John Woo Realizes Dreams Through 'Red Cliff'

Director John Woo, center, and from left, actors Chang Chen, Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Lin Chiling appear at the premiere event for their epic film “Red Cliff” at Seoul’s W Hotel. Before speaking to reporters, they took part in a “gut” or Korean shamanistic ritual praying to the gods. / Yonhap

John Woo (``Mission Impossible 2'') releases a mega-action war epic ``Red Cliff,'' which the director proudly said was a manifestation of his childhood dreams during the movie's premiere event in Seoul Wednesday.

This 80 billion won ($80 million) co-production by South Korea's Showbox/Mediaplex brings together the hottest Asian stars including ``Lust, Caution'' hero Tony Leung and heartthrobs Takeshi Kaneshiro (``House of Flying Daggers'') and Chang Chen (``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'').

The movie, coming to theaters July 10 across Asia, is about the Red Cliff Battle, a climactic marine conflict in the epic historical novel ``Romance of the Three Kingdoms.'' The 61-year-old director told reporters ``Red Cliff'' took 18 years in envisioning and almost a lifetime of dreaming. ``I was a diehard fan of the novel and I loved all the characters. When I was 10, I used to stay awake at night drawing characters on my window and use a lamp to project them onto the wall,'' he said.

``This is my dream come true, and it is by far my best work,'' said the maestro filmmaker with a smile. Reporters applauded Woo, who spent every cent from his paycheck when the project surpassed its budget just halfway into the shoot. ``All I earned from the movie was two meals per day,'' he said.

The premiere event opened with a ``gut'' performance or Korean shamanistic ritual praying to the gods for good luck. Woo said the event boosted his confidence for the film's success.

While the maker of ``Face/Off'' said he was fortunate to work on many wonderful Hollywood projects, he said he always felt that Western films lacked a true understanding of Asian culture. ``I truly wanted to capture the courage and wisdom of Asians and Asian culture,'' he said, again receiving applause from reporters.

Read the movie review for "Red Cliff" and "Red Cliff 2"