The Battle of Red Cliff

[Agahnim]

For those of you currently unaware, it has been revealed that John Woo is in the early stages of filming "The Battle/War of Red Cliff" based on one of famous events in Three Kingdoms history and novel, where Liu Bei and Sun Quan allied and fought against invading Cao Cao at Yangtze River. (or the Battle of Chi Bi for Dynasty Warriors fans)

The film had a big budget, so its commonly believed that it will be released worldwide.

The actors announced so far are (and the roles they are rumoured to play);
Chow Yun Fat (Bulletproof Monk & Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)- Liu Bei?
Tony Leung (Seoul Raiders & 2046) - Zhuge Liang?
Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers & Internal Affairs III) - Zhao Yu?
Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins & The Last Samurai) - Cao Cao?
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"The strong manly ones in life are those who understand the meaning of the word patience."

[Jossef]

Hoopla! I'd really look forward to that one, you know very well that I absolutely love the Three Kingdoms era and to finally see something with a budget behind it would be phenomonal... even if it is only about the one battle.
I'll be honest and say I don't know too much about those actors but they've been in films that have sold well or films I have wanted to see but never got round to so at least that's comforting. That and to have asian folks playing the part of Chinese generals will bring a more genuine feel to it, I think.
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[Shrew]

Of all the parts of the Three Kingdoms, Red Cliffs is definitely one of the most filmable. I've actually thought about being a film director just so I could make a movie of it, ha (course I'd never get the chance till I was 80). So I'm glad to see it coming to the big screen, though I don't know if it will be great. The actors and director involved aren't horrible, but I've focuses on Liu Bei a great deal, making him the primary protagonist. And well... Liu Bei just didn't do much himself in the battle.

I'm just afraid it'll play up some pseudo-history with Liu Bei at the center and ignore the strategy and politics involved. They could even -gasp- add in a love story, making it the Pearl Harbor of Chinese films. But eh... I shouldn't naysay movies so early in development, but I am a tad cautious.
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Fear our Vagueness.

[Jossef]

Ugh, I can only hope it wont dissolve into a love story...

*SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE BATTLE*








Personally I'm hoping the main focus will be on Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Zhou Yu and Huang Gai. I'd like to see how they portray Zhuge Liang predicting the wind coming from the east(?) to spread the flames and Pang Tong convincing Cao Cao to link the ships would make for interesting. Also Zhou Yu played such a vital role in the strategies involved and Huang Gai fooling Cao Cao, and , and......

*sigh*

I'll quit rambling now but I am really excited about this one..
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[Filipe]

Wow I cant believe I dismissed this thread immediately because I had never heard the name before. Now though, I am incredibly glad I clicked on the link because now i am so beyond thrilled that a movie about this battle is being made. Heck i would be thrilled about a film about any of the things that take place in the book, or took place in History. Sadly I dont think any of the things that were talked about in the book have ever been proven to be fact. More, of a thoughts as possibilities of what might have happened during that time, though I dont think it has ever been confirmed.

Sadly though, I dont know whether or not they would bring it here, because there arent any working on it that are American, or Canadian. As such I dont know if it will come here in wide release for people to see, however I wouldnt be surprised if it was sent here in video form with subtitles. Either way, considering the sheer size of the battle if we take into thought the battle in the game, this is going to be something on a large scale. It's going to be amazing to watch, and im excited about it.
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[Lunarblade]

Oh, I'm sure we'll end up seeing this movie one way or another, since Dynasty Warriors has a large following here and other like movies (Hero, Crouching Tiger..., etc.) have done relatively well, I think it'll come to theaters. That being said, I'm looking forward to it...as noted before, I just hope they don't ruin it with a love interest. A little mysticism wouldn't hurt though...if Zhuge Liang were shown as a mystic who really could control the wind I don't think it'd kill the movie. We can only wait and see.
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[Sage]

I haven't played the game or heard of this battle before now, but it sounds like an interesting movie. Bah, love story. How could they put a love story in a war movie? ...oh yeah, nevermind. However, for me this type of movie is hit or miss. When they come off as serious movies but during it I'm thinking "At what point in time did gravity disappear in China?" it's kinda a downer.
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[Baka]

Man! It'll be one helluva cool movie!!!

Three kingdom rocks!

[Filipe]

Could he possibly dissappoint us with making this movie? Of course he could, as it would be very easy for him to completely butcher the story behind the battle and such. Will it happen with this film? I dont know it's rather hard to sway from the basis behind the film so it probably wont come to anything like that. I just hope they focus more on the battle itself, than on the love affair that Baka_no_fool made mention of. I mean sure that is an interesting enough story, but it wouldnt fully develop as a story until later on in the book does it? I dont know I dont have the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms quite yet.

However, i would not be surprised to see some sort of interaction between whoever plays Zhuge Liang, and whomever plays his wife. However, though he is a main character in the film, and books I dont know if they will go that route. I mean they do consider Cao Cao, and Liu Bei to be the two main characters of the books dont they? Thats just my understanding of it anyway.
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[Sai Fujiwara]

This sounds like it should be really, really good.

Personally speaking, I'd love to see a series of movies based off of the whole Dynasty Warriors / Three Kingdoms saga, sort of like Star Wars was, or Lord of the Rings. That's what I'd like to see, personally. I think there are so many good stories to be told from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and enough political intrigue to make a really, really good movie or series of movies, if the screenplay is written well, and the casting / direcitng is done properly.

Anyway, seeing the Battle at Chi-Bi in film will certainly be a welcome sight, so I'll settle for that in the meantime. However, I still hope that perhaps we might be so lucky to see a series of films sometime in the future. :D
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Happily Married to the Lovely Lady Chris Lightfellow! :D

[Camus the Noble]

Wow, how did I miss this thread? I'm a huge Three Kingdoms fan, and I think that this movie should be great. I hope it does well, then maybe we'll see a whole Three Kingdoms saga!

As for the actors, they're looking pretty good at this point. I loved Andy Lau in House of Flying Daggers and Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai. I think that Lau shouldn't play Zhou Yu, though... he looks more like Pang Tong in my opinion. Jet Li would be a good Zhou Yu...

[Dooz]

[Hawk Thanatos]

I'm just hoping that Zhuge Liang keeps his useless self out of it. Zhou Yu, Pang Tong and Huang Gai are the real heroes of Chi Bi. Damn that bloody book! Liu Bei and Shu give a bad name to Shu in Suikoden II.

I just doubt they'll show somebody asking a fisherman about the weather, it just wouldn't compare to having a whole mystic element to it. If you've played the DW games then you'll know that the battle in terms of story favours the allies, so I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of Wei in the film.