I
recently rewatched this incredible historical war epic by John Woo, and I liked
it even better this time around. I
thought it was amazing the first time I watched it, and on seeing it again, it
just gets richer. Because this is a
monster of a film bordering on five hours long, Woo wisely split it into two
parts and released them separately in China.
(The U.S., less wisely, edited out the movie to oblivion and released
one film at half the length. Luckily,
the full version is available on DVD.)
We’re looking at Part 1 today.
In 208
A.D., Cao Cao, Prime Minister for the Han Dynasty, manipulates the young
emperor into giving him command of the imperial army. His object?
Liu Bei and Sun Quan, two warlords in the South who oppose the emperor’s
rule. A brilliant military strategist
named Zhu-ge Liang convinces the two Southern leaders to form an alliance; even
though they have different aims and agendas, neither wants to fall by Cao Cao’s
hand, and it’s only by banding together that they can have a chance of
protecting their freedom. Because the
imperial army is vastly larger and much better equipped, the allied army must
use inventive war tactics to win the upper hand.
While
I’m not very familiar with the real Battle of Red Cliffs, the story is
certainly a universal one: the small but
intrepid underdogs battling a juggernaut enemy.
Now, the Southern army has a handful of astounding warriors, and there
are times when the film sends out the same four or five guys to let loose on
the imperial soldiers. This can
sometimes be cheesy, like when Zhao Yun cuts his way through about a hundred soldiers while carrying a baby,
but most of the time, it’s just stone-cold awesome, like when Guan Yu gets out
from under dozens of spears trained on him and appropriates one of the enemy’s
horses to escape with. These are
amazingly-cool action sequences that I love to bits, but I also love that these
heroes aren’t the sole ace up the Southern army’s sleeve. More than anything, they fight smart.
Zhu-ge Liang the strategist, along with Viceroy Zhou Yu, have a remarkable
talent for getting into Cao Cao’s head, anticipating his movements, and
responding with a battle plan that uses their limited resources to their
greatest effect. In Part 1, the
“tortoise formation” battle is the highlight of the piece. Brains, brawns, and skill all operating
together to hold their own in a wildly outmatched fight – I love it so much.
I’m
only familiar with a few of the actors here, though everyone is great. Of those I don’t know, special mention to
Yong You, who is very lowkey as General Liu Bei and yet totally conveys the air
of a man people would follow, and Wei Zhao, who plays the fierce,
independently-minded princess Sun Shang Xiang.
Chang Chen (Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon, Happy Together)
does well as the young Duke Sun Quan; you can feel his doubts fighting him as
he considers taking on such an impossible foe.
However, the MVPs are definitely Takeshi Kaneshiro (Chungking Express/Fallen
Angels, House of Flying Daggers)
and Tony Leung Chiu-wai (most Wong Kar-wai films, Hero.) As Zhu-ge Liang and
Zhou Yu, they’re the symbolic faces of the alliance, and it’s such a treat to
watch them work together, growing in their respect and regard for one another
even as they know that, if they defeat Cao Cao, they might find themselves on
opposing sides as their respective Southern leaders go back to fighting for
their own interests.
Warnings
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