Red Cliff

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Red Cliff

R

2009

2h 28m

History

Drama

Action

Adventure

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

112 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.

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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.

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Simon Abrams

House Next Door

Cleaner and probably more rewatchable than Red Cliff 2.

Mar 29, 2011

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J. Hoberman

Village Voice

The director's magnum opus.

Jun 29, 2010

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

You may have the biggest flat-screen DLP monitor in the city, but Red Cliff will never look half as spectacular as it will on the big -- and I mean really big -- screen.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 22, 2010

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

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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

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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

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/25

Full Review

Pouria M

It is a realistic excellent movie from china cinema oppposit of the genre wu xia.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/31/25

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Daniel N

Ok. Very long and very slow. Had to watch this over several sittings as it couldn't keep my attention for long. Great battle scenes though with an interesting use of tactics.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/26/25

Full Review

PD M

I am a bit of a cinemaphile I like a little bit of everything, so believe Me when I say this is absolutely in my top 3 movies of all time. I didn’t mind the subtitles one bit it added more something I can’t name but this is on film I could watch everyday and never get tired of!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/16/25

Full Review

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

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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: China Film Group Corp., Beijing Film Studio, Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG) [hk], Lion Rock Productions, Shanghai Film Group
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

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