Director John Woo returns to Chinese film with epic 'Red Cliff'

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-2  |     ONLINE EDITION

AFTER 16 years directing Hollywood movies, John Woo is returning to Chinese film with an ambitious two-part historical epic that he hopes will also appeal to Western cinemagoers.

"Red Cliff," whose first installment is due out in Asia later this month, is based on a famous battle in divided third-century China that saw 2,000 ships burned, and draws from a storied period in Chinese history that has spawned comic books and video games.

Expectations are high for the movie.

Loaded with Asian stars including past Cannes winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Taiwanese-Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro, Woo says he has already spent more than US$70 million on the project -- a huge sum by Asian film making standards.

Hollywood trade publication Variety says the "Red Cliff" is the most expensive Asian production ever.

Critical reception is also at stake for the director, who has not made a full-length movie since two lackluster Hollywood productions -- the 2003 sci-fi flick "Paycheck" and the 2002 war film "Windtalkers," which an Associated Press review said "might just be the most unfocused movie John Woo has ever made."

Woo, a Hong Kong native who made hits like "Face/Off" and "Mission: Impossible II," has not directed a Chinese movie since the 1992 action thriller "Hard-Boiled."

It hasn't been an easy transition back to Chinese film.

The main stars of the movie, Leung, and Chow Yun-fat -- whom Woo cast as the iconic gun-toting, trench coat-wearing gangster Mark in his 1986 movie "A Better Tomorrow" -- backed out at the last minute, although Leung later returned to the cast.

A stuntman died in an accident and torrential rains washed away part of an outdoor set in northern China.

Producer Terence Chang said it took time to navigate the Chinese film industry and for Woo's multinational crew to get used to working with Chinese crew members.