Review of The Red Cliff (1949) by Leven C — 02 Feb 2011

The large cast, set and expansive special effects area all there. It should be an epic, but this movie is let down by poor casting, bad acting and rather amateurishly-told scenes. Quite a few are rather strange and could be better executed.

I believe the high rating of this movie on RT is due to the fact that many of the critics are not familiar with Chinese cinema or how such period dramas are often told. The series Three Kingdom is a better retelling of the story. THe casting was also spot on. many of the faces here in Red Cliff reminds me of the actors from Three Kingdom. Did Woo take reference from it?

As a frequent viewer of period dramas, I find the casting laughable, especially that of Leong Chiu Wai. He just lack the gravitas of a viceroy. And some of the faces are old, especially that of Liu Bei's general Zhi Long. He should have been a younger, leaner warrior - not some middle-aged soldier who could have been of ministerial type.

There are moments of genuine intrigue, like the scene where Zhu Ge Liang and the viceroy duel with music with their respective zitars. Sadly, the scene comes off fake and forced. I guess what's missing are all the wonderful Chinese wise sayings that often offer deep insights to a preceding action and thought as so often found in other period dramas. It could have been an effort by Woo to dumb down the material for a Western audience?

This Red Cliff could have been so much better. I for one find John Woo increasingly out of touch with his movie material.