What You Need to Know: Silva Screen comes through with a release that has been on my radar since I took my first glimpse at the film's trailer. While the Red Cliff hasn't ignited a rampaging buzz here in America, the look of it has movie goers like me anxious and ready to see what John Woo has come up with for this project. Not far behind my enthusiasm for the show is the film's soundtrack; it would be hard to imagine any capable composer missing the mark on this one given its rich, cinematic merits. It wasn't a question of "is this score going to work." Rather, it was "how good will this soundtrack be."

Unfair or not, my expectations were met. Tarô Iwashiro's score has a sense of epic appeal about it but he also pays its respect to the dramatic points of the story. What I found surprising, however, was the overall style of the score; its tone came across as a large, dramatic Hollywood score more than anything else. In other words, there was a largely traditional approach employed here without the use of too many authentic Chinese instruments. I suppose having John Woo at the helm, who has had his fair share of success in tinsel town, helped lead Iwashiro in that direction. The bottom line, however, is that Red Cliff is still influenced enough by the historical subject matter that score's identity is not out of place. It is simply in a different style than I had expected.

There is a strong melodic approach in Iwashiro's writing, be it in the midst of human drama or at the heights of an epic battle, that comes across quite poignantly in the music. It seems as though the direction and personality of the score was fully embraced by Woo and his team. And truthfully, I notice this a lot in foreign cinema; the director's and decision makers seem to want scores rich with their own identity while here in America many executives seem to be content to play it safe and copy a temp score. Thus in listening to Red Cliff, I felt like I was home again. Hollywood has lost its way but the rest of the world has not.

Though I am on board in recommending this score, I did feel that some of the battle music cues lacked the type of strength that I felt they needed. The percussion felt a bit timid and the depth of instruments felt minimal during some moments. Though these were fleeting moments, they do exist, so I feel I should point them out. Go after this one if you're seeking to be enveloped by rich, evocative music more than gritty, intense action fare. You should also note that Like other Asian epics. there are the obligatory theme songs to contend with. Though sometimes they are actually well positioned in the movie and/or soundtrack, I typically find them to be a distraction and overly dramatic. Here, there is little disruption and the songs fall somewhere in the middle of what I just described.