Movie · Action · Drama

"Red Cliff, Part 1" marks the triumphant return of action-cinema master John Woo who reunites with international superstar Tony Leung for the first time since the 1992 classic "Hard Boiled." A breathtaking war epic, "Red Cliff, Part 1" brings to the screen the legendary tale of the Battle of Red Cliff that took place in China in 208 AD. Red Cliff opens with power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeking permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush two troublesome warlords that stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing the latter to retreat. Liu Bei's military strategist Kong Ming (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that their only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s fast approaching, brutal army, the rebel warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign unrivaled in history that changes the face of China forever.

2009 · 2h 28m
Director John Woo

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Red Cliff

Action

"Red Cliff, Part 1" marks the triumphant return of action-cinema master John Woo who reunites with international superstar Tony Leung for the first time since the 1992 classic "Hard Boiled." A breathtaking war epic, "Red Cliff, Part 1" brings to the screen the legendary tale of the Battle of Red Cliff that took place in China in 208 AD. Red Cliff opens with power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeking permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush two troublesome warlords that stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing the latter to retreat. Liu Bei's military strategist Kong Ming (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that their only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s fast approaching, brutal army, the rebel warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign unrivaled in history that changes the face of China forever.

COMMON SENSE

Masterful Chinese battle epic is violent but fine for teens.

TOMATOMETER
Average 7.2
Reviews 112
Fresh 100
Rotten 12

Information

Studio
Magnolia Pictures
Released
2009
Run Time
2 hr 28 min
Rated
R for sequences of epic warfare.
Regions of Origin
China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea
© 2008 Three Kingdoms Limited. All Rights Reserved

Languages

Original Audio
English (United States), Chinese, Chinese, Simplified, Mandarin
Audio

Chinese (AAC, ⁨Dolby 5.1⁩)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.