Tag: John Woo

First up, Red Cliff is quite simply beautiful. Imagine a cross between Saving Private Ryan and Lord of the Rings but set in ancient China. This release is a 2½-hour contraction of the two separate films released in Asia, but feels like 1½ hours when you’re watching it. I have the original versions kicking about and will watch them but, really, you have to see this on a large screen. The biggest travesty is the lack of an IMAX version.

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Read Records of the Three Kingdoms if you have a year or two to spare. If not… the Chinese Emperor reluctantly agrees to send troops into the south to put down warlords who some political types think are being a little too powerful.

The reasoning behind the shortened western release is that the plot features quite a few characters, many of whom the Chinese are brought up to know about. As such, the story is easier to follow than it would be for those who haven’t heard the basis of the story before. I have to admit that at points I was a little lost simply as some of the cast look the same. Yes, I know – “all Chinese people look identical blah blah racist blah”, but it does take a while to get your heard round the quick introduction to all the cast.

It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, I admit. It is slightly arty in places and it does use wirework, which generally I’m not keen on. In this case it’s not overused and adds to the scenes in which it’s used rather than being the centrepiece (as in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The story is well-paced and interesting with a couple of moments that make you smile as the “good guys” get one over the evil empire.  OK, that makes it sound like Star Wars.

However, what the film is all about is the action. The scenery. The grand scale. The costumes. Just settle back and let your eyes feast. John Woo has made some more than decent films in the past, but Red Cliff just shoves them all to one side. It is, quite simply, magnificent.