POSITIVE OUTLOOK: Director John Woo hopes the $80-million Red Cliff can enkindle love and passion toward life from his audience. In this picture, Woo (standing) introduces cast members in the movie to reporters at a press conference in Beijing on May 10

John Woo has waited 18 long years to make a movie about China's history and now the dream of the Hollywood action director is set to come true.

Woo's new epic, Red Cliff, a production centered in the Three Kingdoms' period of China's history (220-280), tells a moving story about heroes, beauty, wisdom, gallantry and brotherhood based on the famous Battle of Red Cliff, where a few triumphed over many.

"The Three Kingdom Period is a time of great wisdom and heroic figures in the Wei, Shu and Wu kingdoms. The relationship among the historical figures appeals to me most and I have an affinity with that time period," Woo explained when asked why he had waited so long to start shooting.

Knowing that the Battle of Red Cliff is one of the most prominent landmarks in China's history, where courage, solidarity and the wisdom of the Chinese people were exemplified in large doses, Woo hopes his new movie can convey the spirit of China to a foreign audience effectively. He is, however, also aiming to appeal to Asian audiences.

With a huge budget of $80 million from 15 Chinese and foreign investors, Red Cliff becomes the most expensive movie in the history of Chinese cinema. As a successful Hong Kong director who later made it big in Hollywood, Woo hopes to bring the Hollywood touch to Red Cliff in terms of plot and technique.

Loyal to history

The Battle of Red Cliff took place in the winter of 208 between the allied forces of the southern warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan and the northern warlord Cao Cao. Liu and Sun successfully frustrated Cao's effort to conquer the land south of the Yangtze River.

To cover the months-long battle in a few hours, Woo has ensured he is working with a first-class script. He has invited Zou Jingzhi, Chen Han, Guo Zheng and other famous screenwriters to modify the script. In over four years, they have changed the script 10 times, with the final version being heavily influenced by Woo's own ideas.

He has stressed on many occasions that Red Cliff will try as far as possible to be loyal to actual events, and the story will be based on the historical book Records of the Three Kingdoms, rather than the well-known classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

This means many scenarios in the literary work familiar to most Chinese readers may not be seen in the movie. Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu (commander of Sun's troops), Zhuge Liang (Liu's chief military advisor) and other legendary figures will also be close to the real persons in history.

Not just action

Woo is an action director in the eyes of many Westerners, but audiences are soon to see him in a different light. He wants to try and avoid people from viewing his new movie as just another Chinese kungfu rollout. In his opinion, Red Cliff has three components: sentiment, action and suspense.