China

Red Cliff (Theatrical Version)

Director John Woo's Red Cliff boasts some mighty impressive numbers. It took four screenwriters to adapt the 800,000-word source material, a 14th-century Chinese novel called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are also three editors, two directors of photography, hundreds of horses, and a combined cast and crew numbering in the thousands, making it reportedly the most expensive movie ever made in China. There are quite a few minutes, too, as it has a running time of 2 hours 28 minutes. That's only about half the length of the cut released in Asia, a fact that has led some critics to dismiss the American release as merely a bowdlerized version of the real deal. That may be, but this depiction of the titular battle that took place in AD 208 and is credited with changing the entire face of China is still an epic and magnificent piece of entertainment. The principal characters include Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi), a power-hungry general and self-appointed prime minister who convinces the weak-willed emperor that two rebellious leaders in the south, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen), must be stopped; Cao Cao's antagonists also include the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and the heroic warrior Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), whose wife (Chiling Lin) is a legendary beauty. Cao Cao has a huge advantage in manpower, not to mention an impressive fleet of warships. But he is arrogant, while his opponents are not merely humble and brave but clever (Cao Cao's diabolical plan to send the contagious bodies of soldiers who have died from typhoid fever to the Southlanders' camp works temporarily, but the latter counter with ingenious strategies of their own, like using fog, wind, and fire to destroy Cao Cao's ships). All of this is depicted in the most spectacular battles scenes since the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with a steady supply of gorgeous shots and indelible images. Woo, whose previous films range from the terrific Hard Boiled and The Killer to the lamentable Ben Affleck thriller Paycheck, is in his element here, and Red Cliff is a treat. --Sam Graham

Filmmaker John Woo brings RED CLIFF, the epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D.
battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty, to life in this action-packed U.S. theatrical version.
A power-hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao seeks permission from the Han Dynasty
Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao's brutal, fastapproaching army, the warlords band together to
mount a heroic campaign - unrivaled in history - that changes the face of China forever.

The Painted Veil

Produced by Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, The Painted Veil works well as a movie--even better as an actor's showcase. The year is 1925. When her domineering mother pressures her to marry, Kitty (Watts) settles for shy bacteriologist Walter (Norton). Then Walter is transferred from London to Shanghai and the lonely and bored Kitty drifts into an affair with married diplomat Charlie (Liev Schreiber). When Walter finds out, he makes a startling proposition: either Kitty accompanies him to the cholera-infested countryside or he'll divorce her. With no other prospects, she comes along on what looks like a double-suicide mission. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil was adapted by Philadelphia's Ron Nyswaner (who knows a little something about infectious diseases). As two previous versions made little impact--despite Garbo's presence in the 1934 melodrama--John Curran's film is sure to stand as definitive. Interestingly, Norton, who studied Chinese history at Yale, chose Watts as his co-star, while Watts chose Curran, for whom she appeared in 2004's underrated We Don't Live Here Anymore. Filmed on location, the handsome production is, in many respects, just as old-fashioned as its source material--sex is merely suggested and Kitty is shocked that their English neighbor (Toby Jones) has a Chinese lover--but the ending packs a feminist twist. Mostly though, The Painted Veil is about the acting, and Watts and Norton, along with Diana Rigg as a disillusioned Mother Superior, have rarely been better. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

THE STORY OF A YOUNG ENGLISH COUPLE, WALTER, A MIDDLE CLASS DOCTOR & KITTY, AN UPPER-CLASS WOMAN, WHO GET MARRIED FOR THE WRONG REASON & RELOCATE TO SHANGHAI, WHERE SHE FALLS IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE. WHEN HE UNCOVERS HER INFIDELITY, HE TAKES A JOB IN CHINA & TAKES HER ALONG WHICH BRINGS NEW MEANING TO THEM.

Battle of the Warriors

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/08/2009 Run time: 133 minutes Rating: R

The Kite Runner

Amir is a young Afghani from a well-to-do Kabul family; his best friend Hassan is the son of a family servant. Together the two boys form a bond of friendship that breaks tragically on one fateful day when Amir fails to save his friend from brutal neighborhood bullies. Amir and Hassan become separated and as first the Soviets and then the Taliban seize control of Afghanistan Amir and his father escape to the United States to pursue a new life. Years later Amir now an accomplished author living in San Francisco is called back to Kabul to right the wrongs he and his father committed years ago.System Requirements:Running Time: 127 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/INNOCENCE LOST Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097361179742 Manufacturer No: 117974

Like the bestselling book upon which it's based, The Kite Runner will haunt the viewer long after the film is over. A tale of childhood betrayal, innocence and harsh reality, and dreamy memory, The Kite Runner faces good and evil--and the path between them, though often blurry and sorrowfully relative. Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) presents a painterly vision of Afghanistan before the Soviet tanks, before the Taliban--lush, verdant, fertile--in its landscape and in its people and their history and hopes. The story follows two young boys' friendship, tested beyond endurance, and the haunting of their adult selves by what happened in their youth--and what horrors befall their country in the meantime. The performances of the two boys--Zekeria Ebrahimi (Amir) and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada (Hassan)--are the film's strongest, unforced and gently evocative. The penance paid by their adult selves is foreshadowed, but never predictable--and the metaphor of innocence lost, a common theme in Forster's work, keeps the film, like the title kites, truly aloft.--A.T. Hurley

The 5 Deadly Venoms

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 08/18/2009 Run time: 97 minutes

One of the loopiest kung-fu movies ever made, a garish masterpiece of martial kitsch by the hard-boiled master of the genre, Chang Cheh. The five muscle-bound paragons of the title have fighting skills so hyperdeveloped that they border upon the occult, each modeled on the behavior of a different venomous beast: centipede, snake, lizard, toad, and scorpion. This "poison clan" is embroiled in a complex plot to lay claim to an ill-gotten fortune, but the story line feels like an afterthought. The nonstop wall-crawling action sequences, which match up the cast members in every conceivable combination, are the be all and end all here. This is late, decadent Chang Cheh, without the poise and sweep of earlier epics like Blood Brothers and Vengeance (the noble David Chiang-Ti Lung team ups that inspired John Woo), but it's great fun on its own terms. The painted masks worn by the Venoms, which make them look like berserk extras in a wrestling film, are based upon the belligerent warrior face paint of Chinese opera. --David Chute

Kung Fu Hustle [Blu-ray]

Bluray Disc

Winged Migration

Documentary on the migratory habits of birds across the seven continents.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: G
Release Date: 22-NOV-2005
Media Type: DVD

For earthbound humans, Winged Migration is as close as any of us will get to sharing the sky with our fine feathered friends. It's as if French director Jacques Perrin and his international crew of dedicated filmmakers had been given a full-access pass by Mother Nature herself, with the complete "cooperation" of countless species of migrating birds, all answering to eons of migratory instinct. The film is utterly simple in purpose, with minimal narration and on-screen titles to identify the wondrous varieties of flying wildlife, but its visceral effect is humbling, awesome and magnificently profound. Technically, Perrin surpasses the achievement of his earlier film Microcosmos (which did for insects what this film does for birds), and apart from a few digital skyscapes for poetic effect, this astonishing film uses no special effects whatsoever, with soaring, seemingly miraculous camera work that blesses the viewer with, quite literally, a bird's-eye view. A brief but important hunting scene may upset sensitive viewers and children, but doesn't stop Winged Migration from being essential all-ages viewing. --Jeff Shannon

Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray]

Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/15/2009 Run time: 99 minutes Rating: Pg13

House of Flying Daggers

"Prepare your eyes for popping" in this "martial-arts fireball that throws in a lyrical love story headspinning fights and dazzling surprises" (Rolling Stone). "A gorgeous entertainment" (A.O. Scott New York Times). Mei is an exotic beautiful blind dancer associated with a dangerous revolutionary gang known as the House of Flying Daggers. Captured by officers of the decadent Tang Dynasty Mei finds herself both threatened - and attracted - to the most unusual circumstances. Here her heart and loyalties battle each other amid warriors in the treetops and dazzling combat - the likes of which have never before been seen!System Requirements: Running Time 119 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396091788 Manufacturer No: 09178

No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer

Curse of the Golden Flower

THE ILL-FATED ROMANCE BETWEEN AN IMPERIAL BODYGUARD & A PRINCETAKES THE LOVERS ON A DANGEROUS JOURNEY WHERE ROYAL FAMILYSECRETS ARE REVEALED.

Curse of the Golden Flower, a fictionalized historical glimpse into the brutally complicated politics of Emperor Ping's (Chow Yun Fat) reign during the Tang Dynasty, shows the viewer just how far a megalomaniac must go to gain and retain power in medieval China. Lavish sets, massive ceremonial displays, and perversely fascinating battle scenes impress similarly to the special effects Americans have come to love and expect from Chinese action films like Zhang Yimou's previous House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. An intricate plot involving the Emperor's wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) and their three sons, Crown Prince Xiang, Prince Jie, and Prince Cheng, most closely follows the Empress's secret plan to force abdication upon her corrupt husband as revenge for his slowly poisoning her with Black Fungus tea. Opening on the eve of the Chysanthemum Festival, 928 A.D., the Empress obsessively embroiders gold chysanthemums to adorn her army's uniforms while hatching plans with Jai to overthrow the Crown Prince for control of the throne. Meanwhile, a side plot develops as the Emperor's ex-wife and mother to Crown Prince Yu reemerges as Yu's lover. By the time the Festival occurs, family members are pitted against each other in a King Lear-ian web of lies that can only result in demise. The most sophisticated narrative aspect of Curse of the Golden Flower is that as the royal family crumbles, the Emperor's death grip on China remains unwavering. Gorgeous scenes set in the palace and costume design displaying China's upper class decadence cannot fail to entertain. The paradox between good and evil, here, is highlighted by how the Emperor successfully rules despite, and because of, his utter cruelty. --Trinie Dalton