The Red Detachment of Women () is a 1970 Chinese filmed performance of the Chinese ballet of the same name (originally produced in 1964) â which itself was a version of director Xie Jin's original 1961 film. The style is called 'yangbanxi' (revolutionary model dramas). It is one of eight approved revolutionary model dramas made during the Cultural Revolution. The film was screened at the 32nd Venice International Film Festival, marking the first time a Chinese film was presented at Venice. A Beijing Opera version was filmed by the August First Film Studio in 1972.
In the 1930s, on Hainan Island, the heroine, Wu Qinghua, escapes from Nan Batian, an evil landlord, and becomes the leader of a women's militia, under the guidance of Hong Changqing, a Communist Party secretary.
On 11 November 2012, in Washington, D.C., a panel discussion with Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Chi Wang, Carma Hinton, and Michael Chang discussed the effect this film had on the Cultural Revolution and on Chinese film.