# Red Corner
**Red Corner** is a 1997 American legal thriller directed by Jon Avnet, written by [Robert King](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-king), and produced and distributed by [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer). [Richard Gere](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gere) stars as Jack Moore, an American entertainment lawyer in Beijing who wakes up beside the corpse of a Chinese woman, is arrested for her murder, and must navigate a judicial system in which he is presumed guilty; his court-appointed defense attorney, Shen Yuelin (Bai Ling), comes to believe he is innocent and helps him uncover a plot targeting him.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | October 31, 1997 (wide, United States), 2,244 theaters; Los Angeles and New York openings the week of October 31[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0119994/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER) |
| Runtime and rating | 122 minutes; MPAA rating R for some violence and a scene of sexuality[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Red-Corner) |
| Principal cast | Richard Gere (Jack Moore), Bai Ling (Shen Yuelin), Bradley Whitford (Bob Ghery), Byron Mann (Lin Dan), Peter Donat (David McAndrews)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER) |
| Key crew | Director Jon Avnet; writer Robert King; cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub; editor Peter E. Berger; composer Thomas Newman; production designer Richard Sylbert[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER) |
| Box office | $7,403,362 opening weekend; $22,459,274 domestic, which was also the worldwide total, against a reported $48,000,000 budget[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0119994/) • [5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/3516603/) |
| Reception | 27% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (22 reviews) and 47% on the Popcornmeter; 6.3/10 on IMDb[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/) |
| China ban | Objected to by Chinese authorities in 1997 for alleged anti-China bias, alongside *Seven Years in Tibet* and *Kundun*[7](https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/cfta_submission_6se05.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Jack Moore is in Beijing to close a film and television distribution deal between his company and the Chinese government, with the German firm HoffCo Telecom as the main competitor. After a one-night stand with a young Chinese woman, he wakes to police breaking into his hotel room and the woman's body beside him, surrounded by evidence that he killed her.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/plotsummary/)
The murder charge quashes the distribution deal, which goes to HoffCo instead. The situation worsens because the victim had connections to people in high places in China who may want Moore sentenced to death. His American colleagues, fearing diplomatic difficulty, abandon him, and his only hope is the court-appointed lawyer Shen Yuelin, whom he convinces of his innocence; together they investigate and find evidence of a conspiracy reaching into high Chinese circles.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/plotsummary/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner) • [9](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/red-corner)
## Production
The film could not be shot in China. The filmmakers believed a request to shoot in Beijing would have been denied, though accounts differ on whether MGM formally applied: MGM officials said they applied and received no reply, while Avnet said they did not bother because the answer was assumed to be no.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-04-ca-9534-story.html) A massive set representing Beijing was built in Los Angeles for MGM's $50-million production, and more than half the cast was flown from Asia.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-04-ca-9534-story.html) • [11](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp971102/10310095.htm) Production ran from March 17 to July 4, 1997, at Culver Studios in Culver City and other [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) locations standing in for China.[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/locations/)
Some footage was genuinely Chinese. The opening scenes were shot in Beijing, including [Bai Ling](https://www.edgepedia.org/bai-ling) riding a bicycle through [Tiananmen Square](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiananmen-square), with none of that filming authorized; Gere was inserted into the Chinese setting later by computer. Digital Domain also recreated Tiananmen Square and other well-known locations using blue-screen set extensions.[11](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp971102/10310095.htm) • [13](https://digitaldomain.com/work/red-corner/) Production designer Richard Sylbert made two research trips to China and took over 1,500 photographs as references for the sets.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/trivia/)
The script was originally set in Russia, and the setting was changed to China after the end of Russian communism.[11](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp971102/10310095.htm)
## Release and political context
The film's subject matter, and Gere's presence, made it unwelcome in China. Gere, an outspoken advocate of Tibetan independence, has been banned from entering China, and in 1997 Chinese authorities objected to *Red Corner*, *Seven Years in Tibet*, and *Kundun* for alleged anti-China bias.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/trivia/) • [7](https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/cfta_submission_6se05.pdf) The *New York Times* observed that the film's opening date, timed to President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States, was apparently no accident.[15](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/journal_international_media_entertainment_law/jimel-v6-n2.pdf) A 1997 congressional-era account describes the film as depicting an American businessman framed while doing business in Beijing, and it is grouped by later commentary with the last spate of American films addressing topics the Chinese government deemed sensitive.[16](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117jhrg54566/pdf/CHRG-117jhrg54566.pdf) • [17](https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/00_diamond-schell_fullreport_2ndprinting_web-compressed.pdf)
Bai Ling, in her first American starring role, said taking it was a risk because she lived in China and intended to return, fearing consequences for herself and the grandmother who raised her; director Jon Avnet said the unauthorized filming of Beijing landmarks was dangerous for her.[11](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp971102/10310095.htm)
## Reception and awards
Critics were largely negative. Roger Ebert of the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave it 2 of 4 stars, calling it "a contrived and cumbersome thriller designed to showcase Richard Gere's unhappiness with Red China"; Dennis Schwartz called it an unconvincing courtroom thriller, while Mike Clark of *USA Today* gave 3 of 4 stars and praised Bai Ling's performance.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner) The film earned $22,459,274 domestically, all of its worldwide gross, on a reported $48 million budget, with an opening weekend of $7,403,362.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0119994/) • [5](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/3516603/)
The film won four awards. Bai Ling received the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance, Female, and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress; Gere and Avnet shared the [National Board of Review](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-board-of-review)'s Freedom of Expression Award; and the Political Film Society gave it its 1998 award for [Democracy](https://www.edgepedia.org/democracy).[18](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/awards/)
## References
1. [Red Corner (1997), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61445-RED-CORNER)
2. [Red Corner, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_corner)
3. [Red Corner, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0119994/)
4. [Red Corner (1997), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Red-Corner)
5. [Red Corner 1997, Kinoafisha](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/3516603/)
6. [Red Corner (1997), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/)
7. [History of the Chinese film industry, DFAT submission](https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/cfta_submission_6se05.pdf)
8. [Red Corner (1997) Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/plotsummary/)
9. [Red Corner (1997), Waar kan ik dat kijken](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/red-corner)
10. [Plaaya Beijin, Los Angeles Times (July 4, 1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-04-ca-9534-story.html)
11. ["Red Corner" Star Risks Life with Role, The Virginian-Pilot (November 2, 1997)](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp971102/10310095.htm)
12. [Red Corner (1997) Filming & Production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/locations/)
13. [Red Corner, Digital Domain](https://digitaldomain.com/work/red-corner/)
14. [Red Corner (1997) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/trivia/)
15. [Censoring the Silk Screen, Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/journal_international_media_entertainment_law/jimel-v6-n2.pdf)
16. [Congressional hearing record, govinfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117jhrg54566/pdf/CHRG-117jhrg54566.pdf)
17. [Diamond & Schell, Hoover Institution report](https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/00_diamond-schell_fullreport_2ndprinting_web-compressed.pdf)
18. [Red Corner (1997) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119994/awards/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Thrillers › Released 1996 to 1999*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license