The new era of Chinese cinema started to flourish soon after the Cultural Revolution.

The rise of the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers during the second half of the 1980s brought about an increase in the popularity of Chinese cinema abroad. A few directors of this period, such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, have claimed fame internationally. Splendid visual display has become the signature story-telling mode of this Generation.

However, the Fifth Generation movement effectively ended during the late 80's, although its major directors continued to produce notable works. About a decade later, an edgy underground film movement emerged in Chinese cinema. The so-called Sixth Generation has been seen as the 'return of the amateur filmmakers' with a more individualistic, anti-romantic perspective. Compared with the Fifth Generation they paid much more attention to contemporary urban life, especially where this was affected by disorientation.

The multi-national production 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' achieved massive success in the Western box office just as Chinese cinema stepped into the 21st century. It provided an introduction to the Chinese screen for many, and increased the popularity of many Chinese films which otherwise might have been relatively unknown to Westerners. Moreover, this success blurred the boundary between Mainland Chinese cinema and a more internationally-based 'Chinese-language cinema'. This merging of people, resources and expertise from three regions (China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) seemed to imply that Chinese-language cinema was moving toward the international arena and looking to compete with the best Hollywood films.

This page is devoted to the legendry films projected in the contemporary Chinese cinema, which gazes at the past, present and future of China.