Title: Red Cliff (2009)Starring: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang
Directed By: John Woo
I loved this film! John Woo proves here that not only does he still have what it takes to put together tight, effective fight sequences; but he can also handle drama and sweeping romance as well as or better than anyone currently working in Hollywood.
This is a (mostly) factual depiction of the battle of Red Cliffs, a decisive battle that took place in 208/209 A.D. between the forces of Northern warlord Cao Cao and the vastly outnumbered Southern alliance of the followers of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. These characters are all handled fairly and represented as REAL people. There's no ominous villain's monologue or evil cackle. The audience is given both sides of the story and can relate to the motivations of each, although the winners of the battle are depicted as our heroes throughout.
The "International Version" of the film comes in two parts. And that's the one to see. It's amazing to me that even given its EXTENSIVE run-time of almost FIVE HOURS (4:48), the film barely seems to drag on. There are of course some slow spots, but usually they're essential to the plot and never seem to overstay their welcome. If you've got the time to invest, and you'd like to see a truly remarkable piece of historical filmmaking you should give this a try. Highly recommended.
Score: 8.5/10
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