Chinese epic heads West

2009-01-06 17:14

Hong Kong - John Woo is preparing to introduce his first Chinese-language movie in 16 years to foreign audiences after the historical epic proved a massive success in Asia.

The Hong Kong native said on Tuesday that he has finished editing an international version of Red Cliff and is offering it to American distributors. It has already been picked up in Europe and South America.

The $80m epic, based on an ancient Chinese battle, was split into two instalments lasting a combined five hours for Asia, but a single movie lasting two hours and 25 minutes has been prepared for audiences elsewhere.

"For Western viewers, watching a foreign-language movie and reading subtitles is very tough," Woo told The Associated Press.

The war epic is set in the Three Kingdoms historical period, which Woo said is familiar to Asian audiences.

Big hit

The first instalment of the Red Cliff project was a big hit when it was released across Asia in July, earning more than $100m thanks to a $50m performance in Japan and $47m earned in mainland China.

In South Korea, it drew more than 1.6 million viewers - about 130 000 more than the Batman sequel The Dark Knight.

The second instalment will debut in China on Thursday and across the rest of the continent later this month.

Woo said the international version of Red Cliff focuses on the main characters and eliminates peripheral ones.

But, he says, both Asian and Western versions are more down-to-earth than their contemporary Asian rivals, concentrating on grounded battle scenes over far-fetched gravity-defying kung fu fighting sequences.

"I wanted to make Asian audiences feel it's a familiar story, but also make Western audiences feel they're watching a love story like Troy or an Asian version of Gladiator," Woo said.

Woo also said he will start shooting another Chinese-language movie, 1949, later this year.

- AP