Skip to content
HOLLYWOOD METRICS
HomeAboutCraftNewsAnalyticsScriptsBooksPricingAPIMCP
Catalog/Drama/Back to 1942
Back to 1942 poster
B
Strong
MASTER SCORE 67.9 / 100
2012·Drama / History / War·2h 25m

BACK TO 1942

“History should never be forgotten.”

In 1942, Henan Province was devastated by one of the most tragic famines in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least three million men, women and children. Although the primary cause of the famine was a severe drought, it was exacerbated by locusts, windstorms, earthquakes, epidemic disease and the corruption of the ruling Kuomintang government.

Above the Line
Xiaogang Feng·DirectorLiu Zhenyun·WriterLiu Zhenyun·NovelLü Yue·Director of PhotographyZhao Jiping·Original Music Composer
Cast
Zhang Guoli·Fan DianyuanXu Fan·Hua ZhiZhang Mo·Shuan ZhuZhang Hanyu·An XimanChen Daoming·Jiang JieshiAdrien Brody·Theodore Harold WhiteTim Robbins·Bishop MeganWang Ziwen·Xing XingFan Wei·Lao MaFeng Yuanzheng·Xia Lu
Full Crew
(27 credits)
Directing· 1
Feng Xiaogang·Director
Writing· 2
Liu Zhenyun·WriterLiu Zhenyun·Novel
Camera· 2
Lü Yue·Director of PhotographyQian Tiantian·Camera Operator
Sound & Music· 6
Zhao Jiping·Original Music ComposerLiu Yuting·SoundJiang Wu·Sound RecordistPaul Hammond·ADR MixerErica Kram·ADR CoordinatorKun Chen·Sound Editor
Art & Design· 3
Timothy Yip Gam-Tim·Costume DesignHaiying Shi·Production DesignWang Rong·Costume Supervisor
Production· 10
Han Sanping·ProducerChen Kuofu·Executive ProducerPeter Lam Kin-Ngok·ProducerHu Xiaofeng·Executive ProducerAlbert Yeung·ProducerSong Dai·ProducerYiyang Wang·ProducerWang Zhongjun·ProducerChang Hongsong·Visual Effects ProducerSean Shen·Visual Effects Producer
Other Departments· 3
Yongwoo Kim·Compositing SupervisorStrilen Liu·Compositing SupervisorChen Cui·Compositor
By the Numbers
67.9
OF 100
Master Score
6.9
OF 10
IMDb
36%
CRITICS
Rotten Tomatoes
$311
Worldwide Gross
0
Oscar Wins
Where to Watch

THE AVAILABILITY MAP

The canonical record of where this film lives across the streaming map.

Provider Index In Progress

Streaming, rental, and purchase availability for this title is being ingested from the TMDB watch-providers feed and will appear here once the next catalog refresh runs. Until then, the canonical source links below remain the fastest route.

Find on TMDB
Poster DNA

THE VISUAL DECONSTRUCTION

A bespoke vision agent's reading of the design language behind Back to 1942's key art.

Dominant Palette
3 colors
#4A3C30
#8C7A66
#2E251E
Mood
Somber, Historical, Dramatic
Composition
Layered
Era
1940s
Visual Style
Photographic

“The poster for 'Back to 1942' features a sepia-toned collage of numerous faces, primarily of Asian individuals, some appearing distressed or solemn, surrounding”

historical dramawar drama
Key Elements
Empty BowlGrasshopperTrainCrowd
Atmosphere
Gritty
Color Mood
Neutral
Setting
Rural
Design Score
8/10
More Like This

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Neighboring films in the catalog's similarity graph.

Keep Going

THREE WAYS DEEPER

Auteur
AUT
MORE BY XIAOGANG FENG

Every catalog entry where Xiaogang Feng is credited as director.

Open
Family
GEN
MORE DRAMA

Top-ranked films inside drama, sorted by master score.

Open
Era
DEC
MORE FROM THE 2010S

The best films of the 2010s, ranked across every available metric.

Open
View on IMDbView on TMDBCatalog
HOLLYWOOD METRICS

The definitive mathematical oracle for cinematic success and creative script intelligence.

74,000+ Films100 Years1.1M+ Reviews
PRODUCT
  • Dashboard
  • Pricing
  • Script Analysis
  • Watch the Demo
  • The Red List
  • News
  • Analytics
  • API
  • MCP Connector
COMPANY
  • About
  • Track Record
  • Trust & Script Privacy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
CONNECT
  • ▶YouTube
  • ◉Instagram
  • ♪TikTok
  • @Threads
  • fFacebook
Get Started Free →
© 2026 Hollywood Metrics. All rights reserved.Powered by bespoke agents and autonomous agentic workflows