Red Cliff

After 15 years in Hollywood and making only on decent film (Face/Off) John Woo returns to his Asian roots. Here he get the creative independence he deserves and creates the most successful (and most expensive) ever Chinese films.

The year was 208AD, the Prime Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) has taken control of Northern China and made the Emperor a puppet ruler. But the south is defiance. Lord Liu Bei (Yong You) tries to fight and has excellent general, but is hopelessly outnumbered by Cao Cao forces. He sets out to make an alliance with two other Southern Lords, the young Sun Quan (Chen Chang) and military expert Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Liu Bei uses his chief adviser Kongming (Takeshi Kaneshiro) to negotiate with Lords. Even with this new alliance, Cao Cao still outnumbers the 3 Kingdoms with a force of 800,000 troops. Zhou Yu and Kongming sets out the win the coming battle with strategy, expert military tactics, trickery, the weather and spies. Here the two forces set out for the coming battle.

John Woo is an action director and the martial arts and the battles are well handle, if OTT (but that's what John Woo does). He has flair and the fights are bloody. He has fun with the CGI, from the battles to following arrows and doves when they are in flight. He gets to combine both Asian and Hollywood style of film-making. The music as well combine both Asian and Western styles. The film itself feels like the Chinese Lord of the Rings.

Tony Leung is the strongest link in the film, he is an expert martial artist and a good actor, being in House of Flying Daggers, the Infernal Affiars Trilogy and Lust Caution just to name a few. He offers another good performances. Other actors also offer good performances and they was no one who dragged the film down.

In China and Hong Kong Red Cliff was split into two films and already out on DVD in Hong Kong. The Western version combines the films, and its also the dumbed down version. The English was just weird in context with the rest of film. The film also does change in tone from it beginning. Lets hope that the DVD release in the West will be of both films or an extended edition.

This review is of the Chinese DVD Release of the 1st film only... I cannot understand how the previous poster could feel that way about this gorgeous epic. Everything they said they hated were things I thought were well done, and wonderful about the film. Of all the people I've shared this DVD with, they've all thought it was an amazing movie also.

Ever camera shot was gorgeous. The angles were unique, without wasted punch-ins or b-roll. It's rare to find films so tastefully shot. The color was stunning, and the interpretation of the classic tale was unique and never disappointing.

Meanwhile, With all the characters, the actors each held such a powerful presence. It's very tough to develop any character singularly while you have so many important characters with their own mythos and chronicles, but each actor really held up to their image and that of the character. Kaneshiro is a very unique version of Zhuge which caught me off guard at first, but appreciated after his scene w/ the Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu was never a character I've cared for, but here, he's likable and strong. The best "fresh" interpretation though was that of Guan Yu. Instead of being "just another" honourable and strong warrior, he's rather a warrior-scholar, more intelligent, and more personality than ever before.

My only true quarrel is that it ends prematurely (that is, until we see the 2nd half in 2009). I just wish they could have done the whole saga instead of this little piece.

Thank you John Woo for one of the finest Three Kingdom movies ever! I believe this is a great direction for your talents! You've woven the action you're so famous for with a deep, heartfelt classic tale! Wonderful job!

Thanks to my previous knowledge on "Sangokushi" or Three Kingdom Saga in Ancient China, I enjoyed the outstanding performance and the dynamic war scenes. The movie also succeeded to dramatizing Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". It was exhilarating to see outnumbered allies made full use of the strategy and fought against their common enemies and ran a dead heat.

Usually I do not expect story or drama stuff being described in the action movies but "Red Cliff" betrayed my expectation in a good sense. There were several scenes that touched my heart. For example, two genius war generals who belong to different lords met for the first time and they instantly understood that they were hard-to-get friends by playing musical instruments together, without using any tricks or politics.

In a newspaper article a veteran charismatic movie buyer from Avex had foretold "Red Cliff" would take academy awards right after he finished reading the script. Though his hitting ration was high, I was not sure if he would raise his ratio and salary in the future. But I was sure that Tony Leon had a dominating presence through the scenes and it was highly possible that he would be nominated in his acting.

Actually I saw a lady stood up to go to the rest room during the highlight, and some left before the end roll skipping the trailer of part two, and after the trailer I heard a girl behind me complain against her excited boyfriend about dozens of characters who had lost her. I thought some previous knowledge would be important to fully enjoy this historic war movie.

Basically the movie was created for everyone because John Woo focused on the battle of red cliffs which was one of the best highlights in the saga, cleverly avoiding another digest version. Also there was a brief explanation about history and people at the beginning being accompanied by easy-to-understand Japanese subtitles crafted by Natsuko Toda. Personally I wanted to give my big hug to John Woo, actors and actresses, all the staffs, and their accomplishment "Red Cliff" (Part One).

After several years away from Hong Kong (and mainland China,as well), John Woo has returned,with a vengeance,to direct perhaps one of the finest films of his career. 'Chi bi' (or as it is being distributed in English speaking countries as 'Red Cliff')tells the tale of two warlords locked in battle mode for the control of the south of China, in the fourteenth century,during the Han dynasty. Tony Leung Chiu Wau stars as Zhou Yu,while Fengyi Zhang just absolutely reeks of bad guy as war lord,Cao Cao. The rest of the cast turn in outstanding acting jobs,as well. Originally,this film was released in Asia as a two part,five hour blockbuster that went through the roof as one of the most successful films from mainland China (but is cut by half it's original running time to just under 150 minutes). Along the way,we are witness to several full pitched battle scenes,but features some nice locale shots of the Chinese countryside,as well during the non battle scenes (filmed in wide screen by Yue Lu & Li Zhang). The razor sharp editing is by Hongyu Yang,with assistance by Angie Lam & Robert Ferretti,for the American version). This is taut,nail biting entertainment for the thinking person who is sick to death of most of what passes for films from the Hollywood sausage grinder of the same old,same old. Spoken in Mandarin with English subtitles. Rated 'R' by the MPAA,this film serves up some fierce, intense battle scenes,with graphic bloody violence,as well as some mild adult situations.

Admittedly, I had my doubts about Red Cliff. John Woo in the chair to make a historical war drama? That hasn't happened since... oh wait, it's never happened before. Then again, if Ang Lee could make a great movie about gay cowboys, I'm willing to see what John Woo can do outside his usual territory. That, and the film's steady high profile publicity over the past several years, made Red Cliff a must-see for me.

For Red Cliff, the biggest divergence from Woo's prime time classics such as The Killer is the subdued emotions. Most of Woo's classics were rather in-your-face in terms of melodrama, but not so in Red Cliff. While I loved his melodramas, I believe Red Cliff reveals a matured Woo with improved craftsmanship. Make no mistake: he has incorporated his signature themes of male bonding, loyalty, and sacrifice in Red Cliff--but in a much more subtle and understated manner.

Unquestionable, some viewers have loved Woo for his badass action sequences. But for me, I've always been a fan because of his memorable characters. To this point, I was pleased with Red Cliff's strong characters. The film has focused on making the central figures appealing by either embellishing them with an edgy factor or giving them some depth, and this is successful for the most part.

For me, the low point of the movie was the weak acting from Zhao Wei and Takeshi Kaneshiro -- not just compared to Tony Leung, but on any scale. Kaneshiro is an odd choice to play the historically glorified Zhuge Liang, while Zhao Wei's character seemed totally inconsequential.

The film also features some annoying cartoonish music, which seemed to be oddly misplaced in intense combat scenes.

Other than those few shortcomings, Red Cliff is a solid film that is both a mega blockbuster and quality film-making.