Review of The Red Cliff (1949) by Junior I — 15 Jun 2010

John Woo's massive war epic was so large in scale (it's the biggest production ever made outside of Hollywood), budget ($200,000,000 US) & length (it's 282 minutes long or 4 hours & 42 minutes for those who can't do the math) that it had to be split into 2 parts for it's original audience to digest. But don't let that scare you in any way or form, because the whole film itself is a stunning achievement in both production & storytelling. With a cast of who's who in Asian cinema, Woo takes a larger than life true story & gives it a more character driven approach allowing the story & it's several subplots to breath with ease & to unfold at a steady pace. But that doesn't mean he cops out on the action department. Because simply put, it has by far the most impressively staged battle sequences I have ever had the chance to witness on the big screen. From it's epic opening battle in the chinese desert, to it's jaw dropping water battle between ten's of thousands of war ships, Woo has every action fan covered. Old school Woo fans need not threat because his trademark slick, slow-mo, blood drenched style of filming is still alive & intact here.

BUT BE WARNED! Australia only got the edited version of this brilliant film (about 2 hours of footage was removed!!!) leaving it a soulless & pale imitation of it's original form...famed Australian film critic David Stratton even said himself that "if we were sitting here reviewing the complete version, I would be giving it a very high score because I think, of its type, it's one of the great epics...really a great epic!" So you have 2 choices: you can go the extra mile & buy the full version online (i bought both parts on blu-ray online & LOVE watching it on my 50'' Full HD Plasma) or just buy the crappy edited version out now in Australia :).