Movies Like Red Sorghum (1988)

Red Sorghum is a 1988 drama, history, romance film from Zhang Yimou with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Warsaw 44 and The Last Emperor.

Drama History Romance

Warsaw 44

2014

City of Warsaw, Poland, August 1st, 1944. Citizens have experienced inhuman acts of terror and violence during five long years of Nazi occupation. As the Soviet Army relentlessly approaches, the youngest and bravest among them rise up as one and face tyranny fighting street by street, but the price to pay will be high and hard the way to freedom…

6.8

MagicScore

The Last Emperor

1987

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

7.6

MagicScore

Purple Butterfly

2003

Ding Hui is a member of Purple Butterfly, a powerful resistance group in Japanese occupied Shanghai. An unexpected encounter reunites her with Itami, an ex-lover and officer with a secret police unit tasked with dismantling Purple Butterfly.

6.7

MagicScore

Hidden Blade

2023

Follows the story of underground workers who risked their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland, set after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor when the Wang Jingwei regime declared war on Britain and the U.S.

6.2

MagicScore

The Wasted Times

2016

Shanghai gangsters grapple with lust and loyalty on the eve of war with Japan as they try to navigate an alliance with the enemy's army.

6.9

MagicScore

Wife of a Spy

2020

It’s 1940, and the population of Japan is divided over its entry into World War II. Satoko, the wife of a fabric merchant, is devoted to her husband but is beginning to suspect he’s up to something. Soon she allows herself to be drawn into a game in which she enigmatically conceals her intentions.

6.7

MagicScore

I Walk the Line

1970

Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal and moonshiner Carl McCain. Henry's moral character comes further into question when he is tempted to conceal Carl's crimes in order to prolong his relationship with Alma.

5.7

MagicScore

Crooks in Clover

1963

An aging gangster, Fernand Naudin is hoping for a quiet retirement when he suddenly inherits a fortune from an old friend, a former gangster supremo known as the Mexican. If he is ambivalent about his new found wealth, Fernand is positively nonplussed to discover that he has also inherited his benefactor’s daughter, Patricia. Unfortunately, not only does Fernand have to put up with the thoroughly modern Patricia and her nauseating boyfriend, but he also had to contend with the Mexican’s trigger-happy former employees, who are determined to make a claim.

7.7

MagicScore

Empire of the Sun

1987

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

7.5

MagicScore

#10

The Flowers of War

2011

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

7.4

MagicScore

#11

Strayed

2003

Fleeing the June 1940 arrival of Hitler's army in Paris, a young war widow and her two children are rescued from dive-bombing German fighters by a cocky, reckless teenager. He finds them refuge in an abandoned house, but despite the fact that the family quickly comes to be depending much on his cunning and survival abilities, their cohabitation proves uneasy.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

Black Bread

2010

In the harsh post-war years' Catalan countryside, Andreu, a child that belongs to the losing side, finds the corpses of a man and his son in the forest. The authorities want his father to be made responsible of the deaths, but Andreu tries to help his father by finding out who truly killed them. In this search, Andreu develops a moral consciousness against a world of adults fed by lies. In order to survive, he betrays his own roots and ends up finding out the monster that lives within him.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

A Private Function

1984

In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby, accountant Henry Allardyce and solicitor Frank Lockwood are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife, meek Gilbert Chilvers steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold.

6.4

MagicScore

#14

John Rabe

2009

A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.

7.1

MagicScore

#15

Lie with Me

2023

An author returns to his hometown of Cognac for the first time in 35 years to help promote a distillery. Once there, he meets his first love’s son, Lucas. Memories come rushing back to him: irrepressible attraction, bodies becoming one in the heat of desire, a passion that can never be revealed… His first love’s name was Thomas. They were 17.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Danny Boy

2021

Soldier Brian Wood, is accused of war crimes in Iraq by the human rights lawyer Phil Shiner. The two men go head to head in a legal and moral conflict that takes us from the battlefield, at so-called Checkpoint Danny Boy, to the courtroom and one of Britain’s biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-Sweady Inquiry.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Truth and Justice

2019

Estonia, 1872. The uncompromising new owner of Robber's Rise must battle with hard work, his spiteful neighbor and with his own family and beliefs to transform the poor land into a flourishing farm of his dreams.

7.7

MagicScore

#18

Far from the Madding Crowd

2015

In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a hardworking young sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.

7.0

MagicScore

#19

The Stranger's Return

1933

A divorcée leaves New York to visit her grandfather's farm and recover in the Midwest, where she unexpectedly falls in love with a married farmer.

6.2

MagicScore

#20

The Guy in the Grave Next Door

2002

Desirée, a modern librarian with urban friends and interests is visiting her late husband's grave when she meets Benny, a simple farmer. After his mother's death Benny lives alone on the run-down farm, desperately seeking a woman to take care of him. In spite of their differences the two have the dream of finding that special someone in common, and fall passionately in love. Benny wants Desirée to move in with him and start a family as soon as possible. But being a farmer's wife is not something she is very enthusiastic about. Just presenting Benny as her boyfriend proves to be an embarrassing experience. And when she gets a tempting job offer in Stockholm she has to consider her priorities carefully.

5.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Red Sorghum?

The top films similar to Red Sorghum by MovieMagicScore are Warsaw 44 (6.8), The Last Emperor (7.6), Purple Butterfly (6.7). Each shares drama/history/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Red Sorghum worth watching?

Red Sorghum holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 226 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Red Sorghum?

Red Sorghum (1988) is a drama, history, romance film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Teng Rujun.

Where can I find more recommendations like Red Sorghum?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Warsaw 44 Movies like The Last Emperor Movies like Purple Butterfly Movies like Hidden Blade Movies like The Wasted Times Movies like Wife of a Spy

About movies like Red Sorghum

This ranked list pairs Red Sorghum (1988), a drama and history and romance film from Zhang Yimou, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Gong Li take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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