I watched the theatrical version of Red Cliff, which is about 2 1/2 hours long, after Dr. Dube warned me that the original is closer to 5 hours. Since it is directed by John Woo, I anticipated pageantry similar to that of his other films, and I was not let down. Red Cliff tells the story of an important battle set during China's Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 ce), so there are the epic battle scenes one would expect from one of Woo's films. What is cool here is that, in addition to the battles set on land, there are naval battles. I learned what Chinese ships of this time period looked like and that they could actually be linked together (in this case to prevent motion sickness!) Since my seventh grade students know so little about the weaponry of the cultures they study, I am sure I will be using clips from this film to educate them not only on Chinese weaponry but battle strategies as well. Thankfully, the film has many scenes which can fill that need without the over-the-top graphic violence of other Hong Kong films. Not to say I am against violent Hong Kong movies; I just can't use them in the classroom!
I am not sure whether the English for this battle I used is correct or not, but this battle is one of the most famous battle in the history. I used this movie in my class once. Students' activities were to identify the technology and innovations showed in the movie and in the historical period, also to identify famous historical characters in history and their relations.
“The Art of Communication” is the topic for my lesson plans and I was searching for a film to use with this curriculum. Because we were given a DVD of “The Way Home”, I checked out a review online to see if this film could be a resource. My course is an elective class and my students fall into three main categories; students who are studying film making, photography, journalism or a combination of these three.
The review described the striking scenery of rural Korea and the beautiful cinematography. These features sounded promising but it was the description of the mute grandmother and her challenges of communicating with her spoiled grandson from the city that captured my attention.
The contrast between the modern high tech life in Seoul and the age old customs of the rural villagers was depicted dramatically in the scene where the boy panics when he is unable to find a battery for his computer game.
The movie is too slow paced to hold the attention of the students but a 10 minutes clip could show the students how the slow pace of the story illustrates the slow pace of life in the Korean countryside. Also, this film is unusually quiet as the grandmother does not speak and the countryside is very silent.
The most compelling element of the movie was how the communication skills of the mute grandmother were depicted through gestures. (An interesting side note that I can share with my students is that Eul-boon Kim, the woman who plays the grandmother had never seen a film before acting in this one. The Director Jeong-hyang Lee found her during an extensive search of real rural villagers
This film will provide insight into Korea as part of the East Asia portion of our curriculum.
edited by mjones on 8/16/2011
edited by mjones on 8/16/2011
I watched the 2.5 hour international version of John Woo's Red Cliff, and loved the movie on many levels. Rumored to be the most expensive movie ever produced in mainland China, the original Chinese version is said to be over 5 hours long. Set in 208 AD, the movie is a sweeping epic that shows one of the most famous battles in Chinese history - between a power mad general Cao Cao and an uneasy alliance between two warring clans. The movie was adapted from the Chinese novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century. This historical novel is based on the turbulent years at the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending in the reunification of the land in 280 AD.
The movie focuses on the important Battle of Red Cliffs. On one side is the 800,000 amassed troops of Cao Cao, a prime minister busy manipulating the young weak Han emperor. On the other side is the combined armies of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, two emergent leaders to the south. Together, Sun Quan and Liu Bei lead a fraction of the men at Cao Cao's command. But they don't have nearly as many weapons as Cao Cao. When the prime minister's forces encamp across from Sun Quan and Liu Bei's on the Yangtze River, the sheer mass of Cao Cao's army is chilling.
This setup has us rooting for the underdogs: The good guys may be outgunned (or out-catapulted), but they're far from outwitted, as they have a canny young strategist outsmarting the sheer mass of Cao Cao's army.
Like the movie Hero, there is a strong correlation between dance, calligraphy, music and strategies of battle. The strong suit of "Red Cliff" is the way it puzzles out the tactics behind the Battle of Red Cliffs: the power of nature, love and war. It also gives some insight into the cyclical nature of the way the Chinese view history - divided clans uniting, dividing and uniting again. There were strong themes that reminded me of Sun Tzu's Art of War which is assigned to most business school undergraduates.
There is ample footage to use in classrooms to show innovations in warfare and weaponry and shipbuilding as well. The invention of paper in 105AD by the Han Dynasty is shown through some beautiful scenes of calligraphy, and uses of paper. The movie shows the prosperity of the Han dynasty and emergence of a money economy. The invention of nautical steering rudder and it's contribution to warships can also be seen in the movie. The movie is a visual work of art, full of epic scenery - while imparting important lessons in history.
edited by agreenberg on 8/21/2011
we will always miss him as well.