Woo said that even though he enjoyed his time working in Hollywood, he disliked the internal politics of its studios and trying to please its executives[1]
Red Cliff (2008)
Woo began shooting Red Cliff (2008), marking his first time shooting in mainland China[2]
Red Cliff was a dream project for Woo that he conceived 20 years prior[3][4]
Woo had been interested in leveraging his experience in Hollywood to help Chinese filmmakers learn from big-budget American productions[5]
He wanted to prove that China could "have the same ability and talent necessary to make a big Hollywood movie."[6]
However, the film's development was a protracted, arduous journey beginning in 2004, in which business partner Chang struggled to find a production company that would finance the film without a script or budget[7]
Production was ultimately funded by four different production companies from Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan[4][8]
Tony Leung withdrew from the film in March 2007, citing scheduling issues; Takeshi Kaneshiro replaced him for the role of Zhuge Liang[8][9]
Chow Yun-fat dropped out of the film three days into shooting, with Chow and Chang giving different reasons on why the actor left the project[10][11][12]
Filming was plagued by weather issues and other delays;[14] a stuntman was killed and six others injured in a fire during production[15][16]
The movie cost $80 million, making it the most expensive Chinese-language film in history[17][18]
The film collectively earned over $250 million worldwide, with the first part making $129.71 million[19] and the second part making $120.43 million[20]
In Asia, the movie was released in two parts; for Western audiences the plot was condensed into a single film[21]
Jason Solomons of The Observer acknowledged that while the abridged version suffered from "plot holes and giant leaps", "ropey CGI", and "hard-to-fathom characters", he found the film enjoyable entertainment, stating that "you can't really beat Red Cliff as the classiest and most fabulous blockbuster of the summer."[22]
While Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe generally enjoyed Woo's action sequences, he found the international cut overly long, finding much of the film "corny, cramped, and vague"[23]
David Edelstein of New York was more critical of Woo's set pieces—he called the director a "vulgarian" whose compositions have "no texture"—but still enjoyed the international cut of Red Cliff[24]
Simon Abrams criticised the decision to condense Red Cliff into one film, calling it "out-and-out disrespect for a much-vaunted filmmaker’s vision" by "[undercutting] the grandeur of Woo’s hyper-expensive set pieces" in an attempt to make the movie more accessible[25]
At the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards, Red Cliff: Part I earned 14 nominations, winning five for Best Art Direction, Best Costume and Make-up Design, Best Sound Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score[26][27]
In a 1994 interview with Transpacific magazine, Woo stated that his dream was to direct a version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, citing his goal of wanting to bring Chinese people together and diminish political infighting.[28]
