If you're like me, you're cautiously awaiting Red Cliff, John Woo's first Chinese film in sixteen years, with fingers crossed like the back of a home theatre set up. Not that Woo's decade-long foray into American mainstream cinema were all duds (first person to say anything bad about Hard Target gets a kick in the splits), but for years now the hardcore Woo fanbase has been clamoring for his return to the Hong Kong-based mayhem where he belongs.
Red Cliff's marketing is heavily hitting around Asia, in preparation for its release in a couple of weeks (still no US release, though rumor has it the two-part epic saga might be trimmed and sliced into one easily digestible movie for the American market). We don't have an English trailer yet, but someone did put up English subtitles for this latest trailer. Not that the dialogue tell you much.
Despite the non-English language and the reunion with his Hard Boiled hero Tony Leung, this might not be the movie that fans of old school Woo want. I keep waiting for Chow Yun Fat to materialize in the middle of the batlefield with two .45s. This trailer is kind of bland, barely distinguishing it from the recent surge of epic martial art imports. Look what you started, Zhang Yimou! I'm getting Windtalkers vibes here.
Great cast, at least. Check out these character posters.
