Red Cliff (2008)
“Chi bi”.
Action, Adventure, Drama |
Red Cliff or Chibi is a Chinese epic war film, based on the Battle of Red Cliffs (AD 208–209) 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 and his first Chinese-language feature since 1992’s Hard Boiled, also starring Leung.
Director John Woo said in an interview with David Stratton that the film is only 50% factual. Woo decided to alter the story using modern feelings and his own feelings for a more worldly acceptance. According to Woo, historical accuracy was less important than how the audience felt about the battle.
Part I
In the summer of 208 AD, 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.
Part II
Sun Shangxiang has infiltrated Cao Cao’s camp and is secretly noting its details and sending them via a pigeon to Zhuge Liang. Meanwhile, Cao Cao’s army is seized with a plague of typhoid fever that kills a number of his troops. Cao Cao orders the corpses to be sent on floating rafts to the allies’ camp, in the hope of spreading the plague to his enemies.
Abridged version
For the non-Asian releases, the film was shortened from 288 minutes to 148 minutes and was released in some countries under the title Battle of Red Cliff. An opening narration in American English provides the historical background, whereas in the Asian release, a more brief description of the context of the political situation appears in scrolling form ten minutes into the film.
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo (screenplay), Khan Chan (screenplay), Cheng Kuo (screenplay), Heyu Sheng (screenplay), Guanzhong Luo (novel)
Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao, Jun Hu, Shidô Nakamura
►Cast:
| Tony Chiu-Wai Leung | … | Zhou Yu (as Tony Leung) |
| Takeshi Kaneshiro | … | Zhuge Liang |
| Fengyi Zhang | … | Cao Cao |
| Chen Chang | … | Sun Quan |
| Wei Zhao | … | Sun Shangxiang |
| Jun Hu | … | Zhao Yun |
| Shidô Nakamura | … | Gan Xing (as Shidou Nakamura) |
| Chi-Ling Lin | … | Xiao Qiao |
| Yong You | … | Liu Bei |
| Yong Hou | … | Lu Su |
| Dawei Tong | … | Sun Shucai |
| Jia Song | … | Li Ji |
| Baasanjav Mijid | … | Guan Yu |
| Jinsheng Zang | … | Zhang Fei |
| Shan Zhang | … | Huang Gai |
| Hui Wang | … | Cao Hong |
| Gang Xie | … | Hua Tuo |
| Chao Guo | … | Yue Jin |
| Yin He | … | Lady Mi |
| Hua Ye | … | Tian Tian |
| Yi Zhang | … | Zhang Zhao |
| Qi Wu | … | Gu Yong |
| Feng He | … | Man Tun |
| Tong Jiang | … | Li Tong |
| Jing Ma | … | Wei Ben |
| Chang Hai Chen | … | Qin Seng |
| Yu Gui Cui | … | Xu Chu |
| Nicole Dionne | … | Xiao Ciao (voice) |
| Xiang Rui Fu | … | Baby Dou |
| Philip Hersh | … | Emperor Han (voice) |
| Xiaoguang Hu | … | Xia Hou Jan |
| Hongwei Jia | … | Zhang You |
| Hong Li | … | Lady Gan |
| Hong Chen Li | … | Soldier |
| Jingwu Ma | … | Old man |
| Ho Wu Li Ji Mong | … | Guan Ping |
| Xiaohong Shi | … | Jiang Gan |
| Chun Sun | ||
| Xin Yu Sun | … | Sheperd Boy |
| Ning Wang | … | Emperor Han |
| Qingxiang Wang | … | Kong Rong |
| Yu Zhang Wang | … | Cheng Pu |
| Zao Lai Wang | … | Chang Yu |
| Fong Nian Xu | … | Zhang Liao |
| Zhen Yi | … | Cai Mao |
| Cheng Shun Zhao | … | Xui You |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia