Going Medieval: 25 films to watch while waiting for Game of Thrones season 8
22) Red Cliff, Parts 1 and 2 (2008 and 2009)
Hong King action director John Woo (The Killer, Mission Impossible 2) returns to his Chinese roots in Red Cliff, an epic war film set during the dying days of the Han Dynasty in Imperial China. It’s based on the actual Battle of Red Cliffs (208-209 A.D.), so it predates the Middle Ages by quite a bit, but if you don’t mind, we don’t mind, because this lavish spectacle is worth hedging on.
Woo has said that Red Cliff is about 50% factual, and while it’s largely concerned with the battle itself, it also focuses on the characters, such as Chancellor Cao Cao, who attempts to reunite the failing Han Dynasty by defeating two powerful rebel warlords. Game of Thrones fans will enjoy the military and political maneuvering.
Due to its length (288 minutes), Red Cliff was initially released as two films in China, but was repackaged into one 148-minute film for its American release. In Asia, the movie received critical acclaim and broke a number of box office records.
The Associated Press praised the epic, saying: “John Woo displays the crucial distinction in the magnificently told Red Cliff, the Hong Kong director’s triumphant return to Chinese film after 16 years in Hollywood.”
“[Woo] delivers in spades,” Derek Elley of Variety wrote of Part 2. “[W]ith characters already established, this half is expectedly heavier on action…though still pack[s] beaucoup human interest prior to the final hour’s barnstorming battle … in this 280-minute, two-part version, helmer-producer Woo and fellow producer Terence Chang have indeed crafted one of the great Chinese costume epics of all time.”
Whew. The Japanese Times raved that the “visually stunning Chinese historical epic ratchets the entertainment factor up to eleven.” Eleven. On Rotten Tomatoes, Red Cliff has an 89% reviewer rating and a 78% audience score.
This movie is certain to sate any Game of Thrones fan’s need for cinematic battlefield action. Red Cliff comes highly recommended (watch the full 288 minute film wherever you can find it such as the on US release BluRay/DVD).