La falaise rouge

To be honest, I don't really know about the Romance of the three kingdom so I will start my review about the movie with no reference to the Chinese history. I have watched Daniel Lee's Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon and it is just average. I have only seen one movie based on the Romance of the three kingdom. John Woo makes his comeback as a director after so many years. I think it is worth the wait for his highly anticipated movie.

The story: In Singapore, the movie is split into two parts. The second part will be shown next year. This movie is an introduction to the Romance of the three kingdom. The first war starts when the movie starts to hype up those craving to see some good war battles. After the first war, you will get introduction of the characters slowly. After the slightly slow pace, you are treated to another war. The acting is good with the humour. I think model Lin Chiling should be given some credit as she marks the first acting debut in a Chinese blockbuster.

Overall: It has both the talk and the action. I must say that it is one of the recently interesting war movies with extended war battle unlike the other recent war movies. It should be good to watch it in cinema. This movie is good for those who want to know about the Chinese history or those who want to see the Chinese history in action.

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.

I first saw the 148 mins version in 2009 on a dvd which I own.

Saw the 288 minutes version few days back.

I liked the 148 mins version but i liked the 288 mins version even more n inspite of the runtime, i never felt like fiddling with my phone. In fact, i found the film very captivating.

The film has tons of action. A true old school war with tons of bows n arrows, spears, swords, horses, ships, etc.

Apart from the battlefield action sequences, all the characters are awesomely developed, the cinematography is lovely n some of the scenes are picturesque.

There is absolutely no shaky cam or fast cut editing. One can easily make out what is going on during the war scenes. None of the scenes is shot in too much darkness.

We have a daring character Gan Ning (Nakamura Shido II) who does a stint like Steve McQueen's character from Hell is for Heroes. I love both the scenes.

The hand chopping scene, the sword slashings n the spears piercing, are all brutal.

After finishing the film, rice flour and sugar stayed on my mind. I tried the recipe on YouTube.

Some drawbacks - The initial scene with the baby on the back n running n fighting is lol n far fetched.

John Woo had already done this mistake in Hard Boiled with the baby peeing n all.

Another far fetched n lol scene in this movie is that of catching a woman in midair.

The msg in the end about nobody a victor is so anti war.

In 208 A.D., in the Han Dinasty of China, the tyrannic and greedy Prime Minster Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) forces the reluctant Emperor Han to declare war against the kingdoms of Liu Bei (Yong You) and Sun Quan (Chen Chang) in the South of China. Cao Cao heads with a mighty army of one million soldiers and attacks Liu Bei. His adviser and war strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) heads to South in a diplomatic mission trying to convince Sun Quan to join force with Liu Bei against the powerful warlord. When Zhuge Liang meets the viceroy Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), he succeeds in his assignment with the alliance of the two kingdoms against Cao Cao. The armies fight against each other in many battles until the final one in Red Cliff where guile, knowledge and strategy prevail.

"Chi Bi" is visually spectacular with magnificent cinematography, art direction, set decoration and costumes. The story is based on a true milestone in the Han Dinasty in China and the screenplay is engaging, using lessons of "The Art of the War". Once again John Woo makes a fantastic work and I am looking forward to see the sequel of this stunning film on DVD that has not been released in Brazil yet. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Batalha dos 3 Reinos" ("The Battle of the 3 Kingdoms")

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!