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Red Cliff

Play trailer Poster for Red Cliff R Released Nov 20, 2009 2h 28m History Drama Action Adventure War Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Red Cliff

Red Cliff

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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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Critics Reviews

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Simon Abrams House Next Door Cleaner and probably more rewatchable than Red Cliff 2. Mar 29, 2011 Full Review 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 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

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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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
Red Cliff

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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
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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