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Say what? Another two hours to find out how the Battle of Red Cliff actually goes? Is it worth it? Oh yes, all you John Woo fans out there, it really is…
For Asian audiences, the first part of John Woo’s epic Red Cliff was something of a teaser: over two hours running time and still we don’t get to the eponymous battle itself. Worse still, once all the major characters have been introduced – particularly General Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) and Sun Shangxiang (Zhao Wei) – the film manages to leave behind its slow, political machinations to become a wholeheartedly enjoyable affair. It left us with a battle sequence on such an epic scale it managed to dwarf those in Lord Of The Rings, full of tricky formation manoeuvres and trademark Woo slow-mo backsliding, baby saving and even a pigeon, ahem, I mean dove reference (yay!)
So part two should be full stream ahead for the decisive historic battle itself then? Well not quite…
As you may have guessed from the pace of the first film, it’s going to take a while to get to the battle itself. First there’s Sun Shangxiang going undercover in the enemy Cao Cao’s (Zhang Fengyi) army, making something of an unlikely spy (all be it a classic Chinese premise) who befriends a soldier promoted to commander due to his great cujo (that’s football to you and me) playing.
Then an outbreak of typhoid in Cao Cao’s camp, which Zhou Yu honourably decides not to use as an advantage against him in this war – only to have Cao send the dead bodies of the infected into Yu’s battlements. As more become infected, the alliance between Sun Quan’s (Chen Chang) kingdom and the displaced populace led by Liu Bei (You Yong crumbles. With Liu unwilling to let any further harm come to those under his protection, they leave Sun forces to face Cao’s already far greater army.
(Which is nice, considering they got them into this war in the first place!)
Zhou Yu and master strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) must use all their wiles to give them an advantage against Cao – but what chance do they really stand?
Well, I don’t think I’ll be spoiling things by telling you that, ultimately, John Woo pulls out all the stops for a satisfying conclusion that beats the first for all-round entertainment, even if it lasts (nearly) another two and a half hours.
I have to admit to retracting my original review, that the Western release, which effectively cuts the running time in half, would be an improvement. Though the film takes its time, now we have the enjoyable interplay between the characters. And if the script is, typically for Woo, a little simplistic at times, its beautifully shot by cinematographers Lu Yu (Lifetimes, Shanghai Triad, Breaking the Silence) and Zhang Li (The Banquet) and more importantly, brilliantly played. Truth is there’s little from this half I’d want to see lost, particularly as the most likely cuts will be that characterisation and the delicate cultural references that help describe their motivations.
As previously mentioned, Tony Leung is compelling in his role as Zhou Yu, and Zhao Wei lights up the screen (though to my mind still seems too modern for a historical drama). It’s nice to see such a particularly strong female in a John Woo movie, and even the rather insipid character of Xiao Qiao (newcomer Chiling Lin) proves she has more ‘balls’ than most of the male cast.
Zhang Fengyi also makes an impressive lead as Cao Cao (a welcome return to the big screen since playing the assassin in Chen Kaige’s The Emperor and the Assassin) bringing complexity to the role of a leader more bound up in his own ambition than actually evil per se.
Takeshi Kaneshiro, on the other hand, becomes rather annoying, spending most of the film either smugly smirking to himself, or just on the cusp of tears, or worse (and this is a look to master) both! Oddly having taken centre stage in the first part, Liu Bei and his supporting characters take a back seat in this film – a plot necessity that may well make better sense in the Western edit.
All of which leads us to that definitive battle, the one the whole point of the film resides on. Is it really worth it? Well, it gets off to a shaky start. Despite it’s impressive scale, the naval battle is nowhere near as exciting as you’d like it to be. Namely due to the night time setting and high contrast of the flames, the action is confusing at best, and not on the level of Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, for instance. (It may look better on the big screen or Blu-ray versions?)
Yet of course, it’s on land where Woo finds his strongest footing. Once again this marathon skirmish bears comparison to that of Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King, as Zhou’s forces attempt to conquer Cao’s battlements, with massive explosions and yes, that borrowed Chinese Army at his disposal. Together with action chorographer Corey Yuen, there are plenty of great moments and ‘Woo-ism’s’ to keep both fans and general cinema audiences happy: a rope turned into flaming whip; heroic sacrifices; a classic Woo three-way (with swords not guns); and one hell of a finale that goes a long way towards outdoing even The Killer and Hard Boiled… not quite, but nearly!
(You might well ask yourself why he made such a mess of Windtalkers, though one can mainly put that down to the American production.)
And by avoiding the overly hysterical, overly melodramatic nature of recent historical dramas, Woo has created a film that can transcend even Western audiences. (Let’s not pretend that we’re aiming for any kind historical accuracy here.) Easily the best Woo film in over a decade, I only hope he can put his increasing poor Hollywood record behind him (I mean, Paycheck anyone?) and keep future projects up to this level.
It’ll be interesting to see how audiences react to the edited version of Red Cliff in UK cinemas. Early signs are the Western edit has been somewhat harsh, as you might expect from losing two hours of screen time, but it’s still a great ride.
Red Cliff, the abridged Western version, is released in the UK on 12 June by Entertainment Films.
DVD details
Distributor: Mei Ah (HK)
Once again, the Mei Ah DVD release is a pretty good master, though tends to lose some of the detail in the nighttime scenes. It comes with good sound options and great, mistake free subtitles.
The bonus disc is more disappointing. Though it doesn't come with the 'making of' as advertised on the box, it has plenty of interviews with John Woo and the cast. HOWEVER, sadly no English subtitles. Surely HK distributors know better than that by now, or could this be to dissuade international sales?
