7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Chinese history in the 2nd and 3rd Century, during which China split into three kingdoms following the fall of Han Dynasty, and after decades of war and peace, reunified under a new dynasty: Jin.
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chang Chen, Wei ZhaoAction | 100% |
Foreign | 86% |
Martial arts | 69% |
Epic | 64% |
History | 63% |
War | 61% |
Period | 49% |
Drama | 43% |
Adventure | 35% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
For fans of John Woo’s Hong Kong films of the late 1980s and early 90s, enamored with the choreographed “gun-fu” of A Better Tomorrow and The Killer, the director’s subsequent career in the U.S. has been, if not outright disappointing, at least underwhelming. Sure, Face/Off was fun and Mission: Impossible II had its share of ridiculously over-the- top action set pieces, but Mr. Woo’s Hollywood output in general has seemed disinterested, unoriginal, and even tame. Need I mention Paycheck, perhaps the most aptly titled film in the director’s commercial canon? Well, ladies and gentlemen, after nearly twenty years of slumming it through dull actioners for the big Los Angeles studios, John Woo has returned to China to make his best film since 1992’s Hard Boiled. Strictly speaking, Red Cliff isn’t exactly a return to form—there’s no frenetic gangster vs. cop gunplay in Hong Kong’s seedy underbelly—but it is a return to passionate filmmaking and turning toward a new form for Woo: the historical wuxia epic, China’s answer to the sword ‘n’ sandal genre.
This two and half hour cut of Red Cliff sports a 1080p, VC-1 encoded transfer that looks identical to the presentation of the nearly five hour 2-disc set also released by Magnolia Home Entertainment. This is the kind of transfer that really makes you appreciate the film's production design and costume work, as each plate of armor and link of chain mail is remarkably detailed, the intricate threading on regal clothing proudly appreciable, and the ornate sets looking believably lived-in. In close-ups, facial texture is so defined—pores, wrinkles, whiskers—that you'd swear the actors themselves were peering out from behind your TV screen. The picture is sharp and clean, without ever showing evidence of misguided edge enhancement. Color is equally impressive, vibrant with bursts of fire and red battle banners waving, while earth tones are selectively and slightly desaturated to achieve that appropriately gritty epic warfare aesthetic. Skin tones are warm and largely consistent—though there are a few candlelit scenes where Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung's faces look almost comically orange—and black levels rarely waver from a deep inkwell shade, with contrast that's pleasingly pushed for a look that, if not entirely natural, offers lots of pop, depth, and presence. Topping it all off is a thin layer of untouched cinematic grain that only spikes during a few of the darkest scenes and a handful of landscape and aerial shots that might've been sourced from stock footage. Even at 148 minutes, with plenty of smoke and dust cluttering the frame, compression artifacts are almost wholly absent, and I didn't spot any overt instances of banding or other technical troubles.
This single-disc U.S. theatrical version of the movie defaults to an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 dub which, to be fair, sounds excellent, but let's face it—when was the last time you heard truly good voice acting in a dub? That said, if you don't want to read subtitles, this is the release for you, as the two-disc set drops the English language track altogether. For a more authentic experience, though, go into the menu or hit the audio button on your remote to access the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, a bombastic experience that should keep most audiophiles' ears very happy. There were a few moments when I felt the sound could have been bigger and more immersive—times when the clamor of battle didn't feel as clamorous as it could've been—but in retrospect, I think I was just being greedy. Really, there's not much more you could ask for here. From the slightest sound, like the rattle of the beads on Sun Quan's headdress, to the biggest earth-quaking explosion, this track is detailed, lively, and dynamically intense. Arrows zip through the rear speakers against a sonic backdrop of reverberating war drums, gooey, flesh-rending sounds of piercing spears, and the clang of metal on metal. The LFE channel rumbles to life frequently with a stampeding cavalcade of horses, rippling fire, and black, billowing clouds of smoke. When quieter times prevail, you'll hear the whisper of wind and the soft patter of rain. Taro Iwashiro's score surges from bellicose war anthems to sweeping lyrical refrains, and the duet played by Zhou Yu and Zhu-ge Liang on the qin—a koto-like stringed instrument—is beautifully textured. If you speak Mandarin, the dialogue should be easily discernable, even in the heat of battle, and for the rest of us, the subtitles appear in clean white lettering.
The Making of Red Cliff: The Long Road (SD, 2:25:50)
When they say long road, they mean seriously long road, as this production
documentary runs nearly two and a half hours long, fitting, I suppose, for the largest film China
has ever produced. One of the producers claims that somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000
people were directly involved with the making of the film, which seems to have had a troubled
shoot judging by all the craziness we see here. "We're lucky if things go according to plan," says
John Woo in one of the many talking head segments. Budget problems, ships floating away, even
locals coming on set and demanding—for what reason we never find out—that the crew stop
using "borrowed horses," there's no end to the big-budget insanity. The documentary isn't
structured very well—or at all, really—but there's a lot to see here, mostly in the form of endless
amounts of B-roll footage and interviews with many of the key players.
A Conversation with John Woo: The Heroism and History of Red Cliff (1080i,
27:03)
I found this section to be much more concise and informative. Talk show host Leo Quinones
conducts a half hour interview with John Woo, who explains the research and attention to detail
that went into the film, discusses the scope of the project, and talks about the prominent use of
CGI armies and landscapes. A longer version of this interview is featured in the two-disc
set.
HDNet: A Look at Red Cliff (1080i, 4:35)
A brief promo for the film, featuring John Woo, who explains the film's scope and
themes.
Storyboards (1080p)
Here we get a self-directed gallery—with a very classy interface—containing 98 storyboard
drawings, complete with camera directions.
Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment Blu-ray (1080p, 8:10)
Includes trailers for The Warlords, District 13: Ultimatum, Ong Bak 2,
and Wonderful World, as well as a promo for HDNet.
Woo frames Red Cliff's conclusion in a "there's no victor in war" message, but it's clear that with the famed director back in top form, we're the real winners—no matter which cut of the film we choose. Obviously, the two-disc set is more bang for your buck—more action, more romance, more drama—but this single disc edition will suffice for those who don't mind the Reader's Digest Condensed Book version of the film. Either way, the film looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray, and comes warmly recommended.
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