Truly spectacular visually, John Woo's historical epic is not particularly engaging from a dramatic standpoint, and the U.S. abridged version (half in length of the Chinese) makes involvement evem more demanding.
Red Cliff (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:34
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Featuring some impressively grand battlefield action, John Woo returns to Asia and returns to form in the process for this lavish and slick historical epic.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sequences of epic warfare.
Runtime: 2 hrs 20 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Nov 20, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: After directing stylish action films such as THE KILLERS and FACE-OFF, director John Woo turns to Chinese history for inspiration with RED CLIFF. The Han Dynasty is facing its death in third... After directing stylish action films such as THE KILLERS and FACE-OFF, director John Woo turns to Chinese history for inspiration with RED CLIFF. The Han Dynasty is facing its death in third century China, and the emperor raises a million-man army against two kingdoms that are hopelessly outmatched. This war film stars Tony Leung, the beloved actor best known for LUST, CAUTION and IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. [More]
Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Chi-Ling Lin
Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Chi-Ling Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Hu Jun
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Screenwriter: John Woo, Khan Chan, Kuo Zheng, Sheng Heyu
Producer: John Woo, Terence Chang
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
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Reviews for Red Cliff
I would have given the original film at least a four-star rating; the cut version is diminished but not entirely ruined. The nuances may have been left on the cutting-room floor but the spectacle just about survives.
Red Cliff marks his return to form with the most expensive Chinese-speaking film ever made.
Like your chinese action? The huge battles, physics defying fight sequences, the sense of history in the making? Then you'll love Red Cliff.
[Woo] pulls out all the stops to recreate extensive battle scenes with high spectacle impact, but fails to capture the nuance and personal touch of his early action films.
The most beautiful Asian epic since Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar triumph, The Last Emperor, 22 years ago.
A handsome, vigorous, entertaining film that never becomes exhilarating.
The decision to release only an ‘international’ cut-down version, combining the two original films and almost halving the running time is a terrible one -- it’s akin to screening half of Lawrence of Arabia.
John Woo's original two part epic telling of an ancient Chinese battle tale is amalgamated and cut to create a stylised but characterless piece with some spectacular fighting scenes.
Woo revels in a gritty realism that genuinely imparts both the brutality and creativity of ancient warfare.
The mix of real history and imagined events results in filmmaking of high quality, despite the gaps and possible confusion of the foreign story.
Woo has a knack for the spectacular, and Red Cliff is certainly something to behold.
John Woo returns to China to make a film he has been burning to make, an adaptation from the much read book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written in about the 14th century; many years after the events depicted, but then these events are as important in
Camp, over-the-top and entirely unbelievable: in short, the best thing John Woo has made in years.
It’s all technically impressive, but with none of the characters having much personality, it rarely stirs your senses.
With some of the best battle scenes since Peter Jackson's The Two Towers, a smattering of 1980s love scenes and all the far eastern promise of a Twinings advert, you can't really beat Red Cliff as the classiest and most fabulous blockbuster of the summer.
The numerous battle scenes, culminating in the famous Battle of Red Cliff, prove Woo is an action director par excellence.
As old-fashioned mythic entertainment, ‘Red Cliff’ succeeds in solid, sometimes magnificent fashion.
A highly impressive historical epic, Red Cliff shows just how John Woo got his mojo back after a bumpy ride in Hollywood. Full of stunning action sequences, the only shame is how the international version leaves westerners wanting more.
After 15 years expertly playing the Hollywood game, the Hong Kong director John Woo returns to his roots, and to form. And what a relief it clearly is for the world’s slickest action director to spill copious amounts of blood.
Latest News for Red Cliff
October 16, 2009:
John Woo Prepares to Unleash Flying Tigers ![]()
His "Red Cliff" is finally reaching American theaters next month, but John Woo is already on to his next project, a war drama to be titled "Flying Tigers." More...
October 04, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
May 19, 2009:
Sydney Film Festival Gets Wooed
Hong Kong action maestro John Woo will appear at this year's Sydney Film Festival to present his latest epic, Red Cliff, which has its Australian premiere on June 9. The... More...
July 09, 2008:
Is On-Set Safety Still First? ![]()
A rash of on-set accidents -- some ending in death -- has the Los Angeles Times asking: has safety become an afterthought for filmmakers? More...
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