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Red Cliff

Red Cliff

Adventure · Drama · History · 2008

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Movie details

Red Cliff

“The future will be decided.”

2008 Adventure · Drama · History 2h 25m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Red Cliff?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Red Cliff II

Red Cliff II

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Woo

Written by

Kuo Cheng · Sheng Heyu · John Woo · Chan Hon

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Zhou Yu

Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro

Zhu Ge Liang

Z

Zhang Fengyi

Cao Cao

Chang Chen

Chang Chen

Sun Quan

Zhao Wei

Zhao Wei

Sun Shang Xiang

Hu Jun

Hu Jun

Zhao Yun

Shido Nakamura

Shido Nakamura

Gan Xing

Court is in session

Put Red Cliff on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.