A couple days ago, I finally watched John Woo's version of Red Cliff, the $80 million epic based off of the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, or San Guo Zhi. While previous Three Kingdoms films have all taken from the fictional novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (San Guo Yan Yi), Woo told interviewers that his film was more realistic and avoided the traditional black-and-white symbolism that the novel endorsed. As a huge fan of San Guo Yan Yi, I naturally wanted to see this new, more grounded version of the decisive Chi Bi battles.
Instead, I walked away craving the original 1980s Romance videos (which I watched on youtube hours before my thesis was due). Red Cliff was a great movie - the acting was for the most part good, the effects were astounding, and Lin Chi-ling is a cutie:). What it lacked, ironically, was realism. In the end, I felt that the old Chinese series, based nearly exactly off San Guo Yan Yi, was both more believable and more realistic, despite its ties to the novel rather than history. Here's why:
1. Things that make you go o_O
In comparison with actual history and San Guo Yan Yi, Red Cliff might have been the most otherworldly. The battle itself, for example (Shu/Wu army vs. Wei army):
History: 50,000 vs. 240,000
San Guo Yan Yi: 100,000 vs. 800,000
Red Cliff: 1* vs. billions
*Guan Yu, the halberd-wielding half-man half-beard
o_O. Seriously, there was a scene where an exasperated Zhang Fei begs for reinforcements, until the camera then pans to a wall of shields vigilantly parting to make way for the noble Beard. Except... he's alone. Even the horses knew failure and stayed away. And yet, Guan Yu fights his way to Cao Cao's inner circle, where Cao Cao's hundreds of elite champions could not stop him.
2. Hollywood Music
From the movie's start, a full orchestra reminds us time and time again of the main theme: a symphonic, part-noble and part-melancholy work of grandeur. In other words, hollywood stuff. This contrasts to the TV series' simple, guzhen-based pieces. I might be a music snob, but holywood music, though enjoyable, is far from reality. Stick with the authentic stuff.
3. Strategists need Makeovers
Guys like Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu were supposed to be not only the intellectual cream, but also some cocky badasses who knew exactly how to take over the world. Just take a look at Zhuge Liang's future resume:
- Successfully invaded the Kingdom of Shu
- Captured barbarian leader seven times
- Scared Zhou Yu to death with mental prowess. This is not a figure of speech; he actually gives the poor guy a stroke by proving he's more brilliant.
Red Cliff Zhuge Liang spends his free time helping animals give birth. Seriously?
The thing is, having a more badass chief strategist actually makes San Guo Yan Yi more believable than Red Cliff. Badass Zhuge Liang makes you believe a few thousand men can utterly annihilate a million-strong army, or that a handful of fishing boats can alight an entire fleet of battleships. Confidence, even arrogance, is what drives his character. Wimpy Zhuge Liang hides behind his one-man army (i.e. Guan Yu) and shys away from man-to-man conflict, much less total war. You just can't imagine him burning entire regiments to death or slaughtering old men with his knowledge of Confucian literature (go to 5:30).
More Zhuge Liang
And this
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