By Carey Steinberg

On Tuesday, November 17th, 2009, the Montalbán theater in Hollywood, California, proudly presented to the press and special guests, John Woo’s monumental account of a great battle during the height of the Han Dynasty era in a Chinese war movie called, “Red Cliff.” Once again, the Montalbán was most generous with their guests by greeting them with more proper snacks for the occasion such as lo mein, rice crackers, and fortune cookies. The beautiful theater was also decorated for the occasion with Chinese lamps and even some of the marvelous costumes from the film. Nike Sportswear, Flux, and the Montalbán theater really know how to treat their guests properly with such delicious and unlimited treats, exquisite décor, and fabulous entertainment.

With an extremely high budget of $80 million United States dollars, “Red Cliff” has already surpassed the mega blockbuster “Titanic” as the highest grossing film in China and Japan. The story of Red Cliff is one much like David and Goliath. In “Red Cliff” the crowd is cheering for the underdog to use their intelligence and strategy to overpower and defend against the strength of the evil bully. John Woo revisits his Chinese roots by informing the world of a time of 208 A.D., when China was ruled by a tyrannical warlord.

In this film, the underdogs are the Sun Quan army who team up with their rival leader named Liu Bei. The bully is the war crazy Prime Minister Cao Cao. The Emperor Han actually gave permission to Cao Cao to unite China by declaring war on their own kingdoms. Little does the Emperor realize, that his decision is to demolish a peaceful part of his own nation and kill thousands of innocent people. The story is one that can be compared to numerous other nations throughout the world in history and even today. Why does history repeat itself? Why do nations continue to bully other nations in a power struggle while murdering innocent people and destroying beautiful places? At least “Red Cliff” communicates to the viewer that a smaller, less technologically advanced people can stand up and defend against overpowering, more technologically advanced people.

“Red Cliff” had amazing action scenes which will entice the martial arts enthusiast and action movie fan. John Woo does it again with fantastic action-packed, adventure much like his great action scenes in his prior films such as Face/Off and Mission Impossible II. Woo does this without even the use of a single gun, but with great sword fighting and hand to hand combat scenes.

In addition, the film is quite beautiful as the ruler Liu Bei’s wife named Xiao Qiao exemplifies how peace is far more important than war. Qiao also displays to the audience the importance and relaxing qualities of tea in such an elegant fashion. Xiao Qiao tries to promote peace to her husband and will do anything to coerce these men to protect their beautiful land without war.

The Montalbán theater and Nike once again created such a fun experience for their guests. They provided rice crackers and lo mein instead of the typical popcorn and candy snacks. The audience was able to also see the wonderful costumes that some of the main characters wore in the film. The Montalbán decorated their theater with red Chinese lamps and even the cocktail waitresses greeted guests after the show with Belvedere vodka drinks dressed in traditional Chinese dresses. Then, DJ Wendy City spun some great dance music for the guests to dance the night away. Cinema Tuesdays at the Montalbán theater was once again the place to be and a fabulous success.

ABOUT CINEMA TUESDAYSCINEMA TUESDAYS is a monthly screening series featuring innovative motion pictures and unique live events. From exclusive film premieres, stylish action films and inventive comedies to inspiring tales of urban sport and art, each event will be a fresh, not-to-be-missed experience, be it a sneak peek of an anticipated studio release, Nike-commissioned short films, a celebrated film from international festivals or the return of a seminal classic. Live filmmaker presentations, musical performances and thematic elements are only some of the surprises lined up for an unforgettable evening. CINEMA TUESDAYS takes place at Nike Sportswear at The Montalbán, Nike Sportswear’s unique retail and special events theatre in Hollywood. Programming for CINEMA TUESDAYS is curated by Flux, a global creative community that celebrates film, art, music, design and culture. Flux is renowned for their acclaimed festivals, film events and quarterly screening series at UCLA’s Hammer Museum. For more information, visit the concierge desk at Nike Sportswear at The Montalbán, Nikesportswear.com or flux.netNike Sportswear at The Montalbán 1615 Vine Street Hollywood, CA 90028