Red Cliff

[SimonM]

W00t!!!1!

So hyped for this to come out.

[GeneChing]

another race for the first review?

Red Cliff 2 A Smash Hit
2009-01-13 09:25:40 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Liu Wei
By Xu Wei

The second part of John Woo's epic "Red Cliff" proved to a big hit in Shanghai on its opening weekend.

Shanghai United Cinema Lines said the movie had taken more than 8.4 million yuan (US$1.2 million) at the box office since its release last Wednesday.

"We took more than 32.6 million yuan from the first part of 'Red Cliff' last year," said Wu Hehu, deputy director of the cinema chain.

"We are confident to get more revenue from the second part. It will attract bigger crowds during Chinese Lunar New Year holiday." The week-long holiday starts on January 25 this year.

The first part was the highest-grossing film shown in China last year, taking more than 300 million yuan across the country and 700 million yuan around the world.

The Yonghua Cinema at Xujiahui, the city's top grossing theater last year, has so far taken in more than 670,000 yuan at the box office from film fans keen to see the second installment.

The cinema said the film might face some competition from Friday's debut of domestic cartoon film "Pleasant Boat and Big Big Wolf" and Ning Hao's new comedy "Silver Medalist" which is to be released next Tuesday.

Starring Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, Taiwan's Takeshi Kaneshiro and Chinese mainland actor Zhang Fengyi, "Red Cliff" centers on the epic Battle of Red Cliff during China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD).

Part two of the film features impressive battle scenes, including one in which 2,000 ships are burned.

[GeneChing]

halving the total five-hour running time of the two-part series — for markets outside of Asia

Woo shows mastery of epic genre in 'Red Cliff II'
The Associated Press
Published: January 15, 2009

HONG KONG: John Woo's ambitions were clear when he announced the $80 million two-part Chinese historical epic "Red Cliff."

The "Mission: Impossible II" director wanted to make a Chinese-language blockbuster that rivaled the Hollywood productions he worked on.

In "Red Cliff II," it's clear that the Hong Kong native succeeded, putting the "epic" in "historical epic" in the second installment of his two-part series based on the famous ancient Chinese battle of the same name.

The film is about a fight between the imperial army and two allied warring states, which won because of their superior military strategy despite being outnumbered.

While "Red Cliff" thrived in storytelling, introducing and weaving together a colorful cast of characters, its sequel, which focused on the final showdown, showed off Woo's mastery of some of the largest and most complex scenes in modern Chinese cinema.

The Chinese market has been rife with historical epics in recent years, wowing audiences with sheer scale and the manpower involved in their fighting scenes. But Woo one-ups his rivals with a gigantic battle fought on several fronts — both land and sea — and keen attention to detail.

With help from California-based special effects company, The Orphanage, Woo captures the grandeur of the battle scenes best known to Chinese audiences — like the rebels burning the imperial army's fleet and sending in boats staffed with straw dummies to attract a sea of arrows.

The war scenes are as impressive in scale as in detail.

Woo shows the rebel soldiers making bombs by packing explosives into clay urns, and extracting the oil from fish to use as an accelerant.

The only pitfall is that the battle's magnificence overshadows Woo's characters, anchored by strong performances by Cannes-winning Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai as the rebel leader Zhou Yu; China's Zhang Fengyi as the imperial prime minister Cao Cao; and Japanese-Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro as the rebel military strategist Zhuge Liang.

The director also shows a penchant for melodrama when he sends Zhou's wife, played by Taiwanese model Lin Chi-ling, to seduce Cao. But the side plot only serves to bog down the narrative and delay the spectacular climax.

Woo is only releasing a single, condensed version of the movie — halving the total five-hour running time of the two-part series — for markets outside of Asia. It's a welcome opportunity to cut out the fat and focus on the main characters and technical sophistication of his battle scenes.

The film is currently playing in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, and is due out in South Korea on Jan. 22.

[TaichiMantis]

That's what I was asking about in my previous post, but didn't seem to get a straight answer...

I couldn't understand what you guys were watching when I thought the movie hadn't even had a release in the US yet, and had read that the US release was going to be all-in-one.

So, to clarify, can you buy foreign dvds of both parts? Are they only in chinese? Will it be released here as a dvd only or will it be on the big screen?

[GeneChing]

Part two just premiered so it's not available quite yet, although the screen-2-DVD/VCD time for Asian films is much shorter than with Hollywood releases. But you can find anything in Chinatown. Anything. You just got to know where to look.

As for a U.S. theatrical release, that's still up in the air. I'm guessing there will be a limited one. That's what's implied by some of the news stories above. We'll see.

[SimonM]

halving the total five-hour running time of the two-part series — for markets outside of Asia

I don't think I'd like that. The first part of of Red Cliff didn't feel rushed but...

Well...

It felt like it was paced right. Cutting half of it's length would be bad.

[doug maverick]

yeah the first part moved along at perfect pacing. i would have to watch the second part to see how it would all look condensed. i mean i see littl snippets where you can cut, here and therebut nothing significant. its gonna be a hard edit

[Zenshiite]

You can also find anything online, you just have know what to type in a search engine...

I won't be watching an American release unless I can be fully convinced it'll work as a single part. I'll probably wait for someone on here to give an opinion. I don't wanna spend 10 bucks on a single release with half the content of the whole thing.

Especially after I've watched the whole thing already...

[GeneChing]

I've just got a solid recommendation for Good, Bad & Weird, from a longstanding fan of Good, Bad & Ugly.

John Woo's 'Red Cliff' heads nominations for Asian Film Awards

HONG KONG (AFP) — Hong Kong action supremo John Woo's historical epic "Red Cliff" on Wednesday scooped nominations for both best film and best director at the Asian Film Awards.

But the two stars of Woo's movie, Hong Kong heart throb Tony Leung and Japanese/Taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, were overlooked by judges for the third annual Hong Kong-based prize, organisers told reporters.

Woo, who is best known for directing Hollywood blockbuster "Mission: Impossible II", is hoping to break the hold South Korean filmmakers have on the annual awards.

Last year, "Secret Sunshine", a tragic movie about death and faith, took home three top prizes including best picture.

With a total of three nominations, Woo faces stiff competition this year from another Korean film "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" which was nominated in eight categories, the most for any film.

Set in the lawless Manchurian desert during the tumultuous 1930s, the South Korean film received eight nominations including best film, best director, and best actor.

"Forever Enthralled", which stars China's Zhang Ziyi, received three nominations, although the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actress missed out on a nomination.

A total of 36 Asian films were selected from hundreds of entries for 13 categories. The awards are organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.

Entries from the Philippines, Taiwan, India, Thailand and Indonesia have also been selected for the awards, organisers said.

The nominations will be judged by a 13-member jury headed by Michelle Yeoh, the Chinese actress who starred in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies".

The awards will be announced at a ceremony held on March 23.

[GeneChing]

This could also go on the CC2C thread.

Local films reign at Asian box office
Written by Patrick Frater
Wednesday, 21 January 2009

HONG KONG – Local-films pummeled Hollywood fare throughout Asia over the past box office weekend.

In 'Greater China' the roll out of "Red Cliff II" took the historical epic to the top of the charts in four territories. In Japan disaster epic "Pandemic Archipelago" (Kansen Retto) finally deposed "Wall-E," while in India, Bollywood comedy "Chandni Chowk to China" opened with good business. And in Korea, two local champions kept their lock on the top slots.

The second installment of John Woo's "Red Cliff" clocked an approximate $11.6 million in its second frame, having clocked up some $14.8 million in its opening week. Local sources put the 11 day total at RMB181 million ($26.4 million) and distributor China Film Group has now forecast that final total will exceed RMB400 million ($58.4 million).

Chinese chart also contained surprise hit in "Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf," a local animation which official news agency Xinhua reports as having enjoyed a $1.17 million opening day and a $4.38 million first week. That carries it significantly ahead of previous record holder "Storm Rider - Clash of Evils", an animated adaptation of the Storm Riders comic, which grossed in $3.65 million in two weeks in mid 2008.

"Red Cliff II" bowed in two Rentrak-tracked territories, Hong Kong and Taiwan and held top spot in Singapore in its second frame. The three territories added a further $2.06 million to the Mainland China total.

In Hong Kong, pic was released on an exceptionally wide 73 screens handled by Edko Films on behalf of Mei Ah Entertainment and captured HK$9.1 million ($1.17 million). But total failed to match the boffo start of the first installment, which preemed in July 2008 to a $1.36 million four day weekend take on 60 screens.

Rentrak's Taipei figure (through Fox Int'l) for "Cliff" was $413,000 from 16 locations. Handled in Singapore by Golden Village, pic scored $474,000 from 47 sites for a cume of $1.60 million.

In a smart piece of counter programming against "Red Cliff," Hong Kong distributor Intercontinental gave Hayao Miyazaki animation "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" a Saturday release and earned a solid $673,000 two day gross from a 58 screen release.

Warner Bros.'s biggest Bollywood movie to date "Chandni Chowk to China" was given an ultra-wide release in India and further outings in some 30 territories worldwide.

In India it scored a strong but not exceptional $6.8 million from an enormous 1,319 playdates, but local trade analysts point to poor critical reception, low occupancy and weak legs. Warner said the launch in India was "excellent" with 4.9 million admissions including previews. (The Akshay Kumar-starrer, "Chandni" grossed $625,000 at 130 sites in North America and $407,000 at 61. in the U.K.)

Japanese B.O. was infested with "Pandemic Archipelago" (Kansen Retto), a disaster epic about a mysterious disease that kills millions.

Opening on the weekend of Jan. 17-18, and handled by Toho, the film, which stars Satoshi Tsumabuki and Rei Dan as doctors battling the pandemic, earned $3.35 million from 225,000 admissions at 324 sites in its first two days.

Producer TBS released another medical drama "The Glorious Team Batista," in almost the same slot last year (Jan 9, 2008.) Pic was the only opener to make the top ten, though in sneak previews over the same weekend the James Bond pic "Quantum of Solace" earned $3 million, ahead of its Jan. 24 bow.

Steven Soderberg's "Che" fell one notch to number three with $958,000 in its second frame for a cume of $4.14 million. The local superhero thriller "K-20," took fourth place with $803,000 in its fifth week delivering a cume of $18.2 million.

With a hair's breadth between them local titles "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" held the top two places – again—in Korea. KOBIS data from the Korean film Council placed Lotte Entertainment's "Scandal" back on top, having sold over 6.3 million tickets (Rentrak puts its cumulative gross at $31.0 million,) while Rentrak figures kept sexy drama "Flower" on top with $1.88 million for the weekend and a cume of $15.5 million after three weeks. (KOBIS shows admissions exceeding three million.)

Only new entrant into the Korean top ten was Japanese anime "Beyblade the Movie: Gekitou!! Takao vs Daichi," in tenth place with $87,000 on 135 screens for Lotte.

[GeneChing]

It's a little dated now...

'Red Cliff' Sequel Premieres
2009-01-05 11:31:09 CRIENGLISH.com Editor: Xie Tingting

The fervor over the war epic "Red Cliff" is building to a crescendo with director John Woo set to present a sequel to the most bankable Chinese film in history.

Woo on Sunday led cast members of "Red Cliff II" at its premiere in Beijing.

The sequel will open in theaters on Wednesday, roughly five months after the previous film bagged over 300 million yuan (US$43.97 million) to set a new record for Chinese-language films.

A survey conducted earlier by Sina.com.cn shows that 93 percent of the respondents expected the sequel.

John Woo shot the two films as a whole with a hefty investment of US$80 million. However, he decided to release the production in two segments, saying that by doing so it allows enough space for character development.

The "Red Cliff" series revolves around a well-known water battle in 208 A.D., and the biggest scenes involve at least 2,000 actors and crew members.

The first segment focuses on the eve of the battle and the sequel reprises the actual battle in which thousands of ships are burnt. Movie-goers can expect to see magnificent battle scenes in the upcoming film.

[GeneChing]

This might be the greatest medieval battle ever staged for film. I need to see this on the big screen to be sure - it's harder to tease out the CGI from the thousands of extras on the small screen.

I really hope to get the chance to see this entire work on the big screen. It's awesome.

After seeing it, the buzz on Zhao Wei as Mulan makes perfect sense. She cross-dresses in Red Cliff II. Zhao Wei is the new Brigette Lin.

[doug maverick]

just got red cliff 2. gonna watch part one and two back to back on the weekend.so i get the full effect.

[GeneChing]

I should watch RC1 again, but I'll wait until I get a better version. FWIW, I felt RC2 almost stands on its own.

[doug maverick]

ill get you next time gene.........