Autumn 2008

Red Cliff Grandeur Dazzles Zung Fu Customers
John Woo war epic Red Cliff impressed audiences with its grandeur, just as a Mercedes-Benz does to every car enthusiast. Director John Woo presented Red Cliff in two parts in Asia, with the first part released this July, and the sequel expected in January. The awe-inspiring battle scenes, star-studded cast, and the story itself meant that Red Cliff was much anticipated. Zung Fu thus invited more than 700 Mercedes-Benz car owners to special screenings of the first installment at UA Times Square in Causeway Bay on July 12-13.

The Battle of Red Cliff is famous in Chinese history, and the story attracts people because of its contest of wit and strength between the prominent military leaders, including the legendary “burning 2,000 ships”.

Based on the historical record Chronicle of The Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff is set in 208 AD, the final days of the Han Dynasty, when shrewd Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) convinces the hesitant Emperor Han to unite all of China by declaring war on the warlords Liu Ben and Sun Quan. Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), chief advisor to Liu, is sent as an envoy to persuade Sun's most trusted advisor Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) that they should form an alliance. As men who admire each other's ability, there is much chemistry between them.

Battles on land and on water follow, and eventually culminate in the Battle of Red Cliff. Cao Cao's naval might, the military intellect of Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang and the might of generals like Guan Yu with his Guan Dao (Green Dragon Crescent Blade) and Zhou Yun (Hu Jun) with his spear, all make the battle scenes very impressive. The allied force's use of the “ba-gua” strategy to trap Cao Cao's army marks the climax.

The fights, formations and strategies in the movie are so spectacular that all the Zung Fu customers thoroughly enjoyed it.