John Woo returns! That's the biggest news that ushers in the two-plus hour version of Red Cliff, available on DVD and Blu-ray. While the international/Asian release clocks in at four hours long, the version you can buy today is complete with plenty of action-packed battle scenes and enough of a Chinese history lesson to fill you up for days. And, of course, there are doves.

I'm not going to pretend to spell everything out for you plot-wise. What you need to know is that there is a greedy northern Chinese administrator named Cao Cao who convinces the emperor (rather unwillingly) to attack the southern provinces and take them over. It's a bit of Daniel and the lions' den right off the bat; the emperor knows he's getting hoodwinked but he's not smart enough to fight it off. And what we get is a bloody, visual civil war.

So, our Daniel (or Zhou Yu) fights the immense battle-ready forces of Cao, on land and on the sea. The battles wage off and on as Woo focuses us in on this democratic side versus autocratic dictatorship, and on the interpersonal relationships between a few leaders on each side. There's a bit of subterfuge as characters go undercover, but we're also treated to the sensation that this is David versus Goliath as well. Yu's army needs help, and so they incorporate alliances with others to try and get the job done. And still, the cocky, arrogant, and sometimes superior Cao marches south.

It would be a lie to say that the plot mattered to me as much as it did to the Chinese audiences who stormed the theater to check this out. I was completely in it for the battle scenes choreographed by the creative genius behind Face/Off, The Killer, and the visually astonishing Mission Impossible II. Woo's hinted-at Christianity is apparent with some of the imagery, and even the subject matter, even if he's dealing with principles of the ancient Chinese religion and politics.

Here, the purity of heart rides with the southern warriors, and their mercy in the end shows a different sort of wisdom, kingdom, and mentality than those from the north. Audiences may see bits of Braveheart or The Patriot here; the action is superb, and the special effects (especially here in Blu-ray) are ridiculously eye-catching. If there were ever a non-English movie to see in Blu-ray, this is the one.