Movielogr

Red Cliff (2008)

Directed by John Woo

History | War | Drama

Most recently watched by DaNiedabaya, jakeneff, seanCduregger

Overview

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Rated R | Length 145 minutes

Actors

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai | Takeshi Kaneshiro | Zhang Fengyi | Chang Chen | Zhao Wei | Hu Jun | Shidou Nakamura | Lin Chi-Ling | You Yong | 侯勇 | Tong Dawei | Song Jia | Ba Sen Zha Bu | Zang Jinsheng | Zhang Shan | Wang Qingxiang | Wang Hui | Xie Gang | Shi Xiao-Hong | Xu Feng-Nian | Guo Chao | Hu Xiaoguang | Cui Yu-Gui | Jiang Tong | Ma Jingjing | Yi Zhen | Jia Hong-Wei | Zhao Cheng-Shun | You Zhang

Viewing History (seen 2 times)

Date ViewedDeviceFormatSourceRating
12/04/2021TVBlu-rayOwned7 stars
02/28/2009TVOtherOwned7.5 stars
 

Viewing Notes

Watched part 1 of John Woo’s ambitious and bloody period piece of one of the greatest wars in Chinese history; the north’s attempt at taking over the south. Part 1 came out in 2008 and leads up to right before the Han assault on Red Cliff. The half builds up the characters and it’s in the second half of part 1 that things really get interesting and intense. It’s a strange move for Woo but I always appreciate the subtlety of Tony Leung’s performance. Great to see Vicki Zhao in a strong role. The Guqin (seven-stringed zither) scene alone is worth the watch.

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