Red Cliff, (AKA: The Battle of Red Cliff), is a two-episode Chinese epic film based on the Battle of Red Cliffs and events during the Three Kingdoms period in Ancient China. The film is directed by John Woo and stars Chang Chen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Hu Jun, Lin Chi-ling, Zhao Wei and Zhang Fengyi. With an estimated budget of US$80 million, The Battle of Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date.

According to Han San-ping, the veteran producer and the CEO of China Film Group, one of the chief investors in the film, The Battle of Red Cliff currently has far too much material to include in a single feature. It will therefore be divided into two films, with the first to be released before the up and coming 2008 Summer Olympics and the second at the end of the year. Producer and longtime John Woo business partner, Terence Chang confirmed this, saying that the Chinese government views the film as a showcase of Chinese history and wants it released before the Olympic Games.

This film is one of the two Three Kingdoms films currently in production, the other movie being Daniel Lee’s Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon starring bootmaster Donnie Yen and Kung-fu legend Sammo Hung.

The story is set in 208 AD, the mighty Han Empire was falling while China was controlled by warlords. Powerful northern warlord Cao Cao led his troops marching to the south in attempt to crash the south. Two warlords, Sun Quan and Liu Bei, set up an alliance to defend their territories.

A more detailed look at Red Cliff will appear in an upcoming edition of Jade Screen: The Hong Kong Movie Magazine.