Red Cliff Blu-ray

Red Cliff

 (2008)

Action | Adventure | Drama



Chinese history in the 2nd and 3rd Century, during which China split into three kingdoms following the fall of Han Dynasty, and after decades of war and peace, reunified under a new dynasty: Jin.

For more details about Red Cliff on Blu-ray, see the Red Cliff Blu-ray Review

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Vicky Zhao
Director: John Woo

Red Cliff Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Woo’s Red Cliff arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Entertainment in Video. Please note that this is the Special Edition version of the film, running at approximately 286 minutes. The international, shorter version of Red Cliff, running at approximately 147 minutes, is also being sold on Blu-ray. The two versions have two very different covers.

The Blu-ray transfers for Red Cliff parts I and II look practically identical to the transfers Mei Ah delivered for the Hong Kong BD releases some time ago. The only tiny difference that I could spot between the two was in the color-scheme; the reds are perhaps just a tiny bit stronger on the Hong Kong transfers, while greens look slightly more prominent on the British transfers. Everything else, however, looks identical to me. Contrast is incredibly strong, detail fantastic and clarity very impressive. Furthermore, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking appear to be an issue of concern. There are absolutely no traces of heavy noise reduction either. The actual transfer is also notably healthy – there are no disturbing scratches, debris, dirt, or stains to report in this review.

Note: These are Region-Free Blu-ray discs. However, before one could access the main menu on disc I, one must go through a number of forced trailers. The second trailer is problematic - it is in PAL, and will likely force many viewers in North America to get the following message on their monitors - "Can’t Play Format". However, by pressing the SCAN button on the remote controls of two different Region-A players - SONY and Panasonic - I was able to get to the menu and access the main feature without a problem. I have also tested both discs on a Region-A PS3. To get to the main menu - so that you could access the film - once the first trailer (which is actually in 1080p) starts, press the green triangle button on your remote/controller and then select forward (120); the PS3 will skip over the PAL trailers and get you to the main menu. From there, one should know what to do. One does not have to follow the same routine on Disc 2. There are no trailers on it.

Red Cliff Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. For the record, the British distributors have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature. They do appear inside the image frame but are slightly smaller than usual.

Even though the British distributors have not ported the three outstanding audio tracks the Hong Kong Blu-ray release has - DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, LPCM 7.1, and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 - I am every bit as impressed with their Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It is loud, incredibly powerful and with plenty of surround activity. To my ears, the battle scenes sound just as incredible as they did on the Hong Kong Blu-ray disc. Furthermore, the dialog is equally crisp, clear and very easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

Red Cliff Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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