The Silk Road
6.8
In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact to take revenge when Li arrives at Dun-Huang, the region's seat of learning and culture. Against overwhelming odds, they find a surprising way to leave a monument to their life and love.
Where to watch
Not streaming anywhere
Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
51 people
Toshiyuki Nishida
Zhu Wangli
Known for
A Letter to Momo
Outrage Coda
Koichi Sato
Zhao Xingde
Known for
Sukiyaki Western Django
The Spiral
Jun'ya Satô
Yasushi Inoue
Kazuo Haruna
Anna Nakagawa
Tsurpia
Known for
Cure
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Atsushi Takeda
Tsunehiko Watase
Li Yuanhao
Known for
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
Antarctica
Takeshi Yoshida
Yasuyoshi Tokuma
Also in
Gamera 2: Advent of Legion
Takahiro Tamura
Tsao Yanhui
Known for
Empire of Passion
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Yoshihiro Yūki
Junya Satō Director · Takeshi Yoshida Screenplay Yasushi Inoue Author
Worldwide gross $74M · United States release January 31, 1992 · Produced in Japan, China
Box office
Worldwide gross
$74,123,959
Production
Daiei Co. Ltd.
Production
IMAGICA
Production
Tokuma Shoten
Production
New Century Producers
Production
China Film Export and Export Corp
Production
August 1st Film Studio
Production
China Film Co-Production Corporation
Production
DENTSU Music And Entertainment
Production
Marubeni
Production
Japan · China
Produced in
Languages
Original title
敦煌
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · June 25, 1988
Theatrical
United States · January 31, 1992
Germany
February 1, 1993 · video premiere
Hong Kong SAR China
November 16, 1988
Hungary
December 13, 1991
More from Junya Satō
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked The Silk Road
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.