John Woo finally made a war epic where doves aren't the only things flying—arrows, fire ships, and Tony Leung's hair, baby.
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
Direction
John Woo's operatic violence finally meets actual opera.
Cinematography
Battle formations shot like moving Chinese paintings.
Acting
Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro's silent rivalry speaks volumes.
Director
John Woo
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Zhou Yu
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Zhu Ge Liang
Zhang Fengyi
Cao Cao
Chang Chen
Sun Quan
Vicky Zhao
Sun Shang Xiang
Hu Jun
Zhao Yun
Shido Nakamura
Gan Xing
Lin Chi-Ling
Xiao Qiao
You Yongzhi
Liu Bei
Hou Yong
Lu Su
Tong Dawei
Sun Shu Cai
Song Jia
Li Ji
Baasanjav Mijid
Guan Yu
Zang Jinsheng
Zhang Fei
Zhang Shan
Huang Gai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The original Chinese release was split into two films totaling 288 minutes; the international cut crammed both into one 148-minute mess that Woo disowned.
Zhuge Liang's 'borrowing arrows with straw boats' stratagem is so legendary in China that it's taught in business schools as resource-jujitsu.
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