TRAILER FOR JOHN WOO'S THE CROSSING, PART 1

The tragic sinking of the steamer Tai Ping in 1949 forms as the backdrop for John Woo's upcoming two-part epic historical drama, The Crossing. The film follows in the current wave of splitting movies in two, though while it may not ostensibly be in the vein of films such as those in the Harry Potter, The Hunger Games or Twilight franchises, it'll likely be a major blockbuster in its native China. It's often touch-and-go with Woo, but there simply looks to be so much going on in this trailer, and this is only the trailer for Part 1, that I'm already half-way sold. I'll say this much: they may not always be that good - this year's The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom sure ain't - but at least so many of China's most expensive studio products are able to boast beautiful production qualities, and take place not in some fantasised version of the present or the future, but in a history that's as rich as any screenwriter's imagination. The excellent Zhao Fei is the cinematographer. Released in China in December, with Part 2 arriving in domestic screens next May.