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Asia Weekly's 100 Greatest Chinese Films

(interpreted by yours truly)

I refuse to assign ratings, but I can't resist ranking; how duplicitous is that?

Revisiting the list I've been using as my scavenging guide, here's my breakdown of what I've seen so far:

UNDISPUTABLE MASTERPIECES OF INTERNATIONAL STATURE:

CITY OF SADNESS (1989)

STREET ANGEL (1937)

A TOUCH OF ZEN (1969)

THIS LIFE OF MINE (1950)

HORSE THIEF (1987)

A TIME TO LIVE AND A TIME TO DIE (1985)

YELLOW EARTH (1984)

ESSENTIAL VIEWING FOR APPRECIATING CHINESE CINEMA:

THIRD SISTER LIU (1960)

STAGE SISTERS (1965)

THE STORY OF QIU JU (1992)

CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994)

FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (1993)

COMRADES: ALMOST A LOVE STORY (1996)

IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN (1994)

THE ARCH (1970)

NEW YEAR'S SACRIFICE (1956)

CROWS AND SPARROWS (1949)

MYRIAD OF LIGHTS (1948)

HOMECOMING (1984)

A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987)

ACTRESS (aka CENTRE STAGE aka RUAN LINGYU) (1991)

WORTH SEEING FOR FURTHER APPRECIATION:

THE WEDDING BANQUET (1993)

THE OLD WELL (1987)

CITY ON FIRE (1987)

MADE IN HONG KONG (1997)

ROUGE (1988)

THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (1978)

PROJECT A (1982)

PUSHING HANDS (1991)

SWORDSMAN IN DOUBLE FLAG TOWN (1991)

LIN ZEXU (1959)

The source list was complied in 1997, a watershed year in Chinese history (a coming-of-age moment for both Hong Kong and Mainland cinema). Since then there have certainly been a number of films that merit placement. My strongest suggestions would be: PLATFORM FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? YI YI: A ONE AND A TWO Of course, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON can't help but demand placement, if only for its phenomenal international stature.