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'Red Cliff' - The end Xu Wei
By Xu Wei |
January 12, 2009, Monday
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SIX months ago, Hollywood-based Hong Kong film maker John Woo netted more than 300 million yuan (US$44.12 million) in box office across China for his war epic "Red Cliff."
But this is not the end.
Now the second part of the film is embarking on the big screen, of course, aiming to follow its success in the box office.
It's perhaps Woo's biggest new year wish.
"The success of the first installment of the movie gave me a boost to my confidence," director Woo says. "The second part has more highlights. It certainly won't let you down."
The film adapted from the Chinese classic novel, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," revolves around the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD. The famous military victory witnessed 50,000-strong allied forces of southern warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan defeating 800,000 troops of the warlord Cao Cao.
The first installment concentrates on the politics, strategies and tension before the war really starts. Yet the second part features many lavish and impressive war scenes, including one in which 2,000 ships are burned.
The two parts of "Red Cliff" has a combined budget of US$80 million.
"In addition to displaying masculinity at war, the movie also takes up delicate subjects of love, friendship, brotherhood and trust," Woo says. "It doesn't lack emotion and comic sparkle."
Scenes depicting traditional Chinese culture is also included in the movie, such as the tea culture, sword dance and cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition.
The cast features award-winning Hong Kong actor Tony Leung (playing Zhou Yu), Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro (Zhuge Liang), model-actress Lin Chi-ling (Xiao Qiao) and Chinese mainland actor Zhang Fengyi (Cao Cao).
However, compared with the widely known original novel, there are some obvious changes to the storyline. Woo has eliminated the two famous parts ?? the battered-body trick and the Huarong Path ?? in the novel.
The former tells about General Huang Gai's fake surrender to Cao Cao while the latter centers on Guan Yu, whose memory of Cao treating him well during old days helps Cao escape.
Some Chinese movie buffs insist that these changes have stripped the original story of its flavor and wits. Woo explains that the reason he made such changes is to cater to the tastes of Western viewers.
"Since Western audiences are not that familiar with this historical event, I don't want to make the storyline too complicated," Woo says. "You know, watching a foreign-language movie and reading subtitles is very tough for Western viewers."
The international version of "Red Cliff" has already been edited and will be released soon in Europe and North America.
The single movie lasts about two hours and 25 minutes, focusing on the main characters of the story and eliminating peripheral ones.
But this is not the end.
Now the second part of the film is embarking on the big screen, of course, aiming to follow its success in the box office.
It's perhaps Woo's biggest new year wish.
"The success of the first installment of the movie gave me a boost to my confidence," director Woo says. "The second part has more highlights. It certainly won't let you down."
The film adapted from the Chinese classic novel, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," revolves around the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD. The famous military victory witnessed 50,000-strong allied forces of southern warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan defeating 800,000 troops of the warlord Cao Cao.
The first installment concentrates on the politics, strategies and tension before the war really starts. Yet the second part features many lavish and impressive war scenes, including one in which 2,000 ships are burned.
The two parts of "Red Cliff" has a combined budget of US$80 million.
"In addition to displaying masculinity at war, the movie also takes up delicate subjects of love, friendship, brotherhood and trust," Woo says. "It doesn't lack emotion and comic sparkle."
Scenes depicting traditional Chinese culture is also included in the movie, such as the tea culture, sword dance and cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition.
The cast features award-winning Hong Kong actor Tony Leung (playing Zhou Yu), Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro (Zhuge Liang), model-actress Lin Chi-ling (Xiao Qiao) and Chinese mainland actor Zhang Fengyi (Cao Cao).
However, compared with the widely known original novel, there are some obvious changes to the storyline. Woo has eliminated the two famous parts ?? the battered-body trick and the Huarong Path ?? in the novel.
The former tells about General Huang Gai's fake surrender to Cao Cao while the latter centers on Guan Yu, whose memory of Cao treating him well during old days helps Cao escape.
Some Chinese movie buffs insist that these changes have stripped the original story of its flavor and wits. Woo explains that the reason he made such changes is to cater to the tastes of Western viewers.
"Since Western audiences are not that familiar with this historical event, I don't want to make the storyline too complicated," Woo says. "You know, watching a foreign-language movie and reading subtitles is very tough for Western viewers."
The international version of "Red Cliff" has already been edited and will be released soon in Europe and North America.
The single movie lasts about two hours and 25 minutes, focusing on the main characters of the story and eliminating peripheral ones.
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