Where to Watch

Classic overview

Adapted from Zhou Meisen’s novella, this wartime drama follows Chinese POWs, Central Army scouts Tian and Liu alongside Eighth Route Army cavalry captain Meng and soldier Zhang, imprisoned in Japan’s “Death Camp No. 9.” Rival escape plots collide: Sichuan captain Lao Qi’s men tunnel through mine shafts even as Meng’s group plans their own breakout. Camp commandant Major Nagasaki appoints collaborators, tortures and exposes dissenters, and uses a comfort woman to bribe Liu. When guerrilla agent Zhang Mazi is executed, Meng and Zhang Dielong sacrifice themselves under blistering sun to save their comrades. Amid bayonet executions and armed revolt, the prisoners wage a final, desperate battle to smash the camp gates and reclaim their freedom.