Mao by Mao (1977)

A film-détournement biography of Mao Tse-tung in which the life of the recently deceased Great Helmsman is told in his own words, using quotes culled from various Red Guard publications. The rise to power of the film's namesake appears as the inevitable outcome of a dialectical logical. Or so the voice-over might lead one to believe. If the usual practice of détourned films is for the soundtrack to undermine the image, here the reverse occasionally takes place. The images critique Mao's words. They show that which, even in the official visual record of the times, the narrative elides. The film is dedicated to Li Yhi Zhe, the nominal author of a famous Democracy Wall critique of the Maoist state.

Cast (1)CrewGenresDetailsReleasesMediaAwards

Mao Zedong

Himself

If you liked Mao by Mao, you might also like…

95% match

The Untold History Of The United States

2012

87% match

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

2019

82% match

Fuck

2006

84% match

Shoah

1985

78% match

Red Army

2015

74% match

The Curse of the Dragon

1993

70% match

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

2013

67% match

Directed by John Ford

1971

64% match

I Am Heath Ledger

2017

60% match

Come See Me in the Good Light

2025

60% match

Naqoyqatsi

2002

60% match

9/11: Inside the President's War Room

2021

60% match

McQueen

2018

60% match

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin

2003

60% match

Mifune: The Last Samurai

2016

60% match

Night and Fog

1956

60% match

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

2023

60% match

Cover-Up

2025

60% match

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

2006

60% match

The Soviet Story

2008