A jaw-dropping historical epic.

Byline: DAMON SMITH

RED CLIFF (Cert 15, 139 mins) Entertainment In Video, Action/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD pounds 19.99/Blu-ray pounds 29.99 Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi, Chiling Lin, Zhao Wei, You Yong, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, Ba Sen Zha Bu, Zang Jingsheng, Shidou Nakamura.

SCHEMING Prime Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi) proposes the invasion of land to the south and west under the control of Liu Bei (Yong) and Sun Quan (Chen), thereby unifying China. Liu Bei and his three generals, Zhao Yun (Jun), Guan Yu (Bu) and Zhang Fei (Jingsheng), are quickly overwhelmed by Cao Cao's military might.

So Liu Bei dispatches brilliant strategist Zhu-Ge Liang (Kaneshiro) to seek a coalition with young and impetuous Sun Quan and his powerful viceroy, Zhou Yu (Leung). The massed forces of the two leaders congregate on the banks of the Yangtze River at Red Cliff where Sun Quan's loyal general Gan Xing (Nakamura) galvanises his men into action. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu's wife Xiao Qiao (Lin) and Sun Quan's sister Sun Shangxiang (Wei) assume pivotal roles in the mission to undermine Cao Cao's assault. Red Cliff is the most expensive Chinese language film in history, set during the rule of the Han Dynasty in 208 AD. The scale of John Woo's historical epic is jaw-dropping featuring a cast of thousands and more aerial shots of arrows raining down upon legions of unsuspecting victims than the entire Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Certain breathtaking sequences, like a naval stockade of 2,000 ships sailing up the Yangtze River, can only be accomplished with digital trickery. The computer-generated effects don't always pass muster but when Woo's camera is in the midst of the meticulously choreographed hand-to-hand combat the film is truly a feast for the eyes.

Rating: *** ANYTHING FOR HER (Cert 15, 92 mins), Metrodome Distribution, Thriller/Drama/Action/ Romance, also available to buy DVD pounds 19.99 Starring: Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Lancelot Roch.

A HUSBAND proves his love for his wife by risking everything - including his life - in Fred Cavaye's slow-burning yet gripping thriller which culminates in an edge-of-seat finale that may have audiences biting their nails. Lisa (Kruger) has everything she ever wanted - a doting husband, Julien (Lindon), a good job, enough money to raise their adorable young son, Oscar (Roch), and an apartment where the family can grow. Her world comes tumbling down when the police arrive one morning and arrest her for the brutal murder of a work colleague in an underground car park. Evidence clearly implicates Lisa and she is sentenced to 20 years behind bars for a crime she maintains she did not commit. An appeal fails to overturn the conviction and Lisa resigns herself to spending all of Oscar's formative years locked away in a cell. However, Julien refuses to accept the verdict and he concocts an elaborate plan to spring his wife from jail, then help her to escape abroad where the family can start anew. When local police pick up the scent of his hare-brained scheme, they mobilise all available forces to catch Julien in the act. Anything For Her is a slickly-engineered jailbreak thriller that cranks up the tension as Julien's initially far-fetched plan takes shape and he test-runs various stages of the escape.

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SPECTACULAR: Red Cliff, directed by John Woo, is truly a feast for the eyes