Red Cliff Simply Woos

 

‘Based’ on events is probably the ideal description of this Mandarin-language film. It takes its inspiration from a mix of existing folklore, the classic 14th Century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and historical texts (Zhou Yu’s biographical Records of Three Kingdoms). 

 

Set at the fall of the Han Dynasty when sporadic warlords struggled for recognition, Red Cliff focuses on a single part of that rich history when the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs unfolded. It took place in the ‘unofficial’ part of the period known later as the Three Kingdoms: one of the bloodiest eras in Chinese history. 

 

A concise synopsis of this movie becomes difficult due to its sprawling cast list and subplots – which are even more convuluted in the four-hour Asian release. Rudimentarily speaking, the film is a David versus Goliath struggle where two allied southern powers, Sun Quan (Chang Chen) and Liu Bei (Yong You), struggle to repel an enormous conquering army from the north led by the self-proclaimed Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi), who had such a firm rule over his men that his imperial army was able to advance at a rate of 100 miles per day.

 

There are various accounts of what transpired at the ‘Battle of Chibi’. One of the main areas of debate takes place around the geographical location of the event. Most agree on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, but the river has changed in course and length significantly since 208AD, making it impossible to pin-point the location.

 

The depiction of the battle itself - a complex dance of strategy - sticks  mainly to the historical accounts. However, whereas Cao Cao’s withdrawal and retreat from the battle was actually catastrophic for both sides, in Red Cliff, a Woo-style Mexican stand-off takes place for dramatic effect.

 

Elsewhere, the film has been praised for its historical accuracy, although one over-riding plot error is particularly hard to forgive: no historical, or even novelised, account suggests that the battle was fought over love. But Woo invades the story with a far-fetched Helen of Troy angle. He wants us to believe that the aging Cao Cao attacked Southern China to obtain the wife of one of his enemies. It is hinted that the young wife of East Wu viceroy Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) is the simplistic reason for all the bloodshed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woo makes up for his occasional indulgence in artistic license by offering the viewer some surprising insights into the China of the Han era. We find out that Typhoid was first found amongst the early navy of the ancient Chinese, and, after a bizarre Shaolin Soccer-esque subplot plays out, one realises that, in fact, the game of football did exist in that early form at that time, and was named ‘cuju’. 

 

This is realistic ancient world cinema, with a penchant for close quarters combat and fantastic fighting manoeuvres. So impressive are the set pieces involving military strategies that the surprise spears in Braveheart (1995) formation fighting in 300 (2006) and even the double sword attacks in Mongol (2007) pale in comparison. 

 

Woo offers an intruiging portrayal of the military strategist Zhuge Liang’s, who developed the 'Eight Dispositions' or  Ba-gua. These eight battle strategies were reportedly based on Liang's reading of the I-Ching, and proved to be devestatingly effective in battle.

 

Woo embraces the man’s intelligence and his skills as a meteorologist. Never quite swaying towards the supernatural, his ability to predict the winds of war and dispossess the enemy of valuable supplies is grounded firmly in reality. As are many of the ancient military techniques shown; the surface of metallic shields repel Cao Cao’s men with the clever use of sunlight and innovative battle formations trap and dispatch whole legions. In one particular scene a tortoise formation is used (which resembles the contours of the creature’s shell).   

 

Being the most expensive film ever produced you’d expect it to be a veritable feast for the eyes, and it truly is a treat. 

 

Letterbox cinematography, captured on 35mm anamorphic film, floods the screen as Cao Cao’s ships, headed by the mengchong, sail downriver towards battle. The true extent of his eight-hundred-thousand-strong army is revealed in the distance. Snake-like, this procession of wooden arrows chokes the river for tens of miles and dominates even the emerald leaves of the valley walls. 

 

Whether or not Cao Cao had this number of men is highly sceptical and probably an exaggerated number taken from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Historical evidence for the number points to a propagandist letter written by Cao Cao to Sun Quan boasting that amount. But most accounts concede that he had little more than a quarter of a million men at his disposal, still vast in comparison to the mere fifty thousand of the alliance. 

 

Costumes and art direction are also accurate. Oscar-winning designer Tim Yip conducted many months of pre-production research with experts on the Warring States, learning everything about everything, from military affairs and weapons to lifestyles and artworks. In one particular scene Liu Bei sends Zhuge Liang to persuade Viceroy Zhou Yu of an alliance, and an intense duet/battle is played on Chinese zithers. Here Woo correctly references history as opposed to the popular accounts of a rivalry between the pair. In another event consistent with historical records, Sun Quan chops a corner from his solid desk during a war assembly as a threat to anyone who refuses to join the alliance. 

 

It is the use of these authentic micro elements, combined with tactical errors in battle, forced marches, and vivid depictions of disease and seasickness that weave historical reality into this macro fighting spectacular. The film has also been praised for its sensitivity to the nuances of ancient Chinese culture and mythology. It’s as if Frank Miller had painstakingly captured every moment from the banks of the Yangtze River in 208CE and Woo just happened upon the tattered graphic novel yesterday. 

 

More importantly, it’s the most exhilarating and popular entry point to ancient Asia since Chinese manhua, Japanese manga and video games.