The film marks John Woo's return to Asian Cinema, after working on Hollywood hits like 'Face-Off' and 'Broken Arrow' for the past several years. 'Red Cliff' is based on a chapter from the famous 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' series of Chinese historical novels. The film features a pan-asian cast to match its pan-asian funding sources, including Vicky Zhao, Koyuki, Tony Leung and Kaneshiro Takeshi.
Chinese state television's movie channel has announced that they will air a two hour live special filmed on location on the set of the film outside Beijing. The 2.5 hour special will be shot behind the scenes while the movie is filming. In addition to introducing the movie and the characters, they will show the leads filming scenes live.
The finale of the movie will be next filmed in Hebei province's Yixian Reservoir before filming wraps.