Red Cliff
Must mention this film. I love Chinese epic films. Big scale, true cast of thousand jobs. And so seeing htis on the shelves in the video store was simply too good to miss.
And I wasn't disappointed. It's a little more martial than my favourite Chinese movies (House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower) but it is still wonderful.
Plot in a nutshell - corrupt, power hungry prime minister controlling puppet emporer decides that the lords of the southern lands need to be defeated to remove their threat. He has vast armies, far greater than those he intends to subdue. They face certain death...or do they.
My mother-in-law had a little difficulty in keeping all the various people in this apart. She kept mixing up this warlords, that prime minister, the other general etc. For good reason to, there are an awful lot of major characters in this, and not being overly familiar with Chinese names does mean you have to be on your game to stay with it.
But it's definitely worth the effort. There are some wonderful moments of imagination and clever twists. As the cinematography is absolutely stunning. Amazing.
And I wasn't disappointed. It's a little more martial than my favourite Chinese movies (House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower) but it is still wonderful.
Plot in a nutshell - corrupt, power hungry prime minister controlling puppet emporer decides that the lords of the southern lands need to be defeated to remove their threat. He has vast armies, far greater than those he intends to subdue. They face certain death...or do they.
My mother-in-law had a little difficulty in keeping all the various people in this apart. She kept mixing up this warlords, that prime minister, the other general etc. For good reason to, there are an awful lot of major characters in this, and not being overly familiar with Chinese names does mean you have to be on your game to stay with it.
But it's definitely worth the effort. There are some wonderful moments of imagination and clever twists. As the cinematography is absolutely stunning. Amazing.
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