Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II (2008) [Blu-ray]
 {Chi bi}
This page was generated on Sunday, December 23, 2018 at 08:37:16 PM   -- ZotDots --
Click for larger image.
close  Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II (2008) [Blu-ray]
 {Chi bi}
Rated:  R 
Starring: Fengyi Zhang, Chiling Lin, Zhao Wei, Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chang Chen, Shidou Nakamura, Hu Jun.
Director: John Woo
Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War
DVD Release Date: 03/23/2010

--- Subtitled ---

Red Cliff, the epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. A power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao seeks permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao's brutal, fast-approaching army, the warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign - unrivaled in history - that changes the face of China forever.

Editor's Note: Director John Woo's Red Cliff boasts some mighty impressive numbers. It took four screenwriters to adapt the 800,000-word source material, a 14th-century Chinese novel called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are also three editors, two directors of photography, hundreds of horses, and a combined cast and crew numbering in the thousands, making it reportedly the most expensive movie ever made in China. There are quite a few minutes, too, as it has a running time of 2 hours 28 minutes. That's only about half the length of the cut released in Asia, a fact that has led some critics to dismiss the American release as merely a bowdlerized version of the real deal. That may be, but this depiction of the titular battle that took place in AD 208 and is credited with changing the entire face of China is still an epic and magnificent piece of entertainment. The principal characters include Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi), a power-hungry general and self-appointed prime minister who convinces the weak-willed emperor that two rebellious leaders in the south, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen), must be stopped; Cao Cao's antagonists also include the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and the heroic warrior Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), whose wife (Chiling Lin) is a legendary beauty. Cao Cao has a huge advantage in manpower, not to mention an impressive fleet of warships. But he is arrogant, while his opponents are not merely humble and brave but clever (Cao Cao's diabolical plan to send the contagious bodies of soldiers who have died from typhoid fever to the Southlanders' camp works temporarily, but the latter counter with ingenious strategies of their own, like using fog, wind, and fire to destroy Cao Cao's ships). All of this is depicted in the most spectacular battles scenes since the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with a steady supply of gorgeous shots and indelible images. Woo, whose previous films range from the terrific Hard Boiled and The Killer to the lamentable Ben Affleck thriller Paycheck, is in his element here, and Red Cliff is a treat. --Sam Graham

Cast Notes: Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Zhou Yu [as Tony Leung]), Takeshi Kaneshiro (Zhuge Liang), Fengyi Zhang (Cao Cao), Chen Chang (Sun Quan), Wei Zhao (Sun Shangxiang), Jun Hu (Zhao Yun), Shido Nakamura (Gan Xing [as Shidou Nakamura]), Chiling Lin (Xiao Qiao [as Chi-Ling Lin]), Yong You (Liu Bei), Yong Hou (Lu Su), Dawei Tong (Sun Shucai), Jia Song (Li Ji), Ba Sen Zha Bu (Guan Yu), Jinsheng Zang (Zhang Fei), Shan Zhang (Huang Gai).

User Comment: DICK STEEL from Singapore, 12 July 2008 • A friend of mine revealed to me that John Woo acknowledged parallels between characters in his movies, and characters from the Three Kingdom era, and that General Zhao Yun was one of Woo's personal favourites. This admiration for General Zhao's qualities cannot be more obvious when it is he who opens the first battle proper, with a very familiar character episode involving the rescue of the infant son (and future lord) of his master Liu Bei, thereby sealing his reputation of valor, earning admiration even from enemy Cao Cao. Fans of Liu Bei's camp will undoubtedly cheer at the appearances of his sworn brothers General Guan Yu (who is worshiped as a Deity until this very day, and remains one of my favourite characters besides Zhao Yun) and General Zhang Fei, whose gruffness translates to instant war-ready prowess. While Liu's army is clearly routed in a military loss, it explained the dilemma of Liu's leadership. One which is based on sincerity, a quality which persuaded his chief military strategist and genius all round Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) to join his cause, but one which lacked military strength in numbers, despite having some of the best generals of the time under his leadership.

Which of course Cao Cao admires and probably is envious about, given his superior strength in numbers came from surrendering armies, whose loyalty remains questionable, and of course with individual generals who can't surpass the abilities of those from Liu. Playing the king like a puppet and having him issue a decree for permission to pursue Liu Bei who has fled southwards, he sets his sights also on warlord Sun Quan, for a more personal reason akin to the story of Helen of Troy. Zhuge Liang, knowing their current weakness, seeks an alliance between the armies of Liu and Sun Quan, and this forms most of the first half, where he had to play envoy to cajole and persuade, especially in convincing Sun Quan's most trusted adviser Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) that war is inevitable and they should form a win-win partnership.

And here's where great minds think alike, and watching both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang do a friendly pit against each other is nothing short of amazing, where so little says so much. It helps of course that both Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro have been paired up as leading men on screen before, in Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express and in Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Confession of Pain too, lending some much established and credible chemistry as men who share admiration in each other's ability, especially when Zhou Yu seemed to have a fairer balance between fighting skill and intellect. With one side having highly disciplined soldiers with good morale, and the other having renowned generals to be leaders, it doesn't take a genius to realize the advantages gained in fending off a common enemy together.

The fight sequences were pure spectacle, with old school wire work combined with technological wizardry to showcase some large scale battle sequences at a macro level, or to highlight the immense naval numbers that Cao Cao brings to battle. Formations and strategies take centerstage in a first major confrontation on land, where one gets to see John Woo's interpretation of Zhuge Liang's "ba-gua" (8 stratagems) strategy, made more entertaining through the continuation of what we have already seen in each general's fighting ability, each given a unique style befitting the characters in folklore, such as Guan Yu and his Guan Dao (Green Dragon Crescent Blade) and Zhao Yun (Hu Jun) and his spear. There's the usual bellowing cape and slow motion in Woo's signature style, but these were kept to a minimum, as are the pigeons (though they do make an appearance, but serving some purpose).

Perhaps it is the success of the fight sequences that had left some lamenting for more, but bear in mind this is just but the first half of the movie, setting things up. The major war sequences of course are left in the second movie which we will get to see come early next year. Like The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, expect the next movie to go on an all out assault. I felt that already is a fair balance of drama and action here, especially when this installment has to cover a broad base given numerous characters, which should provide fans (of Three Kingdoms) something to cheer about. Chang Chen provides his Sun Quan with enough self-doubt, and in a small story arc has to seek his inner confidence ala King Leonidas in 300, while model Lin Chiling's much touted debut movie appearance, was limited to just a few scenes of lovey-dovey moments, which unfortunately for audiences in Singapore, her sex scene with Tony Leung got edited out in order for distributors to get a PG rating to put more bums on seats.

I had wondered how Tony Leung would have faired as Zhuge Liang instead of Kaneshiro, but felt that the musical chairs casting somehow became a blessing in disguise. Kaneshiro's good looks might have made some doubt his ability to play the smartest man alive during the era, but he did an excellent job in bringing out the humility and self-deprecation of the man whose never flashy nor overconfident of his abilities, and one who swears his talents to his lord Liu Bei. Tony Leung on the other hand brought about a fine balance of brains and brawn to the Zhou Yu character, whom I suspect in Woo's version, would be credited with much success for his part in Red Cliff, rather than the accolades all going to Zhuge Liang. After you see the reliable Tony Leung in this role, you'll know for sure that Chow Yun-Fatt could probably never had brought the kind of gravitas Leung brought to the role.

Summary: Red Cliff is hands down highly recommended: A Stunning Historical Epic.

Trivia:
  • The film makers received help from the Chinese Army who lent them approximately 100,000 soldiers to play extras.
  • John Woo's first Chinese film since 1992.
  • Director Trademark: [John Woo] [Two Guns] One battle scene features Zhao Yun wielding two swords at once.
------------

IMDb Rating (03/18/10): 7.3/10 from 8,162 users

Additional information
Copyright:  2008,  Magnolia Home Entertainment
Features:  Disc One
• The Making of Red Cliff: The Long Road (SD, 2:25:50)
-- When they say long road, they mean seriously long road, as this production documentary runs nearly two and a half hours, fitting, I suppose, for the largest film China has ever produced. One of the producers claims that somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people were directly involved with the making of the film, which seems to have had a troubled shoot judging by all the craziness we see here. "We're lucky if things go according to plan," says John Woo in one of the many talking head segments. Budget problems, ships floating away, even locals coming on set and demanding—for what reason we never find out—that the crew stop using "borrowed horses," there's no end to the big-budget insanity. The documentary isn't structured very well—or at all, really—but there's a lot to see here, mostly in the form of endless amounts of B-roll footage and interviews with many of the key players.
• Storyboarding Red Cliff from Script to Screen with John Woo (1080i, 18:02)
-- Here, John Woo explains the importance of storyboarding in such an epic production, and then we see storyboard to film comparisons of three scenes—The Tortoise Formation, The Carrier Pigeon Flight, and The Plan to Get More Arrows.
• HDNet: A Look at Red Cliff (1080i, 4:35)
-- A brief promo for the film, featuring John Woo, who explains the film's scope and themes.
• Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray (1080p, 8:10)
-- Includes trailers for The Warlords, District 13: Ultimatum, Ong Bak 2, and Wonderful World, as well as a promo for HDNet.
Disc Two
• A Conversation with John Woo: The Journey of Red Cliff (1080i, 45:34)
-- Talk show host Leo Quinones conducts a forty-five minute interview with John Woo, who explains the research and attention to detail that went into the film, discusses the scope of the project, and talks about the prominent use of CGI armies and landscapes. A truncated version of this interview appears on the single disc U.S. theatrical version of the film.
• Storyboards (1080p)
-- Here we get a self-directed gallery containing 98 storyboard drawings, complete with camera directions. A very classy interface as well.
• Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray (1080p, 8:10)
-- Includes trailers for The Warlords, District 13: Ultimatum, Ong Bak 2, and Wonderful World, as well as a promo for HDNet.
Subtitles:  English SDH, English, Spanish
Video:  Widescreen 2.39:1 Color
Screen Resolution: 1080p
Audio:  MANDARIN: DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO 5.1
Time:  4:48
DVD:  # Discs: 1 -- # Shows: 1
UPC:  876964002769
Coding:  [V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC
D-Box:  No
Other:  Producers: John Woo, Terence Chang; Directors: John Woo; Writers: John Woo; running time of 288 minutes.

close