong Reasons.......2007-01-27

Conflict between East and West.......2005-08-27

Don't get discouraged by those 'historian' reviewers - an absolute worthwhile movie.......2005-08-15

Poorly acted, directed, Chinese propaganda.......2004-01-19

2 stars for historical content ONLY!!!.......2003-10-08

Average customer rating:

Singing while swinging a gun
Not up to par - DVD wise.
Man Of The Frontier

Red River Valley
Starring: Gene Autry , Smiley Burnette , Frances Grant , Boothe Howard , and Jack Kennedy
Director: B. Reeves Eason
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000163WXK

Customer Reviews:

Singing while swinging a gun.......2005-07-30

I saw this on an old video -vhs- that was paired with Springtime in the Rockies. The only great thing about this movie, more or less, is that Smiley Burnette and Gene Autry both sing songs while holding a handgun and swinging it back and forth: Smiley's is "My Old 45" and Gene's is his version of Red River Valley (previously sung solo) later in the film forcing a group of rabble rousers to sing along with him to "Red River Valley" instead of wrecking the town. Fortunately, in this film, Smiley Burnette does not put on women's clothing!

Not up to par - DVD wise........2003-10-27

This movie is the original of the re-released version known as Red River Valley, a VHS copy of which I have. This DVD is of medium quality as it appears to have been made not from a film print but from a VHS tape. The double shadows and ghost effects are obvious. MY Goodtimes EP mode VHS copy was far better than this.

Man Of The Frontier.......2002-01-01

Another title for this movie was Man Of The Frontier. Gene delivers cattle to a small town which is having a struggle keeping swindlers from shutting down the dam that supplied water to the valley...Smiley Burnette is his sidekick and at his funniest best! Lot's of action from this early movie made in the late 1930's. You will see a rising star really doing a dangerous stunt himself. Autry did alot of his own stunts and in this one almost got sweep down the river because of slippery moss as he was wading across the dam according his film biography. So watch this and see him progressing on his way to the top!! What can you say!! He was a HERO!!

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