This is a list of films produced in mainland China ordered by year of release in the 1980s. For an alphabetical listing of Chinese films see
| Title | Chinese Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening Rain | 巴山夜雨 | Drama | Co-winner of the first Golden Rooster for best picture in 1981 | ||
| Kith and Kin | 亲缘 | Drama | |||
| Legend of Tianyun Mountain | 天云山传奇 | Drama | Co-winner of the first Golden Rooster for best picture in 1981 | ||
| Romance on Lushan Mountain | 庐山恋 | Drama | |||
| Title | Chinese Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awakening | 苏醒 | Joan Chen, Xu Huanshan | Romance | Also known as 'Revival' | |
| A Deer of Nine Colors | 九色鹿 | Animated short | Shanghai Animation Film Studio | ||
| Drive to Win | 沙鸥 | Drama | Title literally means 'sand gull' and is the name of the lead character | ||
| Longing for My Native Country | 乡情 | Drama | Entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival | ||
| Neighbors | 邻居 | Drama | |||
| Regret for the Past | 伤逝 | Drama | |||
| Ren Shen Guo | 人參果 | Animation | Shanghai Animation Film Studio | ||
| The True Story of Ah Q | 阿Q正传 | Drama | Entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival | ||
| Title | Chinese Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countering Lights | 逆光 | Guo Kaimin, Wu Yuhua | Romance | ||
| The Deer's Bell | 鹿铃 | Wu Qiang, Tang Cheng | Animated short | Winner of the third Golden Rooster for Best Animation in 1983. Shanghai Animation Film Studio | |
| The Herdsman | 牧马人 | Drama | Screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival | ||
| My Memories of Old Beijing | 城南旧事 | Drama | Winner of the third Golden Rooster for Best Director, Best Music and Best Supporting Actress in 1983 | ||
| Red Elephant | 红象 | Children/Family | |||
| Rickshaw Boy | 骆驼祥子 | Drama | Golden Rooster for Best Film in 1983 | ||
| Strange Friends | 陌生的朋友 | Li Ling, Zhang Chao | Entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival | ||
| Title | Chinese Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Candidate | 候补队员 | Drama | |||
| One and Eight | 一个和八个 | War | One of the first "Fifth Generation" films, cinematography by Zhang Yimou | ||
| River Without Buoys | 没有航标的河流 | Drama | |||
| Thunderstorm | 雷雨 | Sun Daolin, Gu Yongfei | Drama | Based on the play Thunderstorm | |
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Flowers | Drama | |||
| The Border Town | Drama | Golden Rooster Award for Best Director | ||
| September | Drama | |||
| Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain | War | |||
| Yellow Earth | Chen Kaige | Drama | Chen Kaige's directorial debut | |
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Nurse | Romance | |||
| The Black Cannon Incident | Black comedy | Screened at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival | ||
| Dove Tree | War | First Fifth Generation film to be banned | ||
| Liangjia funu | Drama | |||
| Monkey King Conquers the Demon | ||||
| Mountain's Daughter | Drama | |||
| On the Hunting Ground | Drama | |||
| Sacrifice of Youth | Drama | |||
| Stories of the Voyage | Drama | |||
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Parade | Drama | |||
| Dislocation | Comedy/Science fiction | |||
| A Girl from Hunan | Drama | Screened at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival | ||
| A Great Wall | ||||
| Hibiscus Town | Drama | |||
| The Horse Thief | Drama | Named by Martin Scorsese as his favorite film of the 1980s | ||
| The Last Day of Winter | ||||
| Old Well | Drama | |||
| Trapped in a Frozen River | Drama/Thriller | Also known as Ice River | ||
| The Tribulations of an Old Master | Drama | |||
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death Visits the Living | Drama | |||
| Desperation | Thriller | Also known as The Last Frenzy | ||
| Far From War | ||||
| In Their Prime | Drama | |||
| King of the Children | Drama | Entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival | ||
| Red Sorghum | Drama/War | Early Zhang Yimou effort, Golden Bear winner at Berlin | ||
| Street Players | Drama | Also known as Drum Singers | ||
| Sun Yatsen | Biographical | |||
| Women on the Long March | War | |||
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between Life and Death | Wu Ziniu | Drama | ||
| The Boxer | Drama | |||
| Evening Bell | War | Silver Bear-Jury Grand Prix winner at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival | ||
| Feeling from Mountain and Water | Animated short | |||
| The Filmmakers | Drama | |||
| Joyous Heroes | Drama | |||
| Kidnapping Karajan | Comedy | |||
| King of Chess | Drama | |||
| Mutiny | War | |||
| Obsession | Drama | Also known as The Price of Frenzy | ||
| Rock 'n' Roll Kids | Tian Zhuangzhuang | Drama | Also known as Rock Kids | |
| Samsara | ||||
| Savage Land | Drama | |||
| The Troubleshooters | Comedy | |||
| We Are the World | Drama | |||
| Widow Village | Drama | Also known as The Village of Widows | ||
| A Woman For Two | Drama | |||
| Title | Director | Actors | Genre | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballad of the Yellow River | Drama | |||
| Codename Cougar | Action/Thriller | |||
| Kawashima Yoshiko | Biographical | |||
| The Shining Arc | Entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival | |||
| Unforgettable Life | Drama | Also known as Special Operating Room and Illegal Lives | ||
| Westbound Convict Train | Action/Thriller | |||
| Year | Total Films[1] |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 83 |
| 1981 | 105 |
| 1982 | 114 |
| 1983 | 127 |
| 1984 | 143 |
| 1985 | 127 |
| 1986 | 125 |
| 1987 | 146 |
| 1988 | 158 |
| 1989 | 136 |