Red Cliff (John Woo, 2009)

[Antoine Doinel]

Trailer

And in case you had any doubts, a white dove appears on a black screen behind the giant words "A JOHN WOO FILM".

[Antoine Doinel]

Variety reports that Asian territories will get the film as intended, a two-part, 4-hour epic. All other territories will get a single, 2 1/2 hour edit. A US release date is slated for January next year.

[Antoine Doinel]

Magnet and E1 have picked up the North American rights for the film. It will be released theatrically as a single 2 1/2 hour film with both full parts on DVD and VOD.

[Narshty]

I went to see the Westernised digest version of this last night and was dazzled by it. Given the past 15 years of his career, it's not entirely unreasonable to expect Woo to pull a Troy, but it's a serious, intelligent, thrilling film. It's like Master and Commander meets Excalibur in the best possible way.

John Woo is clearly delighted to be able to practice his true metier once more - gloriously ripe melodrama that was impossible in an American context. The yin-yang effect of passionate drama given perfect release in ejaculating bullets made his Hong Kong films so good and here the combination is restored. However, if his smaller budgeted Hong Kong cops and criminals dramas were somewhat Sirkian in the lulls when the guns stopped firing, this is scaled at Wagnerian proportions: one sinister moment is punctuated by an out-of-nowhere total eclipse of the sun. There are also some pretty enjoyable Shaw-style crash zooms to emphasise dialogue at the start ("Prime Minister - you MUST make a decision!").

The action scenes are extraordinary. There's some evidence of Woo being influenced by MTV editing and whatnot, but the giddy audacity of their conception makes them shine. Lots of Woo trademarks turn up again, often in hilariously inappropriate bits of comedy; the sleeping rescued baby amongst turmoil from Hard Boiled makes a reappearance in the first 10 minutes, a Mexican standoff with swords (the conclusion of which achieved spontaneous applause from the audience I saw it with last night) and a dove leading the camera over many acres of hostile terrain until it's right down in the centre of the enemy camp. There are occasional CGI-assisted moments like this, but their wit overcomes the digital gratuitousness.

The 150 minute version doesn't especially seem like a butcher's job and rarely uncomfortably short-changed exposition or character development - after a couple of opening battles that set the scene (and how), there's a full hour of back-and-forth tactical buildup that's still lucid and engaging. What impresses is that the dramatic arc has been scaled to its size and length - even in this half-length version, the plot isn't simply a convenient hook for set-pieces and serious care has been given to thinking out every section. It goes a bit nuts in the first 30 minutes trying to cram in massive quantities of historical exposition in an English-language voiceover and having every character's name and rank superimposed on the screen when they first appear; since nothing but complex historical and political manoeuvring is guaranteed to confuse me faster, I was happy when it settled down into a simple North vs. South divide.

I understand the first part of this film has become China's all-time box office champ, which it very much deserves. It's a rich and full epic and sensational entertainment.

[Anthony Thorne]

The two-film version is lovely and the currently available HK DVD's are great quality, have excellent subs and are region free. (The inevitable R1 versions might have better extras though). I didn't know this until I read a Woo interview elsewhere but the 'baby rescue' scene at the start of RED CLIFF is part of the famous original story and reportedly served as an inspiration for the scene that Woo put in HARDBOILED.

Oz critic David Stratton reviewed the condensed version and much prefers the 2 film version, while FATAL VISIONS editor Michael Helms enjoyed the short one quite a bit. They likely both have their merits but I'm sure people will enjoy the longer one even more.

[Yojimbo]

I must watch out for the DVD
I don't know how this one managed to pass me by in the cinemas, although for me the only decent American film he made was 'Face/Off' which compares very favourably with his Hong Kong output.

[AttitudeAJM]

If you live in New York, there are numerous places in China town where you can pick up a copy of both parts. I saw them a few months ago and found them to be absolutely epic. There is a sense of cheesy dialogue and the sword slashing through the screen as you change scenes is a bit much, but its just what you'd expect for John Woo.

Not to mention I have a soft spot for historical epics.

[Finch]

The UK gets a SE release of the Chinese theatrical cuts

edit: EIV's artwork is predictably terrible - hopefully Beaver or DVDTimes will do A/V comparisons between this and the Region 3 releases.

[Yojimbo]

The UK gets a SE release of the Chinese theatrical cuts

edit: EIV's artwork is predictably terrible - hopefully Beaver or DVDTimes will do A/V comparisons between this and the Region 3 releases.

€19.49, free p&p at Play.com
http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/10971800 ... oduct.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Vic Pardo]

I'm looking forward to the condensed version when it opens theatrically. I've seen the two-part version on DVD and found it way too long. A huge portion of Part II is devoted to anxiety about if and when the wind will change in the good guys' favor on the night of a planned naval battle. We get it, you need the wind to change, now cut to the battle! The whole story could easily be told comfortably in two-and-a-half hours.

Plus, I'm not sure they focused on the most worthy characters in the story. There's something cold, calculating and a bit amoral about the main characters here. Liu Bei, Kwan Yu, and Chang Fei are much more admirable characters, yet they're relegated to the background.