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(More customer reviews)As far as definitions for Hell on Earth go, the assault on the Chinese city of Nanking by the invading Japanese army in 1937 is certainly on a par with the horrors of the worst of the Nazi concentration camps. Ruthlessly and systematically wiping out of the Chinese army soldiers defending the town, the abuse, torture and mass execution of citizens and the notorious rape and murder of the city's women engaged as "comfort women" for the Japanese troops is one of the darkest moments in the history of modern war crimes.
It's a harrowing subject with material of such a degree of obscenity that, despite it being a popular subject for film with several documentary attempts and another film about John Rabe released around the same time as this one, it's a difficult one to approach within the limits of what a conventional war movie can show. Appropriately then, Lu Chuan adopts a style and approach similar to Steven Spielberg in Schindler's List, shooting in eye-catching widescreen black-and-white, taking in multiple viewpoints that chart the complete breakdown of any recognisable human qualities into barbarism on an unimaginable scale. Initially, there's the view from the Chinese soldiers defending the city, as well as the view from a young Japanese officer Kadokawa. The city taken, the view switches to the "Safe Zone" (which in reality is far from safe at all) established by the Nazi representative in the town John Rabe, seen mainly from the perspective of his Chinese assistant Mr Tang, his wife and family.
City of Life and Death is an exceptionally well-made film, a true war epic, although, like Schindler's List, it could also be accused of being much too attractively photographed in glossy black-and-white, effectively glamorising a subject that should simply be unwatchable. It's hard to imagine however how else a film about the Rape of Nanking could be made. What matters is how honestly and effectively the film approaches the subject and the historical reality, and while it spares us graphic detail of the worst abuses, the full mounting horror of what occurred and the impact it must have had on individuals caught up within it is unquestionably fully felt. A powerful and moving film then and essential viewing, but like Schindler's List, perhaps not one you'd want to come back to watch very often.
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Title:City of Life and Death Blu-RayStarring:Liu Ye (Curse Of The Golden Flower), Fan Wei, Gao Yuan Yuan, Nakaizumi Hideo, John PaisleyRegion A - Ensure that your Blu-Ray player plays Region A discsLanguages:Cantonese, MandarinSubtitles:English,Traditional Chinese, Simplified ChineseAudio:7.1, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital 5.1Running Time:135 minutesFormat:NTSC (Please ensure your BD player is compatible)SynopsisChina, December 1937.The country is at war with Japan. Beijing and Shanghai have already fallen. Japanese troops arrive at the doors of the capital, Nanjing. Following weeks of bombardment, local and foreign officials have fled the city in ruins.Lu, a charismatic Chinese General intensely determined to repel the enemy, leads his men in defence of their capital, street by street. They have little ammunition left as they face the Japanese tanks, but they refuse to leave.Mr. TANG is guardedly optimistic as he and his family flee to the International Safety Zone, where a growing number of Chinese civilians find shelter. Operated by the city's few remaining foreigners, the zone has become a large refugee camp. Miss JIANG, a young Chinese teacher with a strong sense of mission, coordinates life in this crowded enclave, attempting to protect as many individuals as she can.
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