New Trailer for John Woo's Massive Wartime Romance, 'The Crossing'

His not-so-successful run in Hollywood long over, John Woo has long since returned home to Hong Kong and been reinvigorated. His massive war film Red Cliff is, at least my opinion, one of the best movies of the last ten years, and now he's back with another gigantic epic, the two-part wartime romance, The Crossing.

Starring Zhang Ziyi, Huang Xiamoing and Song Hye-kyo, the 1940s-set drama follows three couples' harrowing attempt to flee the Chinese Civil War. Part of the story, which is being presented in IMAX 3D, will be the 1949 sinking of the Taiping, which caused the deaths of over 1500 people. So is this John Woo's Titanic? Judging by the latest trailer it could very well be.

The Crossing part 1 opens in China next month with part 2 in early 2015, but no word on a U.S. release date.

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John Woo Reveals First Footage from Sweeping Romance Drama 'The Crossing'

So where has John Woo been lately? Certainly he hasn't been doing much in Hollywood over the last decade, and it's probably no coincidence he's been doing some of the best work in his career. His Han Dynasty epic Red Cliff should have won Best Picture back in '08, and his wuxia film Reign of Assassins is one of the finest in the genre. Woo's next film is The Crossing, a sweeping two-part romance epic due out later this year, and now we have the first footage from it, along with some new posters and images.

Starring Zhang Ziyi and Song Hye-kyo of The Grandmaster, Huang Xiamoing (Ip Man 2), and Takeshi Kaneshiro (Red Cliff), the story takes place in 1949 during the Chinese Revolution, following three as they try to flee China for Taiwan. Lust, Caution writer Wang Hui-ling penned the script and it appears to be cut from the same cloth, although with the sinking of the ship Taiping at the story's center there are much larger set pieces involved.

Hopefully a proper trailer is on the way. The first part of The Crossing opens in 3D in China on December 2nd, with the second some time in 2015.  No word on a U.S. release yet. [Variety]

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