John Woo's frequently breathtaking Red Cliff opens in the U.S. soon in a 140-minute-or-so "international version" that severely abridges the original two-part, almost five-hour epic. I've seen both, and you, too, can see the grand two-parter if you're got a multi-region DVD player or a domestic Blu-ray machine—the BR discs of the film are not region-coded. Details are at The Auteurs', as the two-part Cliff is the subject of today's Foreign DVD Report.
Oh, Jesus, that’s a pretty shot. I’ve never quite warmed up to Woo, but this one might just do the trick.
And not to stray too far off-topic here, but since you mention it in your piece– wowza, isn’t Die Nibelungen just a grand piece of filmmaking? I was just spell-bound the entire time.
Having recently seen the also beyond-excellent Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler– albiet Kino’s rather poorly-translated version– I can say that the only one of the three Lang two-parters I didn’t fall absolutely in love with was The Indian Epic.
I know, I know…I’m lazy. Buuut….I just started clicking around for the 5ish hour blu ray of this and the only ones I’m seeing are the 140 minute ones. Anyone gotta quick link?? My patience is low for searching today for some reason.
You ARE lazy, Don. I sympathize, actually.
FYI, the Blu-rays of the complete version are sold separately, as “Red Cliff” and “Red Cliff II,” like so:
http://www.yesasia.com/us/red-cliff-part-ii-blu-ray-japan-version/1020340944-0-0-0-en/info.html
YesAsia is likely to have several versions, all pretty high-priced. You can also link through DVD Beaver:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews43/red_cliff_blu-ray.htm
Also, if you live in a city with a large Asian population and/or a Chinatown district, you’re liable to find the discs at retail, which is what I did, at a joint whose name escapes me at the intersection of Boawery and Canal by the Manhattan Bridge.
Thanks for the wonderful recommendation for Red Cliff Glenn! I was able to see parts 1 and 2 on youtube about six months ago. Amazing political/historical film(s) that unfortunately will be pretty much overlooked because of the butchered North American Version. Keep up the great writing!
Tom: If Debra Paget’s temple dance didn’t make you fall in love with Lang’s Indian epic, nothing will. Yowza!
I sort of lost interest in Woo after M:I 2, but this looks like something to see.
Thanks, GK. I’ll hit up Chinatown in the Frisco Bay this weekend maybe!
I saw some 2+ hour version of it a film festival over the summer…can’t honestly say if it was part one or if it was simply condensed. It enjoyed the hell out of it. Ridiculous as all hell, but there sure are some pretty shots. And being from John Woo, it felt less pretencious than the equally deep (or shallow) Yimou films.
I do recall being shocked that the peacemakers were made into weak pussies, but I may be misremembering how that turned out.
We saw the American version at the (West Coast?) premiere in Costa Mesa, CA, with Woo introducing. Some of the scenes are amazing – especially the dolly shot that starts with a closeup of Cao Cao up to a long shot of the whole fleet on the river.
I don’t think I’m ready for a 5-hour epic. We saw Abel Gance’s “Napoleon” in L.A. some years back – that was close to 4 hours.
It seems like material for a year-long BBC “Masterpiece Theater” series.