visions of clarity...do as infinity

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Red Cliff / 赤壁

Hello

Today I went to watch 赤壁, the movie [according to John Woo himself from Wiki] which would use primarily the historical record Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms as a blueprint for the Battle of Red Cliffs, rather than the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As such, traditionally vilified characters such as Cao Cao and Zhou Yu will be given a more historically accurate treatment in the film. To which I say... Rubbish! My mom claims it's still been dramatised so.. O well.=D It was a good movie and I really enjoyed it, whether it's historically accurate or not.

The film has an outstanding cast made of a mix of actors from China and Japan:
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Zhou Yu 周瑜
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮
Zhang Fengyi as Cao Cao 曹操
Chang Chen as Sun Quan 孙权
Zhao Wei as Sun Shangxiang
Hu Jun as Zhao Yun 赵云
Lin Chi-ling as Xiao Qiao 小乔
Nakamura Shido as Gan Xing (甘興) (based on Gan Ning)
You Yong as Liu Bei 刘备
[from Wikipedia]
There are a dozen other characters but you'll probably fall asleep reading through the whole list so..

Anyway, the movie is great! It's exciting, keeps you interested and is shot well with lots of nice camera angles.=) I really didn't like some of the battle scenes though. I know it's a movie about the war between the 3 kingdoms but GOSH.. They wasted so many packets of fake blood! =( Those were the pretty commercialised Hollywood bits I guess.. Along with the whole "epic computer generated scenes".=P But some of the scenes were cool because you got to see their fabulous generals being all cool and everything on the battle field!! HAHA.=P かっこいい!

And of course, everything got better when Takeshi and Tony Leung appeared. ;) MWAHAHA. Ahem. I think they are very good actors. Chang Chen too! ^_^

Okay. Where was I?

The plot was good, fast-paced and exciting, it was full of plotting, fighting and strategizing. ^_^ I realized that I really like these strategic period war films.=P Haha.. Without the use of modern technology, they come up with so many brilliant ways of fighting and seeking an advantage over their enemy. [Code Geass has brilliant stuff too but in a more modern context..] The fantastic cast held the show together and had great chemistry among them as they plotted and schemed. I have a feeling Takeshi and Tony Leung find their partnership rewarding because this isn't the first time they are collaborating in a film. I really enjoyed the whole film and was terribly annoyed when it ended, reminding the audience of part 2 coming soon.

On the aesthetics side, the camera angles used and the soundtrack as well as the rich settings and costumes all added on to the grandiose feeling of the film. The epic scale was well-depicted from the luxurious palaces and sumptuous clothing of the characters to the computer-generated battlefields and even to the massive numbers of soldiers [aka Stuntmen] they had to employ. I liked their filming angles because they were rather interesting though I thought the scene where Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were playing the qin and they freeze-framed some parts were very strange.=S The music chosen [and composed by a Japanese composer] wasn't traditionally Chinese yet retained an Asian influence which I liked very much.=) I'm quite the sucker for movie soundtracks so do forgive me.

The ambitions of the ancient people are scary to say the very least.. If they don't like you and they have enough power, off your head goes! And of course, as Zhao Wei's character reiterated, women at that time were treated like pawns in a political game, moved around at the convenience of political alliances.

This really reminds of my Fuurin Kazan which was also set during a warring period in Japan. =) The similarities are astounding and very fascinating considering both countries are so close to each other and yet also are culturally dissimilar. They all follow ancient warring methods devised by those horrendously geniusy people in China and utilize similar weaponry: cavalry, spears, cannons, arrows, swords. Hmm. I guess the last bit would apply to all armies at that time. Haha.=X But it's surprisingly similar. And very interesting to watch..

All in all, I really liked 赤壁 and am looking forward to the second installment! =D Hopefully they show it in the US because the effects can only really be seen on a cinema screen.. =D =D =D And the next episode features Zhuge Liang's [acted by Takeshi] machinations!!! Yummy.=D

O dear just saw this on wiki:

The film is expected to be released in two versions: within Asia, Red Cliff is to be released in two parts totaling over four hours in length, with the first part premiering in July 2008 and the second in January 2009. Outside of Asia, a single 2½ hour film will be released in January 2009.

=( Looks like I'll have to buy the DVD!!!

We went to PS Cafe for lunch and it's brilliant.=D On the expensive side, but brilliant. Thankfully the food and ambience were good, because I was REALLY annoyed when they told me no photos allowed.-_-"

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Code Geass music + Fuurin Kazan music + 赤壁 OST]
[mood : =D]
[food : Chocolate Blackout!]

Liu-yi: If you don't mind giving it to me, I don't mind taking it!! ^_^ ありがとう!

Labels: dorama, fuurin kazan, movie review, Red Cliff

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visions of clarity...do as infinity
by witchstone

My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark

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2 xxxHOLiC
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