Red Cliff | Chi bi (2008)

Synopsis:
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.

Review: The movie(s) tell the story of a historic battle in the warlord controlled China of 208 AD. It is rumoured to be the most expensive Chinese film ever made with a budget estimated to be in the region of 80 million dollars (US).

This is a movie that actually deserves the "epic" label in the best sense possible. It has the right balance between wire-fights and brawling fights, between wide battle scenes and intimate moments with the characters. It never feels too long or that is wasting time in pointless exposition.

This movie has that feeling about it which makes you feel like you're not watching a movie anymore, but you're actually peering into another world. Coupled with solid acting and great action scenes, and you have this movie, which is pretty much a textbook example of a great historical war movie.

Finally this is the best ever epic movie i saw. Worth watching and looking for the second instalment.

Genre: Action | Adventure | Drama | War
Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Chi-Ling Lin
Runtime: Singapore:150 min (PG version) | China:146 min | South Korea:134 min
Language: English | Chinese
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo (screenplay) & Khan Chan (screenplay)
Company: Beijing Film Studio
Release Date: 10 July 2008
Rating: PG

Overall Rating: 8.5/10