A still taken from "Red Cliff" [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]

"Red Cliff," Hong Kong director John Woo's latest historical war epic, is set to premiere July 10.

The first movie in the two-part series will open on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Han Sanping, the film's co-producer and board chairman of China Film Group Corporation, announced the news on Friday, Web site Sina.com reported.

The film is still in production, though shooting wrapped in December.

Production of the second movie is expected to wind up within the year, and is tentatively scheduled for a December release.

In May, John Woo and the cast, which includes Tony Leung, Chang Chen and Taiwan supermodel Lin Chi-Ling, to the 61st Cannes Film Festival to promote the films.

"Red Cliff" is based on the war of the same name during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 BC), when China had three rulers.

It is the most expensive Asian movie ever, costing US$80 million to make.