Red Cliff (film)

For early uses, see loss Cliff
2008 movie
Red Cliff or Chibi ( chinese : 赤壁 ) is a 2008–2009 chinese epic war film, based on the Battle of Red Cliffs ( 208–209 AD ) and the events at the goal of the Han dynasty and immediately prior to the Three Kingdoms period in Imperial China. The film was directed by John Woo, and stars Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Hu Jun, and Lin Chi-ling. It is Woo ‘s first major film since 2003 ‘s Paycheck [ 8 ] and his first Chinese-language feature of speech since 1992 ‘s Hard Boiled, [ 9 ] besides starring Leung.

Reading: Red Cliff (film)

In China and a lot of Asia, Red Cliff was released in two parts, totaling over four hours in duration ( 288 minutes ). The first partially ( 146 minutes ) premiered in Beijing on 2 July 2008 and the second ( 142 minutes ) was released in China on 7 January 2009. away Asia, a cut-down single 148 minute version was released in 2009. however, the full-length bipartite version was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2009, [ 10 ] and in the United States and Canada on 23 March 2010. [ 11 ] The inaugural depart of the film grossed over US $ 127 million internationally [ 12 ] and broke the Asian box position record previously held by Titanic in mainland China. [ 13 ]

plat [edit ]

Director John Woo said in an consultation with David Stratton that the film is lone 50 % factual. Woo decided to alter the report using modern feelings and his own feelings for a more worldly credence. According to Woo, historic accuracy was less important than how the audience felt about the battle. [ 14 ]

separate I [edit ]

In the summer of 208 A.D., towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the Chancellor, Cao Cao, leads the imperial army on a campaign to eliminate the southerly warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei, whom he denounces as “ rebels ”. Emperor xian reluctantly approves the campaign. Cao Cao ‘s mighty united states army swiftly conquers Jing Province. The Battle of Changban is ignited when Cao Cao ‘s cavalry starts attacking civilians on an exodus led by Liu Bei. During the conflict, Liu Bei ‘s followers, including his trust brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, give an excellent display of their battle skills by holding off the enemy while buying meter for the civilians to retreat. The warrior Zhao Yun fights bravely to rescue Liu Bei ‘s ensnare family but merely succeeds in rescuing Liu ‘s baby son. Following the struggle, Liu Bei ‘s adviser, Zhuge Liang, goes on a diplomatic mission to Jiangdong to form an alliance between his lord and Sun Quan against Cao Cao. Sun Quan was initially in the midst of a dilemma of whether to surrender or fight back, but his decisiveness to resist Cao Cao hardens after Zhuge Liang ‘s apt persuasion and a subsequent tiger hunt with his viceroy Zhou Yu and his baby Sun Shangxiang. meanwhile, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, two naval commanders from Jing Province, assurance allegiance to Cao Cao, who puts them in command of his united states navy. After the hasty geological formation of the Sun–Liu alliance, the forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan call for a meet to formulate a plan to counter Cao Cao ‘s army, which is quickly advancing towards their base at Red Cliff from both land and water. The battle begins with Sun Shangxiang leading some riders to lure Cao Cao ‘s avant-garde force into the allies ‘ Bagua Formation. The vanguard force is defeated by the allies but Cao Cao shows no disappointment and proceeds to lead his main army to the riverbank directly opposition Red Cliff, where they make camp. While the allies throw a feast to celebrate their victory, Zhuge Liang conceives a plan to send Sun Shangxiang on an espionage mission to Cao Cao ‘s camp. They maintain touch by sending messages via a pigeon. The film ends with Zhou Yu lighting his miniaturize battleships on a map based on the conflict formation .

part II [edit ]

Sun Shangxiang has infiltrated Cao Cao ‘s camp and is secretly noting its details and sending them via a pigeon to Zhuge Liang. meanwhile, Cao Cao ‘s army is seized with a plague of typhoid fever that kills a count of his troops. Cao Cao orders the corpses to be sent on floating rafts to the allies ‘ camp, in the hope of spreading the harass to his enemies. The allied army ‘s esprit de corps is affected when some unsuspecting soldiers let the harass in. finally, a dishearten Liu Bei leaves with his forces while Zhuge Liang stays behind to assist Sun Quan. Cao Cao is overjoyed when he hears that the alliance has collapsed. At the lapp time, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun propose a new tactic of interlocking the battleships with iron beams to minimise rocking when sailing on the river and reduce the chances of the troops falling airsick .
Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang make plans to eliminate Cai Mao and Zhang Yun and produce 100,000 arrows respectively. They agreed that whoever fails to complete his mission shall be executed under military law. Zhuge Liang ‘s scheme of letting the enemy shoot 20 boats covered in strew brings in over 100,000 arrows from the enemy and makes Cao Cao doubt the commitment of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. On the other handwriting, Cao Cao sends Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender, but Zhou tricks Jiang Gan into believing that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are planning to assassinate Cao Cao. Both Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu ‘s respective plans complement each other when Cao Cao is convinced, despite having earlier doubts about Jiang Gan ‘s report, that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were indeed planning to assassinate him by intentionally “ donating ” arrows to the enemy. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are executed only for Cao Cao to realize his stupidity afterwards. Sun Shangxiang returns to base from Cao Cao ‘s camp with a map of the enemy formation. Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang decide to attack Cao Cao ‘s navy with fire after predicting that a particular climatic discipline will soon cause the winds to blow from the southeasterly – a direction to their advantage. Before the struggle, Sun Quan ‘s forces feast on rice dumplings to celebrate the Winter Solstice. meanwhile, Zhou Yu ‘s wife, Xiaoqiao, after over hearing the struggle plan heads towards Cao Cao ‘s camp alone secretly in the hope of persuading Cao to give up his ambitious plans. She fails to convince Cao Cao and decides to distract him with an detailed tea ceremony to buy time for her slope. The battle begins when the southeast wind starts blowing in the middle of the night. Sun Quan ‘s forces launch their attack on Cao Cao ‘s united states navy by ramming smaller boats that are set ablaze into Cao ‘s larger battleships. On the early hand, Liu Bei ‘s forces, whose passing from the alliance was a ruse, start attacking Cao Cao ‘s forts on country. By dawn, Cao Cao ‘s entire united states navy has been destroyed. The allies launch another offensive on Cao Cao ‘s labor army in his forts and succeed in breaking through using testudo formation despite suffering intemperate casualties. Although Cao Cao is besieged in his main camp, he manages to hold Zhou Yu at sword point after ambushing him with the help of Cao Hong. Xiahou Jun besides shows up with Xiaoqiao as a hostage and threatens to kill her if the allies do not surrender. Just then, Zhao Yun manages to reverse the situation by rescuing Xiaoqiao with a surprise attack, while Sun Quan fires an arrow that grazes the top of Cao Cao ‘s headway and cuts his scalp loose. Cao Cao is now at the mercy of the allies, but they spare his life and leave. In the final setting, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang have a final conversation before Zhuge walks away into the far distance with the newborn foal Mengmeng .

Abridged adaptation [edit ]

For the non-Asian releases, the film was shortened from 288 minutes to 148 minutes and was released in some countries under the championship Battle of Red Cliff. An open narration in american English provides the historical background, whereas in the asian publish, a more brief description of the context of the political position appears in scrolling form ten minutes into the film. celebrated 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 percolation, where she befriended a northern soldier Sun Shucai ( though the scene where she mourns Sun ‘s death was not cut ). The tiger hunting picture was besides cut from the non-Asian releases. The original bipartite 288 moment English version was released as a two-disc determine on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2009, [ 10 ] and in the United States and Canada on 23 March 2010. [ 11 ]

hurl [edit ]

output [edit ]

Casting [edit ]

Ken Watanabe was originally selected for the character of Cao Cao. [ 15 ] According to a report, some taiwanese fans voiced objections over the choice as they felt that it was inappropriate for a japanese actor to portray an significant chinese historic figure. The composition claimed that the protests influenced the decision of conductor John Woo, who finally chose Zhang Fengyi for the character. [ 16 ] Chow Yun-fat was in the first place selected for the function of Zhou Yu, and had even earlier been considered for the function of Liu Bei. however, he pulled out on 13 April 2007, just as shooting began. Chow explained that he received a revised script a week earlier and was not given sufficient time to prepare, but producer Terence Chang disputed this, saying that he could not work with Chow because the film ‘s Hollywood insurance company opposed 73 clauses in Chow ‘s contract. [ 17 ] Chow was replaced by Tony Leung, who had previously turned down the role of Zhuge Liang, [ 18 ] [ 19 ] as he was exhausted after filming Lust, Caution ; [ 20 ] but offered to rejoin the cast because of the urgency of the matter .

Filming [edit ]

Principal photography commenced in mid-april 2007. [ 21 ] Shooting was held at a film studio in Beijing, angstrom well as in Hebei province, where naval war was staged at two working reservoirs. [ 22 ] On 9 June 2008, a stuntman was killed in a addict open fire accident that besides left six others injured. [ 23 ]

The digital ocular effects in Red Cliff II were produced by Modus FX, The Orphanage, Frantic Films, Red FX and Prime Focus. Woo said that this film differed from other films based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, including story-based drama and Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, because it “ brings out more humanist stories tangled with the characters ‘ psychology and life events. ” [ 24 ]

release [edit ]

production is helmed by Lion Rock Entertainment and China Film Group Corporation. [ 25 ] Distributors were fast to clinch the manage before shooting even began. Distributors include Chengtian Entertainment ( China ), CMC Entertainment / twentieth Century Fox Taiwan Branch ( Taiwan ), Mei Ah Entertainment ( Hong Kong ), Avex Group / Toho-Towa Co. ( Japan ), Showbox ( South Korea ), the Los Angeles -based Summit Entertainment ( external ), and Magnolia Pictures ( United States ). [ 26 ] westerly critics besides reacted positively to the film when the two parts were released as one film ( 148 minute version ) in June 2009. On review collector web site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 89 % “ bracing ” rating based on 113 reviews, with an average denounce of 7.2/10. The site ‘s consensus states : “ Featuring some impressively exalted battlefield carry through, John Woo returns to Asia and returns to form in the process for this lavish and slick historical epic. ” [ 27 ] Metacritic reports a 73 out of 100 evaluation based on 22 critics, indicating “ by and large golden reviews ”. [ 28 ]

critical reception [edit ]

First separate [edit ]

During the foremost separate of the film ‘s Asia unblock, Variety reported that the film enjoyed a enormous begin to its theatrical run across East Asia since its release date on 10 July 2008. [ 29 ] The film scored a record-breaking open weekend across six asian territories. [ 30 ] Variety besides reported that the film received a by and large convinced critical reception in Hong Kong, China. [ 29 ] In South Korea, the opening day of Red Cliff knocked Hancock depressed to 79,000 admissions Thursday, or an estimated gross of $ 550,000. [ 29 ] The film besides drew more than 1.6 million viewers in South Korea – about 130,000 more than the Batman sequel The Dark Knight. [ 31 ] At a budget of US $ 80 million, along with media scrutiny over its drawn-out and disruptive blast, including the end of a stunt valet and the hospitalization of its manufacturer, the film was thought by many a big fiscal gamble, but industry insiders reported that good viva-voce and positivist reviews appeared to be paying off for the film ‘s solid box-office tax income. [ 32 ] The Associated Press ( AP ) gave the film a glow review, write, “ John Woo displays the all-important eminence in the excellently told Red Cliff, the Hong Kong film director ‘s triumphant render to Chinese film after 16 years in Hollywood ” and “ with Red Cliff, Woo shows he ‘s calm a consummate film director to be reckoned with. ” [ 33 ] The Hollywood Reporter besides gave the film a positive review, writing, “ A formidable preliminary to an epic poem struggle with glorious effects and action spectacles. ” [ 34 ] Variety besides gave the film a favorable reappraisal, and describes Red Cliff : “ balances character, backbone, spectacle and visceral action in a meaty, dramatically satisfying pie that delivers on the ballyhoo and will surprise many who felt Woo increasingly lost his mojo during his long years stateside. ” The recapitulation besides states that the picture may however disappoint those plainly looking for a costume rework of his kinetic 80s carry through films, such as Heroes Shed No Tears and A Better Tomorrow. [ 35 ] The Korea Times writes : “ ultimately, asian film sees the birth of a movie with the magnificence – in both budget and inspiration – of epic poem franchises like The Lord of the Rings. ” “ Hefty action sequences are knit together with delightful detail, including poetic animal imagination. While the Asian-ness of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon caters to a western hearing, Red Cliff captures the heart and soul of the asian philosophy with a more universal appeal. ” [ 36 ] One of South Korea ‘s chief English-language newspapers JoongAng Daily raves about the film by stating “ the diachronic China film lived astir to its expectations in more ways than one. ” [ 37 ] 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, febrile heat and elegantly choreographed battle scenes … ” [ 38 ] and listed the film at the end of the year as one of the best external ( non-Japanese ) films of 2008. [ 39 ] The Malaysian national newspaper New Straits Times besides gave the film an enthusiastic review, and states : “ The first film is breathtaking in its magnificence, with amazing struggle scenes. ” The review besides praised the movie ‘s ‘impressive ‘ filming and noted that “ the characters are all well fleshed-out, complete with individual quirks and mannerisms. ” [ 40 ] vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien Daily remarked : “ Red Cliff ’ south carry through 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 legal action clean and one-of-a-kind by blending seemliness with ferocity in a whole new writing style. Lovers of asian film can rejoice, John Woo is back. ” [ 41 ]

second separate [edit ]

The second half of the film was released in China on 7 January 2009. The Hollywood Reporter writes : “ It is director John Woo ‘s healthy order of narrative sequence, his skill in devising kinetic live-action to off-set technical ostentation and his imagination of how to turn epic into entertainment that propels “ Red Cliff II ” to a thunder climax, ” and “ colossal output turns history into caption by splashing out on spectacle and entertainment. ” [ 42 ] Variety describes the film as “ Delivers in spades … with characters already established, this half is expectedly heavier on military action … though still pack beaucoup human pastime anterior to the final examination hour ‘s barnstorm conflict, ” and states the film overall as “ in this 280 minute, bipartite version, helmer-producer Woo and fellow producer Terence Chang have indeed crafted one of the great chinese costume epics of all time. ” [ 43 ] The Japan Times gave the moment region four-and-a-half stars out of five, stating that the “ visually stunning chinese diachronic epic ratchets the entertainment factor up to eleven. ” [ 44 ]