Red Cliff (film)

Red Cliff

American release poster
Traditional 赤壁
Simplified 赤壁
Pinyin Chì Bì
Jyutping Cek3 Bik1
Directed by John Woo
Produced by John Woo
Terence Chang
Han Sanping
Written by John Woo
Chan Khan
Kuo Cheng
Sheng Heyu
Starring Tony Leung
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Zhang Fengyi
Chang Chen
Lin Chi-ling
Zhao Wei
Hu Jun
Music by Tarō Iwashiro
Cinematography Lü Yue
Zhang Li
Editing by Angie Lam
Yang Hongyu
Robert A. Ferretti (Part 1)
David Wu (Part 2)
Studio Beijing Film Studio
China Film Group
Lion Rock Productions
Distributed by Avex Group (Japan)
China Film Group (China)
Showbox (S Korea)
20th Century Fox (Taiwan)
Release date(s) July 10, 2008 (2008-07-10) (Part 1)
January 7, 2009 (2009-01-07) (Part 2)
Running time 280 min. (total)
140 min. (Part 1)
140 min. (Part 2)
148 min. (Western release)
Country China
Language Mandarin
Budget US$80 million
Gross revenue US$248.4 million[1][2][3][4]

Red Cliff is a Chinese epic-war film based on the Battle of Red Cliffs (208-209 AD) and events during the end of the Han Dynasty and immediately prior to the period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China. The film was directed by John Woo, and stars Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, Lin Chi-ling and Zhao Wei.

Within Asia, Red Cliff was released in two parts, totaling over four hours in length. The first part was released in July 2008 and the second in January 2009. Outside of Asia, a single 2½ hour film was released in 2009, though the two-part version was later released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK.[5] With an estimated budget of US$80 million, Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date.[6] The first part of the film grossed US$124 million in Asia[7] and broke the box office record previously held by Titanic in mainland China.[8]

Contents

Plot summary

Director John Woo said in an interview with CCTV-6 that the film primarily follows the historical text called the Records of Three Kingdoms (3rd century AD) as a blueprint for the Battle of Red Cliffs, rather than the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (14th century AD). As such, traditionally vilified characters such as Cao Cao and Zhou Yu are given a more historically accurate treatment in the film.[9]

Part 1 (Asian release)

In the summer of 208, during the Han Dynasty, the imperial army led by chancellor Cao Cao embarks on a campaign to eliminate the southern warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the name of eradicating rebels, with the reluctant approval of Emperor Xian. Cao's mighty army swiftly conquers the southern province of Jing and the Battle of Changban is ignited when Cao's cavalry starts attacking civilians on an exodus led by Liu Bei. During the battle, Liu's followers, including his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, give an excellent display of their combat skills by holding off the enemy while buying time for the civilians to retreat. The warrior Zhao Yun fights bravely to rescue Liu's entrapped family but only succeeds in rescuing Liu's infant son.

Following the battle, Liu's chief advisor Zhuge Liang sets forth on a diplomatic mission to Eastern Wu to form an alliance between Liu and Sun Quan to deal with Cao Cao's invasion. Sun was initially in the midst of a dilemma of whether to surrender or resist, but his decision to resist Cao hardens after Zhuge's clever persuasion and a subsequent tiger hunt with his Grand Viceroy Zhou Yu and his sister Sun Shangxiang. Meanwhile, naval commanders Cai Mao and Zhang Yun from Jing province pledge allegiance to Cao Cao and are received warmly by Cao, who places them in command of his navy.

After the hasty formation of the alliance, the forces of Liu and Sun call for a meeting to formulate a plan to counter Cao's army, which is rapidly advancing towards Red Cliff from both land and water. The battle begins with Sun Shangxiang leading a light cavalry unit to lure Cao's vanguard army into the allies' Eight Trigrams Formation. Cao's vanguard army is defeated by the allies but Cao shows no disappointment and proceeds to lead his main army to the riverbank directly opposite the allies' main camp, where they make camp. While the allies throw a banquet to celebrate their victory, Zhuge Liang thinks of a plan to send Sun Shangxiang to infiltrate Cao's camp on an espionage mission. The duo maintain contact by sending messages via a pigeon. The film ends with Zhou Yu lighting his miniaturised battleships on a map based on the battle formation, signifying his plans for defeating Cao's navy.

Part 2 (Asian release)

Sun Shangxiang has infiltrated Cao Cao's camp and is secretly noting details and sending them via a pigeon to Zhuge Liang. Meanwhile, Cao's army is seized with a plague of typhoid fever that kills a number of his troops. Cao orders the corpses to be sent on floating rafts to the allies' camp, hoping to pass the plague on to his enemies. The allied army's morale is affected when some unsuspecting soldiers let the plague in, and eventually a disheartened Liu Bei leaves with his forces while Zhuge Liang stays behind to assist the Eastern Wu forces. Cao is overjoyed when he hears that the alliance had collapsed. At the same time, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun propose a new tactic of interlocking the battleships together with iron beams to minimize rocking when sailing on the river and reduce the chances of the troops falling seasick.

Eastern Wu forces look on as Liu Bei leaves the alliance. From front to back: Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), Sun Quan (Chang Chen), Lu Su (Hou Yong).

Subsequently, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang make plans on how to eliminate Cai and Zhang, and produce 100,000 arrows respectively. They agreed that whoever fails to complete his mission will be punished by execution under military law. Zhuge's ingenious strategy of letting the enemy shoot 20 boats covered in straw brings in over 100,000 arrows from the enemy and makes Cao doubt the loyalty of Cai and Zhang. On the other hand, Cao sends Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou to surrender, but Zhou tricks Jiang instead, into believing that Cai and Zhang are planning to assassinate Cao. Both Zhuge and Zhou's respective plans complement each other when Cao is convinced, despite earlier having doubts about Jiang's report, that Cai and Zhang were indeed planning to assassinate him by deliberately "donating" arrows to the enemy. Cai and Zhang are executed and Cao realises his folly afterwards but it is too late.

In the Eastern Wu camp, Sun Shangxiang returns from Cao's camp with a map of the enemy formation. Zhou and Zhuge decide to attack Cao's navy with fire anticipating that a special climatic condition will soon cause the wind to shift and that the resulting southeast wind will blow to their advantage. Before the battle, the Eastern Wu forces have a final moment together, feasting on glutinous rice balls to celebrate the Winter Festival. Meanwhile, Zhou's wife, Xiaoqiao, heads towards Cao's camp alone secretly, hoping to persuade Cao to give up his ambitious plans, but fails and decides to distract him instead to buy time for her side.

The battle begins when the southeast wind starts blowing in the middle of the night and the Eastern Wu forces launch their attack on Cao's navy. On the other hand, Liu Bei's forces, which had apparently left the alliance, start attacking Cao's forts on land. By dawn, Cao's entire navy has been destroyed. The allies launch another offensive on Cao's ground army, stationed in his forts, and succeed in breaking through using testudo formation despite suffering heavy casualties. Although Cao is besieged in his main camp, he manages to hold Zhou hostage after catching him off guard together with Cao Hong. Xiahou Jun also appears, holding Xiaoqiao hostage and causing the allies to hesitate. Just then, Zhao Yun manages to reverse the situation by rescuing Xiaoqiao with a surprise attack and put Cao at the mercy of the allies instead. Eventually, the allies decide to spare Cao's life and tell him never to return before leaving for home. In the final scene, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang are seen having a conversation before Zhuge walks away into the far distance with the newborn foal Mengmeng.

Western release

The Western release trimmed the length of the film from 280 minutes to 148 minutes. An opening narration in English is provided to set the historical context whereas in the Asian release, a more brief description of the context of the political situation appears in scrolling form 10 minutes into the film. Notable cuts include the background and motivations behind Zhuge Liang's plan to obtain 100,000 arrows, including the threat to his life, and the early parts of Sun Shangxiang's infiltration. The tiger hunting scene was also cut from the Western release.

Cast

Main cast

Other cast

  • Basen Zabu as Guan Yu
  • Zang Jinsheng as Zhang Fei
  • Zhang Shan as Huang Gai
  • Wang Hui as Cao Hong
  • Xie Gang as Hua Tuo
  • Song Jia as Lady Li
  • Shi Xiaohong as Jiang Gan
  • Xu Fengnian as Zhang Liao
  • Guo Chao as Yue Jin
  • Hu Xiaoguang as Xiahou Jun
  • Cui Yugui as Xu Chu
  • Jiang Tong as Li Tong
  • Ma Jing as Wei Ben
  • Yi Zhen as Cai Mao
  • Jia Hongwei as Zhang Yun
  • Zhao Chengshun as Xun You
  • Wang Zaolai as Cheng Yu
  • Wang Ning as Emperor Xian of Han
  • Wang Qingxiang as Kong Rong
  • Li Hong as Lady Gan
  • He Yin as Lady Mi
  • Wang Yuzhang as Cheng Pu
  • Menghe Wuliji as Guan Ping
  • Chen Changhai as Qin Song
  • Zhang Yi as Zhang Zhao
  • Wu Qi as Gu Yong

Replaced cast

Production

Production is helmed by Lion Rock Entertainment and China Film Group Corporation.[16] Distributors were fast to clinch the deal before shooting even began. Distributors include Chengtian Entertainment (China), CMC Entertainment / 20th Century Fox Taiwan Branch (Taiwan), Avex Group/Universal Studios Japan (Japan), Showbox (South Korea), and the Los Angeles-based Summit Entertainment (international).[17]

Shooting of Red Cliff started in mid-April 2007.[18] Shooting was held at a film studio in Beijing, as well as in Hebei province, where naval warfare was staged at two working reservoirs.[19]

On June 9, 2008, a stuntman doing shots for the movie was killed in a freak fire accident, which also left six others injured.[20]

Special effects of Red Cliff II were produced by Modus FX, The Orphanage, Frantic Films, Red FX and Prime Focus.

Music

The soundtrack album for the entire film was released by Silva Screen Group in the West.[21]

Soundtrack for part I of the film

Red Cliff (Part I): Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack by Tarō Iwashiro &
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Released 25 July 2008
Length 65:04[22]
Label Avex Trax

Tracklist:

  1. The Beginning (3:16)
  2. Beat on the Battle (6:42)
  3. Just Offensive Attack (5:48)
  4. Precious One (5:21)
  5. Hill of the Refugees (5:01)
  6. Closing in Upon the Enemy (4:14)
  7. Previous Day (2:37)
  8. Tricky Mischief (1:44)
  9. A Hero and a Boy (1:39)
  10. Decision For Justice (3:57)
  11. In Loneliness (5:36)
  12. Battle to Battle (4:40)
  13. Blood Color (2:25)
  14. Beyond the River (4:58)
  15. Theme song of Part I (end-roll version) (7:09)

Soundtrack for the entire film

Red Cliff: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack by Tarō Iwashiro &
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
Released 20 January 2009 (CN)
4 April 2009 (JP)
23 November 2009 (US)
Length 64:23[23]
Label Avex Trax (CN/JP)
Silva Screen (US)

Tracklist:

  1. The Battle Of Red Cliff (3:05)
  2. On The Battlefield (8:43)
  3. Light Of The Evanescence (2:32)
  4. Shadow Of The Evanescence (2:26)
  5. Shooooot! (1:43)
  6. Decision For Justice (3:58)
  7. Secret Stratagem (1:51)
  8. Closing In Upon The Enemy (4:13)
  9. Unseen Locus (3:01)
  10. Precious One (5:22)
  11. Sound Of Heartstrings (1:35)
  12. In Loneliness (5:35)
  13. Beyond The River (4:19)
  14. Theme Song of Part I (end-roll version) (7:12)
  15. Outroduction Of Legend (5:16)
  16. Theme Song of Part II (end-roll version) (3:32)

Theme songs

# Song title Song credits More information
1 心・戰 ～RED CLIFF～
(pinyin: Xīn Zhàn ~Red Cliff~)
(translation: Mind Battle ~Red Cliff~)		 Composed by Tarō Iwashiro
Lyrics by Francis Lee
Performed by alan		 The theme song of Part I (excluding in Japan).
2 赤壁 ～大江東去～
(pinyin: Chì Bì ~Dà Jiāng Dōng Qù~)
(translation: Red Cliff ~The Great River Goes East~)		 The theme song of Part II (excluding in Japan).
The theme song of the Western release.
Its official English title is "River of No Return".
3 RED CLIFF ～心・戦～
(rōmaji: Red Cliff ~Shin Sen~)
(translation: Red Cliff ~Mind Battle~)		 Composed by Tarō Iwashiro
Lyrics by Gorō Matsui
Performed by alan		 The theme song of Part I in Japan.
Theme song #1's Japanese version.
4 久遠の河
(rōmaji: Kuon no Kawa)
(translation: The Eternal River)		 The theme song of Part II in Japan.
Theme song #2's Japanese version.

Reception

First part Asia release

During the 1st part of the film's Asia release, Variety reported that the film has enjoyed a tremendous start to its theatrical run across East Asia since its release date in July 10, 2008.[24] The film scored a record-breaking opening weekend across six Asian territories.[25] Variety also reported that the film has received a generally positive critical reception in Hong Kong, China.[24] In South Korea, the opening day of Cliff knocked Hancock down to 79,000 admissions Thursday, or an estimated gross of $550,000.[24] The film also drew more than 1.6 million viewers in South Korea — about 130,000 more than the Batman sequel The Dark Knight.[26] At a budget of US$80 million, along with the media scrutiny over its lengthy and troubled shoot, including the death of a stunt man and the hospitalization of its producer, the film is viewed by many as a big financial gamble, however, industry insiders reported thus far, good word-of-mouth and positive reviews appear to be paying off for the film's strong box-office revenue.[27]

The Associated Press (AP) gave the film a glowing review, and states: "John Woo displays the crucial distinction in the magnificently told Red Cliff, the Hong Kong director's triumphant return to Chinese film after 16 years in Hollywood" and "with Red Cliff, Woo shows he's still a masterful director to be reckoned with."[28]

The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, states the bottom line is: "A formidable prelude to an epic battle with resplendent effects and action spectacles."[29]

Variety also gave the film a favorable review, and describes Red Cliff: "balances character, grit, spectacle and visceral action in a meaty, dramatically satisfying pie that delivers on the hype and will surprise many who felt Woo progressively lost his mojo during his long years stateside." The review also states that the picture may however disappoint those simply looking for a costume retread of his kinetic 80s action films, such as Heroes Shed No Tears and A Better Tomorrow.[30]

The Korea Times writes: "Finally, Asian cinema sees the birth of a movie with the grandeur ― in both budget and inspiration ― of epic franchises like The Lord of the Rings." "Hefty action sequences are knit together with delightful detail, including poetic animal imagery. While the Asian-ness of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon caters to a Western audience, Red Cliff captures the heart and soul of the Asian philosophy with a more universal appeal."[31] One of South Korea's main English-language newspapers JoongAng Daily raves about the film by stating "the historical China film lived up to its expectations in more ways than one."[32]

The Japan Times gave the film a high praise and states "Red Cliff brings all that and more to the screen — a whopping two and a half hours of frenzied action, feverish passion and elegantly choreographed battle scenes..."[33] and listed the film at the end of the year as one of the best international (non-Japanese) films of 2008.[34]

The Malaysian national newspaper New Straits Times also gave the film an enthusiastic review, and states: "The first film is breathtaking in its grandeur, with awe-inspiring battle scenes." The review also praised the film's 'impressive' cinematography and noted that "the characters are all well fleshed-out, complete with individual quirks and mannerisms."[35]

The Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien Daily remarked: "Red Cliff’s action is epic. Drawing from actual battle tactics from 1,800 years ago, Woo proves that after all these years he still has the ability to make the action fresh and one-of-a-kind by blending grace with violence in a whole new genre. Lovers of Asian cinema can rejoice, John Woo is back."[36]

Second part Asia release

The 2nd half of the film, was released in China in January 7, 2009. The Hollywood Reporter writes: "It is director John Woo's level-headed ordering of narrative sequence, his skill in devising kinetic live-action to off-set technical ostentation and his vision of how to turn epic into entertainment that propels "Red Cliff II" to a thundering climax," and "colossal production turns history into legend by splashing out on spectacle and entertainment."[37]

Variety describes the film as "Delivers in spades...with characters already established, this half is expectedly heavier on action...though still pack beaucoup human interest prior to the final hour's barnstorming battle," and states the film overall as "in this 280-minute, two-part version, helmer-producer Woo and fellow producer Terence Chang have indeed crafted one of the great Chinese costume epics of all time."[38]

The Japan Times gave the second film 4.5 stars out of 5, and describes it as a "visually stunning Chinese historical epic ratchets the entertainment factor up to eleven."[39]

Western release

Western critics also reacted positively to the film when the two parts were released as one film (150 minute version) in June 2009. The film received an 88% rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 100 reviews, the general consensus being that the film had "impressively grand battlefield action" with the majority of critics agreeing that director John Woo "returns to form" with Red Cliff.[40]

Awards and nominations

Part I

Awards
Award Category Name Outcome
3rd Asian Film Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Director John Woo Nominated
Best Visual Effects Craig Hayes Won
28th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Director John Woo Nominated
Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Zhang Fengyi Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Zhao Wei Nominated
Best New Actor Lin Chi-ling Nominated
Best Cinematography Lü Yue, Zhang Li Nominated
Best Film Editing Angie Lam, Robert A. Ferreti, Yang Hongyu Nominated
Best Art Direction Timmy Yip Won
Best Costume and Make-up Design Timmy Yip Won
Best Action Choreography Corey Yuen Nominated
Best Sound Design Wu Jiang, Roger Savage Won
Best Visual Effects Craig Hayes Won
Best Original Score Tarō Iwashiro Won
Best Original Song "Mind Battle: Red Cliff" Nominated
32nd Japan Academy Prize Best Foreign Language Film Nominated

Part II

Awards
Award Category Name Outcome
29th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Picture Nominated
Best Director John Woo Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Chang Chen Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Zhao Wei Nominated
Best Cinematography Lü Yue, Zhang Li Nominated
Best Film Editing David Wu, Angie Lam, Yang Hongyu Nominated
Best Art Direction Timmy Yip Nominated
Best Costume and Make-up Design Timmy Yip Nominated
Best Action Choreography Corey Yuen Nominated
Best Sound Design Wu Jiang, Steve Burgess Won
Best Visual Effects Craig Hayes Nominated
Best Original Score Tarō Iwashiro Nominated
Best Original Song "River of No Return" Nominated
33rd Japan Academy Prize Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
14th Satellite Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Best Film Editing Angie Lam, Yang Hongyu, Robert A. Ferretti Nominated
Best Art Direction and Production Design Timmy Yip, Eddy Wong Nominated
Best Costume Design Timmy Yip Nominated
Best Cinematography Lü Yue, Zhang Li Nominated
Best Visual Effects Craig Hayes Nominated
Best Sound (Mixing and Editing) Roger Savage, Steve Burgess Won
36th Saturn Awards Best International Film
Best Music Taro Iwashiro
Best Costume
13th LVFCS Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
15th BFCA Critics' Choice Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
8th WAFCA Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
3rd HFCS Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
16th DFWFCA Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated

See also

References

  1. ↑ Total Gross: Red Cliff (Part I + Western release) (Without Italy and U.S.)
  2. ↑ Total Gross: Red Cliff (Part II)
  3. ↑ Italy Box Office: November 13–15, 2009
  4. ↑ Total American Gross: Red Cliff
  5. ↑ "Red Cliff (R2/UK BD) in October", DVD Times, 2007-02-17. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  6. ↑ Dawtrey, A., Guider, E. "Berlin star power eclipses click pics", Variety, 2009-09-30. Retrieved on 2009-11-06.
  7. ↑ "2008 Overseas Total Yearly Box Office", Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2009-03-02
  8. ↑ (Chinese) [1], 2008-11-04. Retrieved on 2009-03-02.
  9. ↑ Zhang, X. "John Woo to reinterpret Cao Cao and Zhou Yu", Jingbao, 2007-02-08. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  10. ↑ Unknown. "Zhao Wei to Join All-star Cast for "Battle of the Red Cliff"", China Radio International, 2007-02-09. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  11. ↑ (Chinese) Tang, A. "Choice of Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang criticized", Chinese Business View, 2007-03-09. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  12. ↑ Lee, M. "Chow Yun-Fat Drops out of 'Red Cliff'", Associated Press, 2007-04-17. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
  13. ↑ Frater, P. & Coonan, C. "Leung rejoins 'Red Cliff'", Variety, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  14. ↑ McCurry, J. "Chinese epic loses the plot as actors quit £40m project", The Guardian, 2007-04-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
  15. ↑ Unknown. "Tony Leung leaps off Red Cliff", The Guardian, 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  16. ↑ Frater, P. "Woo wages 'Battle'", Variety, 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  17. ↑ Elley, Derek "Red Cliff", Variety. Retrieved on 2009-03-02
  18. ↑ (Chinese) Zhang, Z. "Red Cliff to begin shooting mid-April", Xinmin Evening News, 2007-04-04. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  19. ↑ (Chinese) Zheng, Z. "Shooting locations of Red Cliff revealed", Sina Entertainment, 2007-04-04. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
  20. ↑ "Stuntman killed on John Woo film set"
  21. ↑ http://www.silvascreenmusic.com/ishop/299/Tar-Iwashiro/326513/Red-Cliff.aspx
  22. ↑ Soundtrack Collector: Red Cliff (Part I) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  23. ↑ Soundtrack Collector: Red Cliff Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Frater, Patrick (2008-07-13). "'Red Cliff' brings in big numbers". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988876.html?categoryid=19&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  25. ↑ "John Woo's 'Red Cliff' bows big in Asia". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-07-14. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i78e076c5490e131394bc79c0d9fbeda7. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  26. ↑ John Woo takes Chinese epic to Western audiences. AP
  27. ↑ "'Red Cliff' earns John Woo an Asian hero's welcome - $80 mil war epic opens strong across continent". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-07-11. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/china/e3iff4fffbfb65a506f9b7653e3a230c38d. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  28. ↑ "John Woo restores credibility to Chinese epics with 'Red Cliff'". Associated Press. 2008-07-08. http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/film/12571/review-039red-cliff039-restores-credibility-chinese-epic. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  29. ↑ "Film Review: Red Cliff". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-07-11. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11425. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  30. ↑ Elley, Derek (2008-07-20). "Red Cliff Review". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937769.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
  31. ↑ "'Red Cliff': Megastars Bring Mega Action". The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/07/141_26959.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  32. ↑ "Historical China film lives up to expectations". JoongAng Daily. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2892148. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
  33. ↑ War as wisdom and gore. The Japan Times
  34. ↑ The top movies of 2008. The Japan Times
  35. ↑ "Cinema: Woo’s art of war". New Straits Times. 2008-07-16. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Features/20080716161319/Article/index_html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
  36. ↑ "An epic return: Chinese history and culture burst onto the screen in John Woo's Red Cliff". Thanh Nien. 2008-07-20. http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&newsid=40393. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 
  37. ↑ "Film Review: Red Cliff II". The Hollywood Reporter. 2009-01-20. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/film-review-red-cliff-ii-1003932199.story. 
  38. ↑ Derek Elley (2009-01-09). "Red Cliff II Review". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939304.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. 
  39. ↑ "Wooed by the sheer size of it". The Japan Times. 2009-04-10. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20090410a1.html. 
  40. ↑ Red Cliff. Rottentomatoes.

External links

Films directed by John Woo
1970s
The Young Dragons (1974) • The Dragon Tamers (1974) • Princess Chang Ping (1975) • Hand of Death (1976) • Money Crazy (1977) • Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1978) • Hello, Late Homecomers (1978) • Follow the Star (1978)
1980s
From Riches to Rags (1980) • To Hell with the Devil (1981) • Laughing Times (1981) • Plain Jane to the Rescue (1982) • The Time You Need a Friend (1984) • Run Tiger Run (1985) • Heroes Shed No Tears (1986) • A Better Tomorrow (1986) • A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987) • The Killer (1989) • Just Heroes (1989)
1990s
Bullet in the Head (1990) • Once a Thief (1991) • Hard Boiled (1992) • Hard Target (1993) • Broken Arrow (1996) • Once a Thief (1996) • Face/Off (1997) • Blackjack (1998)
2000s
Mission: Impossible II (2000) • Windtalkers (2002) • Paycheck (2003) • Red Cliff (2008-2009) • Reign of Assassins (2010)