Jul 08 2008
John Woo goes back to his roots
After slumming around Hollywood with increasingly disappointing fare like Paycheck and Windtalkers, Hong Kong action maestro John Woo must’ve felt a deep-seated need to get out of the system that had been needling away at his style ever since Day 1 of Hard Target. So, Woo’s returned to the Chinese film industry for his latest work, a production that’s been long and grueling for him, tentatively entitled The Battle of Red Cliff.
Based on the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms by author Luo Guanzhong, the film promises to be a large-scale epic packed with political intrigue, stirring action, a star-studded cast (including internationally-renowned actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro), and dazzling production values. It’s got a Hollywood-level budget, about U.S. $80 million, which allegedly makes it the most costly movie produced in all of Asia to date. However, I’m guessing that there’s also a lot less of the Tinseltown-style micromanaging and interference that has diluted his work in recent years. At the same time, that lack of supervision could’ve allowed some less-than-ideal working conditions (as is common within the Chinese film industry) which led to the tragic death of a stunt performer. In addition, the shoot has been plagued by other problems like star walk-outs and a violent storm that destroyed a set.
Nevertheless, as a longtime Woo-watcher, I’m looking forward to this “return to basics” for the director. The promotional poster art certainly seems to promise grandiose storytelling and bravura action, the trademarks that made Woo such a hot Hollywood property in the first place.
This poster features Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Zhou Yu.
Take a look at the other poster designs here.
