Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Red Cliff

Play trailer Poster for Red Cliff R Released Nov 20, 2009 2h 28m History Drama Action Adventure War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 114 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In ancient China, the emperor of the Han Dynasty allows General Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) to declare war against the rebellious southern provinces, with the intention of unifying the entire country. Cao's large army quickly advances, killing civilians and soldiers alike. To resist Cao, the southern warlords form an alliance led by Viceroy Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Outnumbered, Zhou relies upon elaborate formations and unorthodox strategies to fight against Cao's overwhelming forces.
Watch on Peacock Stream Now

Where to Watch

Red Cliff

Red Cliff

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Featuring some impressively grand battlefield action, John Woo returns to Asia and returns to form in the process for this lavish and slick historical epic.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (114) Critics Reviews
Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Simon Abrams House Next Door Cleaner and probably more rewatchable than Red Cliff 2. Mar 29, 2011 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The prestige of the story doesn’t forgive the fact that John Woo lost his edge years ago, and that’s fully evident in every frame of this overlong epic. Rated: 2/4 Aug 30, 2023 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Tony Leung is powerful and involving as a sort of peaceful, poetic warrior who largely serves as the film's heroic figure. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 21, 2020 Full Review Eileen Jones The eXile The star, Tony Leung, isn't even handsome, but he's got this wonderful, intelligent, melancholy expression that's worth more than all the handsome there is. Oct 30, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Leprechaun K John Woo + Tony Leung always translates to greatness. There could have been more action but it was well balanced all the same. Well directed and performed. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/25 Full Review Liam D John Woo’s return to Chinese cinema isn’t one of his greatest movies but it’s still very solid Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/16/24 Full Review Korra N Arguably John Woo's best film (easily the two-part uncut version), Red Cliff is a dazzling and gripping historical epic chock full of captivating performances, stunning cinematography and pulse-pounding action sequences. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Good B The panning of the camera every second is distracting. Not only was it hard to be in the moment but it actually made me dizzy. Not to mention , you tripped a horse to get a shot for your terrible movie. John Woo reminds me of the film students at the Art Institute. Worth a skip, how does it have 90%? I really think the people that are writing good reviews are just as pretentious as this film. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/16/24 Full Review Alec B There's a lot of set-up for the main action set pieces of the second film but there are still compelling character dynamics and battles. Woo is mythmaking here, so it is best to view the movie in that vein. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/10/24 Full Review Jimmy P this is part one of two but should be seen as a whole. Watch part one and two together and it is a wonderful experience. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Red Cliff

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Warlords 62% 70% The Warlords Watchlist Troy 53% 74% Troy Watchlist TRAILER for Troy 13 Assassins 95% 88% 13 Assassins Watchlist 1911 8% 30% 1911 Watchlist Kingdom of Heaven 39% 72% Kingdom of Heaven Watchlist TRAILER for Kingdom of Heaven Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In ancient China, the emperor of the Han Dynasty allows General Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) to declare war against the rebellious southern provinces, with the intention of unifying the entire country. Cao's large army quickly advances, killing civilians and soldiers alike. To resist Cao, the southern warlords form an alliance led by Viceroy Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Outnumbered, Zhou relies upon elaborate formations and unorthodox strategies to fight against Cao's overwhelming forces.
Director
John Woo
Producer
Terence Chang, Sanping Han, John Woo
Screenwriter
John Woo, Chan Hon, Cheng Kuo, Heyu Sheng
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Shanghai Film Group, Beijing Film Studio, Lion Rock Productions, China Film Group Corp., Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG) [hk]
Rating
R (Sequences of Epic Warfare)
Genre
History, Drama, Action, Adventure, War
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 24, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$626.8K
Runtime
2h 28m
Most Popular at Home Now