Product Details

• Actors: Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Vivian Wu, Winston Chao, Hsing-kuo Wu
• Directors: Mabel Cheung
• Writers: Alex Law
• Producers: Raymond Chow, See-Yuen Ng
• Format: AC-3, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD, Import, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Cantonese
• Subtitles: Chinese, English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Tai Seng
• DVD Release Date: March 16, 2004
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00019GHF2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,588 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Soong Sisters" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The fascinating life of the Soong Family (ChinaÆs equivent of the Kennedys) is chronicled in this lavish epic melodrama, with an all-star cast headed by Michelle Yeoh, Vivian Wu and Maggie Cheung. To see that China remains a dominant world force after the founding of the Republic by Dr. Sun Yai-sen, the patriotic Charlie Soong sends his three daughters to America for their education. The sistersÆ return to China marks the beginning of their tumultuous lives, as the country endures the Japanese invasion and the subsequent clash between the communists and the nationalists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dose of History Sumptuously Served - with reservations, June 29, 2004

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Soong Sisters (DVD)

THE SOONG SISTERS is a visually stunning recounting of the turns of events that changed China from a land of Dynasties to a nation of multiple personalities: the Nationalist Party, the Revolutionists, and the Communist Party. As such it fills in many bits of political and social history that by and large have gone unnoticed by the West. Charlie Soong (having been educated in America) has three special daughters whom he loves so much that he sends them to America for schooling at Wellesley to prepare for what he envisions as a New China. The daughters return to China as young women, marry men who are destined to become important political leaders, and the changes the resulting schism of a Chinese family parallels the cultural transformation of one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Director Mabel Cheung has a keen eye for vistas of Oriental splendor, capturing the young girls at play in gardens, marrying in elegantly beautiful ceremonies, joining the 'imported' western culture with the elegance of the Chinese culture in the arts, a fine sense of the seasons (though when it rains in China apparently one cannot hear a normal conversation!), and even the requisite battle scenes that of course must accompany this period of transition (internal battles as well as fighting the invading Japanese army). For the most part she draws vivid performances from Jiang Wan (a true mixture of East and West) as Charlie Soong, Michelle Yeoh, Vivian Wu and Maggie Cheung as the three Soong sisters, and Winston Chao as Sun Yat-Sen and Kuo Chiu Wa as Chiang Kai-Shek, two of their husbands. The drawbacks in this very long movie are the editing (scenes literally bounce off each other in a most distracting non-fusion), sound track (treacly Western sentimentalist gush coupled with the elegance of old Chinese music on ancient instruments), and the lack of passion in the relationships of the people. Perhaps this is her style: perhaps it is a way of avoiding commitment to any one of the political parties addressed. Given these reservations, if you are in the mood for eye candy and the wonder of history, try this film in the comfort of your home.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning non-fiction epic, June 11, 2001

By 

Gengie "genghizkhan66" (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soong Sisters (DVD)

This stunning non-fiction epic is filled with cinematic splendour. Base on accounts of the social upheavals in various points and eras in Chinese history, it is filled with gorgeous cinematography, great score by Kitaro and great cast. Historically accurate if not, a few minor point may be incorrect, but as a whole, it shows you the big picture.

With some of the best stars there is from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Maggie Cheung, Michelle Khan and Vivian Wu portrayal as the three sister are excellent. But the most powerful in performance are from the men. Jiang Wen (outspoken Charlie Soong) also a favourite actor of mine, Winston Chou (charismatic Sun Yatsen) and Kuo Chiuwu (commanding Chiang Kaishek) are powerful and haunting.

Despite an 18 minute footage cut from the original, still its a great direction from Mabel Cheung. As a loyal fan of great movies from China, in likes of directors Yimou, Kaige, XieFei and HePing, Soong Sisters to me will be one of my personal favourite masterpiece, one of the few from Hong Kong.

Genghiz

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!, March 23, 2001

By 

"takerukun" (Norcross, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soong Sisters (DVD)

This is a excellent movie, without Michelle's back kick. Don't expect any action in this movie. You don't need it. This is a non-fiction story, about three sisters whose married with the three men who impacted greatly onto the modern Chinese history. Very good history lesson, described the confusing time in China througout 2 World Wars. You may want to review basic modern Chinese history before watching this movie. Sometimes it gets confusing. Maggie is fantastic, as well as Michelle. She can act wonderfully without flipping and kicking. This is a MUST SEE movie for Michelle's fun. It will open up your eyes.