Red Cliff (film)
Red Cliff or Chibi (Chinese: 赤壁) is a 2008–2009 Chinese epic war film, based on the Battle of Red Cliffs (208–209 AD) and the events at the end of the Han dynasty and immediately prior to the Three Kingdoms period in Imperial China. The film was directed by John Woo, and stars Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Hu Jun, and Lin Chi-ling. It is Woo’s first major film since 2003’s Paycheck[8] and his first Chinese-language feature since 1992’s Hard Boiled,[9] also starring Leung.
In China and much of Asia, Red Cliff was released in two parts, totaling over four hours in length (288 minutes). The first part (146 minutes) premiered in Beijing on 2 July 2008 and the second (142 minutes) was released in China on 7 January 2009. Outside Asia, a cut-down single 148 minute version was released in 2009. However, the full-length two-part version was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 5 October 2009,[10] and in the United States and Canada on 23 March 2010.[11]
The first part of the film grossed over US$127 million internationally[12] and broke the Asian box office record previously held by Titanic in mainland China.[13]
In the summer of 208 A.D., towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the Chancellor, Cao Cao, leads the imperial army on a campaign to eliminate the southern warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei, whom he denounces as “rebels”. Emperor Xian reluctantly approves the campaign. Cao Cao’s mighty army swiftly conquers Jing Province. The Battle of Changban is ignited when Cao Cao’s cavalry starts attacking civilians on an exodus led by Liu Bei. During the battle, Liu Bei’s followers, including his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, give an excellent display of their combat skills by holding off the enemy while buying time for the civilians to retreat. The warrior Zhao Yun fights bravely to rescue Liu Bei’s entrapped family but only succeeds in rescuing Liu’s infant son.
Following the battle, Liu Bei’s advisor, Zhuge Liang, goes on a diplomatic mission to Jiangdong to form an alliance between his lord and Sun Quan against Cao Cao. Sun Quan was initially in the midst of a dilemma of whether to surrender or fight back, but his decision to resist Cao Cao hardens after Zhuge Liang’s clever persuasion and a subsequent tiger hunt with his viceroy Zhou Yu and his sister Sun Shangxiang. Meanwhile, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, two naval commanders from Jing Province, pledge allegiance to Cao Cao, who puts them in command of his navy.
After the hasty formation of the Sun–Liu alliance, the forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan call for a meeting to formulate a plan to counter Cao Cao’s army, which is rapidly advancing towards their base at Red Cliff from both land and water. The battle begins with Sun Shangxiang leading some riders to lure Cao Cao’s vanguard force into the allies’ Bagua Formation. The vanguard force is defeated by the allies but Cao Cao shows no disappointment and proceeds to lead his main army to the riverbank directly opposite Red Cliff, where they make camp. While the allies throw a banquet to celebrate their victory, Zhuge Liang conceives a plan to send Sun Shangxiang on an espionage mission to Cao Cao’s camp. They maintain contact by sending messages via a pigeon. The film ends with Zhou Yu lighting his miniaturised battleships on a map based on the battle formation.
