Chi bi (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

John Woo (screenplay) &
Khan Chan (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 July 2008 (China)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Plot:

Based on the events during the Three Kingdoms period in Ancient China in which specifically told in the title, The Battle of Red Cliffs.

Plot Keywords:

China | Chinese | Chinese History | Ancient China | Alliance

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Zhou Yu
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Zhuge Liang
Fengyi Zhang	...	Cao Cao
Chen Chang	...	Sun Quan
Wei Zhao	...	Sun Shangxiang
Jun Hu	...	Zhao Yun
Chiling Lin	...	Xiao Qiao
Shido Nakamura	...	Gan Xing
Yong You	...	Liu Bei
Ba Sen Zha Bu	...	Guan Yu
Yong Hou	...	Lu Su
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tong Jiang	...	Li Tong
Jia Song	...	Li Ji
Chun Sun
Dawei Tong	...	Sun Shucai
Qingxiang Wang	...	Kong Rong
Jingwu Ma	...	Old man (uncredited)

Directed by
John Woo

Writing credits
John Woo		(screenplay) &
Khan Chan		(screenplay) (as Chan Khan) &
Cheng Kuo		(screenplay) (as Kuo Cheng) &
Heyu Sheng		(screenplay) (as Sheng Heyu)
Guanzhong Luo		(novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms")

Produced by
Terence Chang	....	producer
Zilong Guo	....	co-producer (as Guo Zilong)
Sanping Han	....	producer (as Han Sanping)
Xiaoei Han	....	co-executive producer (as Han Xiaoei)
Bing He	....	co-producer (as He Bing)
Chin-Wen Huang	....	co-producer (as Chin-Wen Huang)
Xiaofeng Hu	....	executive producer
Xiaofeng Hu	....	line producer (as Hu Xiaofeng)
Tao Jiang	....	chief producer
Yeh Jufeng	....	administrative producer (as Yeh Ju Feng)
Wu Kebo	....	co-producer (as Wu Kebo)
Woo-Taek Kim	....	co-producer (as WooTaek Kim)
Sirena Liu	....	co-producer (as Liu Yan)
Hongshi Lu	....	co-executive producer (as Lu Hongshi)
Masato Matsuura	....	co-producer
Rick Nathanson	....	line producer
Mingyu Peng	....	administrative producer (as Peng Mingyu)
Zhong-lun Ren	....	co-producer (as Ren Zhonglun)
Dong-ming Shi	....	associate producer (as Shi Dongming)
David Tang	....	administrative producer
Zhan Teng	....	co-producer (as Teng Zhan)
Lori Tilkin	....	associate producer
Jianqiu Wang	....	co-producer (as Wang Jianqiu)
Todd Weinger	....	associate producer
Wang Wei	....	administrative producer
Anne Woo	....	administrative producer
John Woo	....	chief producer
John Woo	....	producer
Jianshai Xu	....	associate producer (as Xu Jianshai)
Pengle Xu	....	co-executive producer (as Xu Pengle)
Shoucheng Yang	....	co-producer (as Yang Shoucheng)
Xiaoming Yan	....	co-producer (as Yan Xiaoming)
Cheri Yeung	....	administrative producer
Dong Yu	....	associate producer (as Yu Dong)
Dong Yu	....	co-producer (as Yu Dong)
Daxing Zhang	....	administrative producer
Qiang Zhang	....	co-producer (as Zhang Qiang)

Original Music by
Tarô Iwashiro

Cinematography by
Yue Lü		(director of photography) (as Lu Yue)
Li Zhang		(director of photography) (as Zhang Li)

Film Editing by
Robert A. Ferretti
Angie Lam
Hongyu Yang		(as Yang Hong Yu)

Casting by
Jie Cheng

Production Design by
Timmy Yip		(as Tim Yip)

Art Direction by
Eddy Wong

Costume Design by
Timmy Yip		(as Tim Yip)

Production Management
David Dresher	....	post-production supervisor
Richard Murken	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas Chow	....	first assistant director
Richard L. Fox	....	first assistant director
Patrick Leung	....	second unit director: naval unit
Han Niu	....	second second assistant director
Fei Wong	....	second assistant director
Corey Yuen	....	second unit director: action unit
Jinzhan Zhang	....	second unit director (as Zhang Jinzhan)
Wei Jiang	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Danielle Barron	....	foley editor (as Danii Barron)
Steve Burgess	....	sound designer
Steve Burgess	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Goodes	....	sound effects editor
James Harvey	....	sound effects editor
Robert Mackenzie	....	sound effects editor
Peter Mills	....	sound effects editor
Jiajia Mok	....	sound effects editor
Andrew Neil	....	sound effects editor
Glenn Newnham	....	sound effects editor
Liesl Pieterse	....	studio assistant
Paul Pirola	....	sound effects editor
Roger Savage	....	sound re-recording mixer
Roger Savage	....	sound supervisor
Terry Tu	....	sound effects editor
Sam Wang	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Edward T. Reiff Jr.	....	special effects technician
Frank W. Tarantino	....	special effects foreman: Kerner Optical

Visual Effects by
Heather Abels	....	matte painter: The Orphanage
Alp Altiner	....	Visual FX Art Director: CAFE FX
Alexandra Altrocchi	....	digital outsourcing producer: The Orphanage (as Alex Altrocchi Wolbach)
Jonathan Alvord	....	visual effects editor: CafeFx
Steve Arguello	....	graphics lead
Dan Ashton	....	film recording technician
Jim Aupperle	....	lighting technical director
Satish Babu	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Cheryl Bainum	....	executive producer: HATCH
Jeff Barnes	....	production executive: CafeFX
Dana Basinger	....	production support: The Orphanage
Jason Berg	....	visual effects production assistant: The Orphanage
Dana Bonilla	....	key set production assistant (kerner optical )
Nick Booth	....	scanning and recording supervisor
Mike Bozulich	....	lead compositor: cafefx
Hans Brekke	....	character animator: Tippett Studio
Carol Brzezinski	....	post production supervisor: The Orphanage
Diane Caliva	....	post production supervisor: The Orphanage
Julie Cardinal	....	VFX Producer: Digital Dimension
Christina Castellan	....	visual effects production assistant: Cafe FX
Dan Cayer	....	digital compositor
Sébastien Chartier	....	Compositor: Digital Dimension
Ian Chriss	....	visual effects best boy grip: Kerner Optical
Tom Cloutier	....	visual effects key grip: Kerner Optical
Webster Colcord	....	previsualization: The Orphanage
Josh Cole	....	compositing supervisor: Crystal CG, Beijing
Jason Crosby	....	cg supervisor
Rif Dagher	....	research & development
Bruce Dahl	....	previsualization: The Orphanage
Dominic Daigle	....	lead digital artist: HATCH
Joe C. D'Amato	....	resource technical assistant manager: The Orphanage
Russell Darling	....	computer graphics supervisor: Tippett Studio
Valerie Delahaye	....	visual effects producer: Make Inc
Vincent DeLay	....	character rigger: Cafe FX
Steve Dellerson	....	visual effects
Stephen DeLuca	....	compositing supervisor: The Orphanage
Brian Dowrick	....	animation director: Crystal CG, Beijing
Brennan Doyle	....	visual effects supervisor
Stéphanie Dubé	....	texture painter
Robert Durnin	....	lead rendering technical director: CafeFX
Leif Einarsson	....	layout artist
Nino Ellington	....	production support: The Orphanage
Jean-François Ferland	....	digital compositor
Deak Ferrand	....	concept artist: HATCH
Deak Ferrand	....	lead matte painter: HATCH
Anna Fields	....	visual effects coordinator: The Orphanage
Mike Fischer	....	digital artist
Jordan Freda	....	paint/roto artist: The Orphanage
Jordan Freda	....	roto/paint artist: CafeFX
Haskell Friedman	....	lighting technical director
Sébastien Gagné	....	Compositor: Digital Dimension
Vicki Galloway-Weimer	....	visual effects executive producer: Cafe FX (as Vicki Galloway Weimer)
Christian Garcia	....	CG Supervisor: Digital Dimension
Jack Geist	....	visual effects producer
Mohamed Ghouse	....	digital compositor
Greg Gilmore	....	visual effects editor: The Orphanage
Benoit Girard	....	Executive Producer: Digital Dimension
Daniel Gloates	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Robin Scott Graham	....	digital compositor: CafeFx
Jon Green	....	matte painter: The Orphanage
Chris Halstead	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Heather Han	....	digital artist: The Orphanage
Craig Hayes	....	visual effects supervisor: The Orphanage
Sharon Smith Holley	....	visual effects editor
Amy Hollywood Wixson	....	senior visual effects producer: The Orphanage
Michael Hutchinson	....	production support: The Orphanage
Steve Hutchins	....	roto/paint artist: CafeFX
Tristan Ikuta	....	digital effects artist
Amanda Instone	....	digital painter
Rusty Ippolito	....	digital artist
Mark Jeschke	....	matchmover: The Orphanage
Simon P. Jones	....	lighting technical director: CafeFX
Brandon Kachel	....	matte painter: Cafe FX
Tim Kadowaki	....	effects animator
Brad Kalinoski	....	digital compositor: Hatch FX
Sushil Kalyanshetti	....	visual effects artist
Apirak Kamjan	....	matchmover: CafeFx
Bonnie Kanner	....	visual effects executive producer: Pixel Magic
Dushyant Kashyap	....	digital effects artist
Ken Kokka	....	visual effects plate producer: The Orphanage
Jaye Krebs	....	digital compositor: CafeFX
Joshua LaCross	....	lead compositor: The Orphanage
Woei Lee	....	compositor: The Orphanage (as Woei Hsi Lee)
Patrick Lemay	....	3D Tracking: Digital Dimension
Michael Lester	....	compositor: The Orphanage
Votch Levi	....	crowd pipeline lead
Jimmy Lillard	....	visual effects editor: The Orphanage
Neil Lim Sang	....	animator: CafeFX
Quan Lin	....	visual effects editor
Seth Lippman	....	cg supervisor
Steven Lloyd	....	digital artist
George Macri	....	visual effects producer: Pixel Magic
Joseph Mandel	....	production support: The Orphanage
Julian Mann	....	CG supervisor
Stuart T. Maschwitz	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Tran Ma	....	3D matte painter: CafeFX
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor: Pixel Magic
Dan McNamara	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Landon Medeiros	....	digital compositor: Digital Dimension
Ramesh G. Meena	....	digital effects artist
Bhavik Mehta	....	digital compositor
Ed Mendez	....	compositing supervisor - cafefx
Michael Miller	....	digital compositor
Jean-Francois Morissette	....	senior matchmover
Phillip Moses	....	production operations: CafeFX
Brad Moylan	....	lead compositor: Pixel Magic
Jesh Murthy	....	visual effects supervisor: Anibrain
Jihyun Nam	....	visual effects
Paul Newberry	....	senior animator: Cafe Fx
Vissal Ong Nguon	....	lead compositor: Digital Dimension
Luke O'Byrne	....	head of production: The Orphanage
Miguel Ortega	....	model/texture lead: CafeFX
Desi Ortiz	....	visual effects managing editor: CafeFX
Stéphane Paradis	....	Compositor: Digital Dimension
Stéphane Paradis	....	visual effects coordinator: Digital Dimension
Stacey Pothoven	....	visual effects coordinator
Alex Prichard	....	associate visual effects supervisor: The Orphanage
Michael S. Pryor	....	VP business development: Anibrain Digital
Steven Quinones-Colon	....	senior technical director
Kevin Rafferty	....	visual effects supervisor: CafeFX
Jonathan S. Ramos	....	effects animator: Tippett Studio
Aaron Rhodes	....	colorist: The Orphanage
Chad Ridgeway	....	roto/paint artist: CafeFX
David Ridlen	....	digital effects artist
Martin Rosenberg	....	visual effects production supervisor: Kerner Optical
Thomas Rosseter	....	digital compositor
Jonathan Rothbart	....	senior staff: The Orphanage
Stephen Roucher	....	film recording technician
Salvador Ruiz	....	previsualization: The Orphanage
Marc Sadeghi	....	visual effects executive producer: The Orphanage
Krystal Sae Eua	....	model/texture artist
Marc-Andre Samson	....	senior digital artist: HATCH
David Schnee	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Dong Yeop Shin	....	computer graphics supervisor
Richard Slechta	....	lighting supervisor: CafeFX
Eddie Soria	....	senior roto/paint artist
Joseph Spadaro	....	character rigging supervisor
Scott Stewart	....	senior staff: The Orphanage (as Scott Charles Stewart)
Kevin Struckman	....	digital compositor
Frank Strzalkowski	....	visual effects gaffer: Kerner Optical
Russ Sueyoshi	....	digital compositor
Jacob Telleen	....	render technical assitant: Tippett Studio
Jason Thielen	....	character animator: CafeFX
Scot D. Thomson	....	3D Tracking: Digital Dimension
Clint Thorne	....	modeler: The Orphanage
Brian Tolle	....	previsualization: The Orphanage
Yimi Tong	....	visual effects coordinator: The Orphanage
Alexandre Tremblay	....	digital compositor
Kenneth Voss	....	roto/paint artist
O.D. Welch	....	production executive: CafeFX
Andrew C. Whitelaw	....	digital artist: HATCH
Pete Williams	....	digital imaging manager
Charlie Winter	....	lighting technical director: CafeFX
Gordon T. Wittmann	....	visual effects associate producer: The Orphanage
Tiffany Wu	....	visual effects digital production manager: The Orphanage
Chris Qi Yao	....	digital artist
David Zbriger	....	post production data supervisor: The Orphanage
Will Anielewicz	....	shader development: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Siksit Boonyodom	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Owen Calouro	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Jerry Castro	....	editorial department supervisor: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Rama Dunayevich	....	public relations: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Mary Lou Finn	....	production accountant: The Orphanage (uncredited)
David Gladstein	....	software programmer: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Jong Soo Goo	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Timothy Gross	....	systems engineer: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Doug Hogan	....	roto artist: (uncredited )
Kevin Hong	....	development: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Sunghwan Hong	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Ryan Howell	....	resource technical assistant: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Brad Isdrab	....	technical support: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Michelle Kater	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Jin Yong Kim	....	matchmove artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Kwang Jib Kim	....	visual effects production (uncredited)
David Lloyd	....	information technology director: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Brandon McNaughton	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Chris Mills	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Charles Schwartz	....	matchmove artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Bee Jin Tan	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Brian Tolle	....	matchmove artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
David Townsend	....	resource technical assistant: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Michael Tsai	....	matchmove artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)
Pete Wheelan	....	roto/paint artist: The Orphanage (uncredited)

Stunts
Thomas M. Ficke	....	utility stunts
Jian Yong Guo	....	stunt coordinator (as Guo Jian Yung)
Dion Lam	....	stunt supervisor
Corey Yuen	....	action director

Camera and Electrical Department
Kai Chen	....	crane operator: technocrane

Editorial Department
Tony Chiu	....	post-production coordinator
David Hollingsworth	....	digital intermediate colorist
Shanon Moratti	....	digital intermediate editor
Han Niu	....	post-production coordinator
Adam Scott	....	head of digital intermediate
WenQian Yu	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Michiko Akao	....	musician: Japanese transverse flute
Hyakushichi Fukuhara	....	musician: Japanese transverse flute
Nobuhito Ikehata	....	music producer
Tarô Iwashiro	....	conductor
Tarô Iwashiro	....	orchestrator
Tim Ryan	....	music editor
Jianping Tang	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Tom Chung	....	first assistant accountant
Jasmine Jiang	....	translator
Roger Lee	....	financial controller
Patrick Leung	....	planning director
Luigi Riitano	....	production accountant
Tyler Stokes	....	assistant: Terence Chang
Peter Tsui	....	supervisor
Wei Wang	....	supervisor (as Wang Wei)
Yaguang Wu	....	supervisor (as Wu Yakang)
Xiangyang Yang	....	supervisor (as Yang Xiangyang)
WenQian Yu	....	assistant: Rick Nathanson
Xiaofeng Yu	....	supervisor (as Yu Xiaofeng)
Chunhua Zhao	....	supervisor (as Chunhau Zhao)
Hai Cheng Zhao	....	supervisor (as Zhao Haicheng)

Thanks
Philip Lee	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Beijing Film Studio (presented by)
• China Film Group (presented by)
• Lion Rock Productions (presented by)
• Shanghai Film Group (co-presented by)
• China Movie Channel (co-presented by)
• Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Company (co-presented by)
• Beijing Forbidden City Film Co. (co-presented by)
• Chengdu Media Group (co-presented by)
• Chengtian Entertainment (co-presented by)
• Zoki Century International Culture Media Beijing Co. (co-presented by)
• Beijing Guang Dian Film & Television Media Co. (co-presented by)
• Beijing Jinyinma Movie & TV Culture Co. (co-presented by)
• Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG) (co-presented by)
• Avex Entertainment (co-presented by)
• CMC Entertainment (co-presented by)
• Showbox Entertainment (co-presented by)
• Chengtian Entertainment Group (International) Holding Company
• Three Kingdoms

Distributors

• Showbox Entertainment (2008) (South Korea) (all media)
• CMC Entertainment (2008) (Taiwan) (all media)
• China Film Group (2008) (China) (all media)
• Mei Ah Entertainment (2008) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Scorpio East (2008) (Singapore) (all media)
• Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. (2008) (Thailand) (all media)
• Icon Film Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Magnet Releasing (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Magnolia Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Amero PT (2008) (Indonesia) (all media)
• Avex Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (all media)
• Bontonfilm (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Constantin Film (2008) (Germany) (all media)
• Contender Entertainment Group (2008) (UK) (all media)
• E1 Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• Eagle Pictures (2008) (Italy) (all media)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2008) (Singapore) (all media)
• Independent Films (2009) (Netherlands) (all media)
• Jaguar Film International Distribution (2008) (Middle East)
• Ledafilms (2009) (Mexico) (all media)
• Mediacorp Raintree Pictures (2008) (Singapore) (all media)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2008) (France) (all media)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2009) (Scandinavia) (all media)
• Odeon (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Showbox/Mediaplex (2008) (South Korea) (all media)
• Toho-Towa (2008) (Japan) (all media)

Special Effects

• Orphanage, The
• 37.2 (special effects)
• Anibrain
• CafeFX
• Crystal CG
• Demolition Ltd. (special effects)
• Digital Dimension
• Eastar (Xing Xing) Digital (as Xing Xing Digital)
• Frantic Films
• Hatch Production (concept art and matte paintings)
• Kerner Optical
• Mage (special make-up effects)
• Make
• Pixel Magic
• RedFx
• Tippett Studio

Other Companies

• Avaco Creative Studio  music recorded at
• Bunkamura Studio  music mixed at
• Cine Finance  completion bond
• Cinerent  camera and lighting equipment supplied by
• Ding Run  location sound
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Park Road Post  digital intermediate (as Park Road Post Production)
• Sound City  music mixed at
• Sound City  music recorded at
• Soundfirm Beijing Co. Ltd.  sound post-production (as Soundfirm Australia & China)
• Soundfirm  sound post-production (as Soundfirm Australia & China)
• T-Tone  music production
• Technicolor (Beijing) Visual Technology  telecine
• Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Concert Hall  score recorded at
• Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra  score performed by
• Weta Digital  film recording
• yU+Co.  title design

Also Known As:

Chek bik (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Red Cliff (International: English title)
The Battle of Red Cliff (International: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

Singapore:150 min (PG version) | China:146 min | South Korea:134 min | UK:148 min

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Malaysia:U | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Belgium:KT | UK:15 (cut) | Norway:15 | Ireland:15A | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

Trivia:

During post-production, a 23-year-old stuntman was killed when fire broke out after a small boat rammed into a larger warship, while filming miniatures.

Quotes:

Liu Bei: Truth and illusion are often disguised as each other, Cao Cao likes to play this game, both with friends and foes.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Chi bi xia: Jue zhan tian xia (2009)

A Nutshell Review: Red Cliff

A friend of mine revealed to me that John Woo acknowledged parallels between characters in his movies, and characters from the Three Kingdom era, and that General Zhao Yun was one of Woo's personal favourites. This admiration for General Zhao's qualities cannot be more obvious when it is he who opens the first battle proper, with a very familiar character episode involving the rescue of the infant son (and future lord) of his master Liu Bei, thereby sealing his reputation of valor, earning admiration even from enemy Cao Cao. Fans of Liu Bei's camp will undoubtedly cheer at the appearances of his sworn brothers General Guan Yu (who is worshiped as a Deity until this very day, and remains one of my favourite characters besides Zhao Yun) and General Zhang Fei, whose gruffness translates to instant war-ready prowess. While Liu's army is clearly routed in a military loss, it explained the dilemma of Liu's leadership. One which is based on sincerity, a quality which persuaded his chief military strategist and genius all round Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) to join his cause, but one which lacked military strength in numbers, despite having some of the best generals of the time under his leadership.

Which of course Cao Cao admires and probably is envious about, given his superior strength in numbers came from surrendering armies, whose loyalty remains questionable, and of course with individual generals who can't surpass the abilities of those from Liu. Playing the king like a puppet and having him issue a decree for permission to pursue Liu Bei who has fled southwards, he sets his sights also on warlord Sun Quan, for a more personal reason akin to the story of Helen of Troy. Zhuge Liang, knowing their current weakness, seeks an alliance between the armies of Liu and Sun Quan, and this forms most of the first half, where he had to play envoy to cajole and persuade, especially in convincing Sun Quan's most trusted adviser Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) that war is inevitable and they should form a win-win partnership.

And here's where great minds think alike, and watching both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang do a friendly pit against each other is nothing short of amazing, where so little says so much. It helps of course that both Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro have been paired up as leading men on screen before, in Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express and in Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Confession of Pain too, lending some much established and credible chemistry as men who share admiration in each other's ability, especially when Zhou Yu seemed to have a fairer balance between fighting skill and intellect. With one side having highly disciplined soldiers with good morale, and the other having renowned generals to be leaders, it doesn't take a genius to realize the advantages gained in fending off a common enemy together.

The fight sequences were pure spectacle, with old school wire work combined with technological wizardry to showcase some large scale battle sequences at a macro level, or to highlight the immense naval numbers that Cao Cao brings to battle. Formations and strategies take centerstage in a first major confrontation on land, where one gets to see John Woo's interpretation of Zhuge Liang's "ba-gua" (8 stratagems) strategy, made more entertaining through the continuation of what we have already seen in each general's fighting ability, each given a unique style befitting the characters in folklore, such as Guan Yu and his Guan Dao (Green Dragon Crescent Blade) and Zhao Yun (Hu Jun) and his spear. There's the usual bellowing cape and slow motion in Woo's signature style, but these were kept to a minimum, as are the pigeons (though they do make an appearance, but serving some purpose).

Perhaps it is the success of the fight sequences that had left some lamenting for more, but bear in mind this is just but the first half of the movie, setting things up. The major war sequences of course are left in the second movie which we will get to see come early next year. Like The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, expect the next movie to go on an all out assault. I felt that already is a fair balance of drama and action here, especially when this installment has to cover a broad base given numerous characters, which should provide fans (of Three Kingdoms) something to cheer about. Chang Chen provides his Sun Quan with enough self-doubt, and in a small story arc has to seek his inner confidence ala King Leonidas in 300, while model Lin Chiling's much touted debut movie appearance, was limited to just a few scenes of lovey-dovey moments, which unfortunately for audiences in Singapore, her sex scene with Tony Leung got edited out in order for distributors to get a PG rating to put more bums on seats.

I had wondered how Tony Leung would have faired as Zhuge Liang instead of Kaneshiro, but felt that the musical chairs casting somehow became a blessing in disguise. Kaneshiro's good looks might have made some doubt his ability to play the smartest man alive during the era, but he did an excellent job in bringing out the humility and self-deprecation of the man whose never flashy nor overconfident of his abilities, and one who swears his talents to his lord Liu Bei. Tony Leung on the other hand brought about a fine balance of brains and brawn to the Zhou Yu character, whom I suspect in Woo's version, would be credited with much success for his part in Red Cliff, rather than the accolades all going to Zhuge Liang. After you see the reliable Tony Leung in this role, you'll know for sure that Chow Yun-Fatt could probably never had brought the kind of gravitas Leung brought to the role.

Red Cliff is hands down highly recommended