Chi bi: Jue zhan tian xia (2009)

Second and final part of epic tale about a legendary battle that changed the course of China history.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

John Woo (screenplay), Khan Chan (screenplay) (as Chan Khan)

Stars:

Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang

8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung	...	Zhou Yu (as Tony Chiu Wai Leung)
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Zhuge Liang
Fengyi Zhang	...	Cao Cao
Chen Chang	...	Sun Quan
Wei Zhao	...	Sun Shangxiang
Jun Hu	...	Zhao Yun
Chi-Ling Lin	...	Xiao Qiao
Shidô Nakamura	...	Gan Xing
Yong You	...	Liu Bei
Baasanjav Mijid	...	Guan Yu
Yong Hou	...	Lu Su
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chang Hai Chen	...	Qin Seng
Yu Gui Cui	...	Xu Chu
Nicole Dionne	...	Xiao Qiao (voice)
Xiang Rui Fu	...	Baby Dou

Storyline

In this sequel to Red Cliff, Chancellor Cao Cao convinces Emperor Xian of the Han to initiate a battle against the two Kingdoms of Shu and Wu, who have become allied forces, against all expectations. Red Cliff will be the site for the gigantic battle.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | han dynasty china | 3rd century | historical event | chinese | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

Early in part 2 you can see rubber tires on the gate when it's being opened.

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Connections

Follows A Batalha de Red Cliff (2008)

User Reviews

The Greatest Chinese Epic

The battle of the Red Cliff, which is the climax from the first half of "Romance of the Three Kingdom" by Luo Guanzhong is perhaps the most spectacular war story in all of Asia. Until the outbreak of Russo-Japanese war, it certainly was one of the biggest battle of the region, and perhaps the biggest in terms of numbers of people involved.

Director John Woo assembled an international talent of actors to create this one of a kind epic movie. He's described it as 50% fictional, but he must have put lot of thoughts into the fiction part, because all the filling that he puts in works to enhance the story, and brings excitement to each scene.

The story is somewhat long, and for ones who are not familiar with the historic saga of this battle, may feel that it's overly protracted, but the movie was geared mainly for the Chinese audience (China bankrolled the film), who are intimately familiar with the characters described in this story. I'm sure many went to the theaters to see their favorite heroes come to life.

The casting is done exceptionally well, as they convey the authority of the characters they are playing. Clever casting from different countries around Asia (China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) ensured that people of those countries will not see it as foreign film, but one of their own.

This certainly is the best warrior based movie to come out of China, and even for the jaded director John Woo, the greatest masterpiece. Superbly crafted movie, and equally superb story telling, captures all the highlights of the Battle of the Red Cliff.

Part 1 was good, but this blows the doors off of Part 1.

One of the greatest movie to come out of Asia.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [China] Official site [Hong Kong]

Country:

China Hong Kong Japan Taiwan South Korea USA

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

8 January 2009 (China)

Also Known As:

Red Cliff II

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$120,432,178

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beijing Film Studio, China Film Group Corporation (CFGC), Lion Rock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1