Red Cliff

Last weekend I went to see what was possibly one of the best films I have ever seen in my life. Red Cliff is a huge Chinese epic about the Battle of Red Cliff in the Three Kingdoms period in China. I can barely use words to explain how amazing this film was. It was indeed epic, some of the battles and scenes could easily match up to the epic nature of the Lord of the Rings films, it was gory, but not in a ridiculous or an unbelievable way - more in a "Jesus Christ, that must have hurt" kind of way, and the fight scenes were amongst the best I've ever seen in any film, hollywood or asian.

Needless to say this is a must see film. Seeing it at the cinema in Tokyo, the film was in Chinese with Japanese subtitles so I didn't understand a word, but the film itself made up for this. I did find a version with English subtitles on the internet though and after watching it last night, mostly to try to get a jist of the story, it made the film 10, no maybe 20, times better. The story is really intense, and for anyone who has ever played the Dynasty Warrior games or read anything on Chinese history there are many names you will instantly recognise.

The best thing by far about this film is that although this is primarily an epic war/martial arts film, it doesn't take itself too seriously and manages to pull in elements of comedy here and there, while at the same time maintaining the seriousness necessary for a film depicting war. Another amazing feat of the film is the strategies used by the characters, I dont know a huge amount about Chinese history but I assume/hope that they are all historically correct because there were sometimes when I sat there in the cinema, my mouth gaping open in awe as one army falls into an amazingly intricate trap set by the other force.

Sadly, in Europe, you're only getting a shortened version, whereas here in Asia we're getting two volumes, the next being released in April. I really implore you to find a way to watch the full length films, even if that means importing the DVDs when they come out.

This film has also really interested me in Chinese history itself, to the point that Sun Tzu's the Art of War is actually in the post and ready to be delivered tomorrow. Amazon.co.jp is so handy! Screw credit cards, they give you a code, you go around to the convenience store, give them the code and then pay the bill, within half an hour Amazon will let you know they've got your payment and your order has been dispatched. Not too shabby, eh? I also bought The Book of Five Rings -a Japanese historical book on strategies, so I'm keeping up with my Japanese culture too! And since both of these books together cost about £7.50, including packing costs, and they'll both be delivered the day after ordering, I'd say this wasn't a bad impulse buy at all and they'll go quite well with the Bushido book one member of my evening class, Ohsuga-san, bought me.