Friday, July 25, 2008

Black Knights Vs Red Cliff

My initial dilemma of making a choice between the 2 blockbuster movies was decided once i've identified that the genre of Chinese historical epics was definitely more of what my heart desired, than pointless large-scaled, action-packed productions.

Stories of the Three Kingdoms period have always been most fascinating and intriguing. I recalled during my earlier days when i burned midnight oil to watch an animated 9-VCDs version of the war games.
The Battle of the Red Cliff was unarguably the most moving scene, which i couldn't stop watching till 3am just to know the outcome of the warfare. The simple yet clever war tactics employed was awesomely inspiring.


Red Cliff, a two part epic film based on the events during the Three Kingdoms period, specifically the Battle of the Red Cliff - in a quest to unite a divided China, was thus a must-watch for me.
I was not disappointed with John Woo's replica of this highly anticipated historical epic; it was not until the screen reads, "Be revealed in part2" that i was transported back to reality.

We Asian audience has the luxury to watch the full Red Cliff saga which will be shown in two parts, unlike the Western audience who will only get to watch a condensed version early next year.

The condensed, one-instalment version to the international markets might actually lose the character development and nuances that a abbreviated story lack in explaining the rationale behind each character's reaction at the climax of the Red Cliff battlefield.

Can't wait for the part 2 of the saga when the actual warfare at Red Cliff would be engaged :) War films based on historical epic never fail to get me all excited and energized.

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