I noticed DDDhouse, Sensasian and HKFlix all have Red Cliff up for order.
Does anyone have the Zoke release of this film and is the version DDD has for sale any different than what Sensasian and HKFlix have up?
Single Disc:
http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_details.php?ProductID=8808&LanguageID=0
Two Disc:
http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.547891/qx/details.htm
Single Disc/Two-Disc/Three-Disc LE:
http://sensasian.com/index.php?in=All&action=search&searchby=title&search=red+cliff&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0
Just wanted to know if I should wait if these releases are just so-so on A/V quality.
overider
08-25-08, 08:31 AM
I am kinda surprise that Red Cliff is being released in dvd format so soon after it was taken out from the cinema. It's been only slightly more than a month in Singapore if I didn't remember wrongly.
Do take note that in Asia, the movie had been splitted into two parts and currently the dvd release is only for the first parter.
and personally, I had a very bad experience with Zoke Culture Dvds and the others from China so no R6 Dvds for me. if you are like me, you might want to consider getting the Singapore version by this company Scorpio East. (Do note that I have not seen both version from Zoke Culture or Scorpio East so I am not saying which is better)
You could get it here
Moviexclusive.com's Red Cliff Link (http://www.moviexclusive.com/estore/index.php?productID=346)
Cheers
TheDoug
08-25-08, 08:48 PM
Asianxcore, I've had both good and bad experiences with Zoke Culture dvd's, most times good. I just ordered the 3 Disc-LE from an Ebay seller (I should have it in a week or so). To learn more about these Region 6 issues with Zoke and other Chinese dvd's link to:
This is a great informative site for collectors/sellers of Imported Dvd's.
:)
dleedlee
08-26-08, 06:58 PM
Zoke seems to have different product lines. The ones that I've noticed that tend to be problematic is the 'red label' line, usually DVD-5 and frequently have the intermittent scrolling logo/ads. The higher level line are usually DVD-9 and have no ads, etc.
asianxcore
08-26-08, 07:07 PM
Thanks for all the information everyone.
TheDoug, be sure to post up when you get a chance to watch that 3 Disc :)
manicsounds
09-04-08, 06:53 AM
Mei Ah Hong Kong will release a 2 disc DVD and BluRay on 9/10,
can find it at yesasia.
Remember that this is ONLY part 1 of the film, as part 2 will be released in January 2009
Giles
09-04-08, 02:07 PM
any (English language) reviews of the film? or has anyone here seen the film?
starseed1981
09-04-08, 02:33 PM
Yeah, a review would be appreciated. I've never really liked any of Woo's non-heroic bloodshed films.
TheDoug
09-04-08, 09:24 PM
Thanks for all the information everyone.
TheDoug, be sure to post up when you get a chance to watch that 3 Disc :)
I just received this in the mail and at this point in time I haven't had time to watch the film or any of the extra features on disc 2 and 3 in their totality. Which means, that I did put them in my all-region player to watch a few moments of John Woo's epic film to get an impression of its video/audio quality as represented by this Zoke Culture release. Overall the video/sound transfers on all 3 discs seem to have a good bit-rate transfer without any ghosting or intermittant scanning. Hopefully by the weekend I'll find time to watch the feature and assorted extras so I can give you my critical impressions.
For those who haven't seen the features on this DVD-9 set, here is are the specs:
ISBN 978-7-88083-433-8
Limited Edition Special Boxset Limited to 5,000pcs
Limited Edition Including
Beautiful 32 page Collector's Booklet (on glossy paper)
3 DISC DVDs
Disc 1 - The Film
Directed By : John Woo
Action Directors: Dion Lam Dik-On
Starring : Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Song Jia, Hu Jun. Zhang Feng-Yi, Kaneshiro Takeshi, Chang Chen, Vicky Zhao Wei, Lin Chi-Ling.
Synopsis :
In Autumn of 208 AD, 100,000 peasants fled with their beloved leader Liu Bei from Cao Cao's million man army. With the aid of heroes like Zhao Yun (the subject of the new "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon" film) and Zhang Fei, they escape across the Great River (Chinese 'Yangtze') to take refuge with Sun Quan, the leader of the south. As Cao Cao prepares his huge navy to invade southern China and destroy them both, geniuses like Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu devise a grand strategy. They hope to destroy Cao Cao's 10,000 ships with fire upon the river, but must first trick Cao Cao into chaining his ships together, and then change the direction of China's famous and freezing North Wind. While these two struggle to put aside the rivalry between Liu Bei and Sun Quan's forces, they must hatch their legendary schemes before Cao Cao is ready.
Movie Country: People's Republic of China
Video Format :
Pal-Region 0
Screen Format : (Anamorphic Widescreen)
Audio: Mandarin ( DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital AC3 2.0)
Languages: Mandarin
Subtitles: English , Simplified Chinese (Removable)
Runtime: 140 mins.
Colour: Color
Disc 2 - Special Features Extras
Interactive Menus
Chinese Menus
Exclusive Interview with Director John Woo
Exclusive Interviews with Actors
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Kaneshiro Takeshi
Chang Chen
Nakamura Shidou
Yau Yung
Song Jia
Hu Jun
Vicky Zhao Wei
Zhang Feng-Yi
Dion Lam Dik-On
Making Of Documentary
Trailers:
1) China Version
2) Korean Version
3) Thai Version
4)Products Film Festival
MTV - 3 Versions
Stills Gallery (130 Pcs)
Poster Gallery (35 Pcs)
Production Notes
Cast & Crew
Running time: Over 100 mins of extras
:In Mandarin with Simplified Chinese Subtitles
Disc 3 - Special Bonus Features
Including clips of John Woo's Collection
A Better Tomorrow (1986)
A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
The Killer (1989)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Face/Off (1997)
Windtalkers (2002)
Hostage (2002)
Note: Disc 3 isn't English subtitled and most of the clips shown run from 12-25 minutes depending on the clips chosen from Woo's prior releases. Finally, the box containing the two dvd's and booklet is really quite sturdy and is made of heavy-weight cardboard with a twist-string clasp on the front. I see this as a worthy Zoke Culture acquisition in the way of presentation of materials.
Here's a review of the film from Love HKfilm.com: http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/red_cliff.html
DJariya
09-05-08, 01:26 AM
Is there a Part 2 for this film? I just finished watching it tonight and was surprised that it ended on a cliffhanger with a "To be continued..." graphic.
Has it even been filmed yet?
TheDoug
09-05-08, 06:33 AM
Is there a Part 2 for this film? I just finished watching it tonight and was surprised that it ended on a cliffhanger with a "To be continued..." graphic.
Has it even been filmed yet?
Yes, Part 2 has been filmed already and will be released some time in January of 2009. Those in the West (United States) will see a re-edited version combining both parts of "Red Cliff" running at 2 1/2 hours. I believe Sony pictures is releasing this in the states.
RyoHazuki
09-06-08, 11:58 AM
Is there a Part 2 for this film? I just finished watching it tonight and was surprised that it ended on a cliffhanger with a "To be continued..." graphic.
Has it even been filmed yet?
What did you think of the film?
DJariya
09-06-08, 02:06 PM
What did you think of the film?
The funny thing is that I rented this from my local Mom and Pop store and the damn subtitles (which were burnt in the movie) were so small that I could barely comprehend the 1st 45 minutes of the film. Then, I realized I could hit the zoom button a few times and all of the sudden they were legible.
Overall, I thought it was a solid period action drama with good stunt work and fight chereography. I thought Woo did a good job shooting this movie, but incorporated a little too much CGI in some of the battle scenes and Wide Shots of the Naval Armada. Also, I know the white doves are a signature of his, but does he always have to include it in every movie? Leung and Kaneshiro were solid in their respective roles.
It's too bad that American audiences are going to get the shaft and get the cut down 2 1/2 hour version instead of both parts.
RyoHazuki
09-06-08, 03:39 PM
I can't find any pics of the 3 disc version. Does anyone have any?
TheDoug
09-07-08, 04:13 PM
I can't find any pics of the 3 disc version. Does anyone have any?
Nice set. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this thread and answered questions.
My local Chinese DVD store just got in a bunch of the Meh Ah 2 Disc Edition of the movie. I picked one up over the weekend so hopefully I'll get a chance to watch it soon.
TheDoug
09-15-08, 04:01 PM
From what I understand the Zoke Culture 3-disc edition is now OOP, or out of stock at most of the on-line Asian retailers. I'm glad I got mine while the getting was good!!!
TheDoug
09-17-08, 09:59 PM
From what I understand the Zoke Culture 3-disc edition is now OOP, or out of stock at most of the on-line Asian retailers. I'm glad I got mine while the getting was good!!!
I spoke too soon, this is being relisted from the same buyer I purchase my set from:
http://cgi.ebay.com/John-Woo-Red-Cliff-LIMITED-EDITION-BOX-3-DISC-DVDs_W0QQitemZ360089333587QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item360089333587&_trkparms=72%3A1209%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
toddly6666
09-18-08, 09:36 AM
I bought and watched the Meh Ah 2 Disc Edition of RED CLIFF. The DVD quality is excellent. The Anamorphic widescreen video is interlaced, but it looks like it has great anamorphic progressive video quality. The Mandarin DD 5.1/DTS really gives the speakers a work out as well.
The movie itself is probably my favorite John Woo film after Face Off. Although his Hollywood films aren't that great, his experience in Hollywood has evolved him into a more polished filmmaker. I hope he sticks to Chinese films now.This is one of the most unique war films I've ever seen. Although, I've never been too impressed with him, he really is a good filmmaker. I don't think I've ever seen such an interesting focus on war strategy as in this film. Although it's almost cartoonish or video gamish, it's still done in a serious, non-cheesy way. I like the "cowboy Western" element that the "good guys" are led by a group 7 to 8 individually unique ass kickers. When the battles get to crazy for the good guy troops, an individual ass kicker is sent in to take out a whole squadron of the baddies. Cory Yeun really shines with his action choreography. I think I like the fight choreography of Cory Yeun (and Tony Ching Siu-Tung) more than the more respected Yeun Woo Ping. Cory Yeun has always been very creative.
The film is definitely incomplete and it certainly needs the second part, which I'm now looking foward to. It's certainly a half a movie, and can't really stand on its own.
Meh Ah 2 Disc Edition of RED CLIFF (1st Part)
MOVIE: 8.5
DVD VIDEO: 9
DVD AUDIO: 9
ENGLISH SUBTITLES: 9
EXTRAS: 3
TheDoug
09-18-08, 06:19 PM
The film is definitely incomplete and it certainly needs the second part, which I'm now looking foward to. It's certainly a half a movie, and can't really stand on its own.
Meh Ah 2 Disc Edition of RED CLIFF (1st Part)
MOVIE: 8.5
DVD VIDEO: 9
DVD AUDIO: 9
ENGLISH SUBTITLES: 9
EXTRAS: 3
And the music by Taro Iwashiro ain't half bad either!!!
toddly6666
09-18-08, 07:49 PM
TheDoug, I feel bad for forgetting. You are so right - the soundtrack was awesome!
Vendetta-AKK
09-18-08, 10:15 PM
I bought the Blu-ray and just finished it a few minutes ago...
I grew up watching Woo's The Killer and Hard Boiled and considered myself a big fan, but was very disappointed with his Hollywood films and wasn't quite sure if he was still up for such an ambitious project when Red Cliff was announced, but having just finished it I can now safely proclaim my worries unfounded and that Woo is back.
I loved this film, it was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms come to life...Great drama, Great actions scenes (with thousands of troops in battle the editing was so skillfully done that you could still follow the flow very well), amazing costuming, sets & locales. And many of Woo's trademarks made memorable returns, including his doves...which I actually liked. As others have mentioned it ends with not much resolution to be found in this part 1, but I thought it set the table nicely for part 2.
One negative: As others here have already mentioned, alittle too much CGI for my taste as well, especially the arrows which stood out to me alittle.
The Blu-ray has amazing PQ & AQ quality as good as the top notch US Releases. The only negative being the Mei Ah watermark, but it does stay in the black bars area at least.
FILM: 8/10
PQ: 9/10 (-1 Point for Watermark)
AQ: 8/10
AK
toddly6666
09-19-08, 09:35 AM
How come Mei Ah doesn't watermark the DVD, but they watermark the Blu Ray? Are they trying to avoid bootlegging of the blu ray? Either way, that's pretty annoying - there is no reason for Chinese DVDs or Blu Rays to downgrade to Bollywood DVD habits (on Bollywood dvds, a watermark/logo pops up during any song scene).
Vendetta-AKK
09-19-08, 09:52 AM
How come Mei Ah doesn't watermark the DVD, but they watermark the Blu Ray? Are they trying to avoid bootlegging of the blu ray? Either way, that's pretty annoying - there is no reason for Chinese DVDs or Blu Rays to downgrade to Bollywood DVD habits (on Bollywood dvds, a watermark/logo pops up during any song scene).
That is interesting I wasn't aware that they didn't have some sort of watermark on their DVDs as well. The Blu-ray watermark shows up every twenty minutes or so and lasts for about 2 seconds maybe. It is a pretty small Mei Ah logo with HD next to it, similar to the type of HD logo design that they put on pretty much every broadcast channel in the US. The logo shows up in the top left corner, and thankfully it is small enough that it never goes into the actual film image but stays in the black bars. It is still annoy however, it takes away from an otherwise steller job on this disc by Mei Ah.
asianxcore
09-19-08, 07:18 PM
That's disappointing about the watermark. I agree with Vendetta, not a huge deal but I could see how it could be very annoying.
I've yet to watch the Meh Ah DVD I bought. Maybe I should.
toddly6666
09-19-08, 10:42 PM
I think this is the rare situation where one should buy the DVD instead of the Blu Ray.
Vendetta-AKK
09-20-08, 02:35 AM
I think this is the rare situation where one should buy the DVD instead of the Blu Ray.
I'm not sure I would go that far. The watermark isn't really all that noticeable. And I have seen an awful lot of blu-ray transfers and I would put this one easily at the top 10%. It is a stunning 1080P video transfer, not to mention the 3 HD 7.1 Master Audio tracks. If your TV is 1080P and your Home Theater can decode HD audio, I would still go with the Blu-ray.
toddly6666
09-20-08, 09:03 PM
Can you somehow show pics with the watermark?
tinlunlau
09-21-08, 03:12 PM
Just saw it on DVD yesterday and thought the movie was a lot of fun despite the slow start. In regards to the watermark on the bluray edition, I suspect that Mei Ah purposely does it because of convenience. Not many people overseas know that they have their own movie channel in Hong Kong. I suspect that Mei Ah includes watermarks so that they can use the same film masters for future broadcasting purposes.
tinlunlau
09-21-08, 03:12 PM
Just saw it on DVD yesterday and thought the movie was a lot of fun despite the slow start. In regards to the watermark on the bluray edition, I suspect that Mei Ah purposely does it because of convenience. Not many people overseas know that they have their own pay TV movie channel in Hong Kong. I suspect that Mei Ah includes watermarks so that they can use the same film masters for future broadcasting purposes.
Vendetta-AKK
09-21-08, 04:23 PM
From Asian Blu-ray Guide.com:
"Asian Blu-ray Guide reader Andrew got in contact with HK based distributor Mei Ah about their annoying watermark policy on their Blu-ray disc releases and was kind enough to forward Mei Ah's reply to me":
We recently received quite a few emails regarding the HD logo on our Blu-Ray disc, in this regard, we would like to express our apology for any inconvenience caused in the first place.
Our company aims to provide the public with the best enjoyment of audiovisual, we invest into film digital re-mastering, ensuring every frame of the film in Blu-Ray is of its best quality....even better than what you have seen in the cinema.
Regrettably, such high quality pictures have been traded illegally by some others, to protect our interests we have no alternative but to embed watermark to our quality product.
Now after receiving your comments, we decide to use other watermarking technology in such a way that audiences will not be distracted but our rights are being protected.
We shall take this opportunity to thank you for your continuous support, and we shall keep providing high quality audiovisual products to ensure you and the rest enjoy the best.
toddly6666
09-21-08, 06:23 PM
I don't understand this "protecting our interest from bootleggers" philosophy. Nothing prevents bootlegging, so why do companies mess up the quality of their DVDs/Blu Rays for the people who buy the legitimate versions? Bootleggers bootleg dvds/blu rays with any type of crap that pops on the screen (watermarks, black & white to color switcheroos, "1-800-call-if-this-copy is a bootleg" phone numbers, etc). And people buy them.
What type of fear does a bootlegger fear when they see watermarked dvds/blu rays?
tinlunlau
09-22-08, 04:35 PM
And it's practically impossible to pirate a blu-ray disc. A blank bluray disc costs around 20 bucks. That's about half of the price of a legit copy. If that's the case, then I'd rather buy the bluray disc by legit means. I still suspect that their movie channel in Hong Kong is another reasoning for the watermark's presence.
Dan Average
09-24-08, 07:35 AM
Bootleg BD9s are fairly common already. I've seen reports of honest-to-god Blu-ray bootlegs (not BD9s), but nothing solid. It wouldn't shock me, in any event.
And note that the cost of a pressed disc -- which is what "professional" bootleggers use -- is much, much less than the cost of a write-once disc; this is why you can buy bootleg DVDs in Asia for less than 1/4th the cost of a single DVD-R.
Buy: