John Woo
Encyclopedia
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS
(born 1 May 1946) is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoff
s, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow
, The Killer, Hard Boiled
and Red Cliff. His Hollywood films include Hard Target
, Broken Arrow
, Face/Off
and Mission: Impossible 2. He also created the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. Woo was described by Dave Kehr
in The Observer
in 2002 as "arguably the most influential director making movies today". Woo cites his three favorite films as David Lean
's Lawrence of Arabia
, Akira Kurosawa
's Seven Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï
.
in 1946. The Christian Woo family, faced with persecution during Mao Zedong
's early anti-bourgeois purges after the communist revolution in China, fled to Hong Kong
when he was five. Impoverished, the Woo family lived in the slums at Shek Kip Mei
. His father was a teacher, though rendered unable to work by tuberculosis
, and his mother was a manual laborer on construction sites. The family was rendered homeless by the big Shek Kip Mei fire of 1953. Charitable donations from disaster relief efforts enabled the family to relocate, however, violent crime had by then become commonplace in Hong Kong housing projects.
At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg. Woo went to Concordia Lutheran School and received a Christian education (his Christian background shows influences in his films). As a young boy, Woo had wanted to be a Christian minister. He later found a passion for movies influenced by the French New Wave
especially Jean-Pierre Melville. Woo has said he was shy and had difficulty speaking, but found making movies a way to explore his feelings and thinking and would "use movies as a language".
The local cinema would prove a haven of retreat. Woo found respite in musical film
s, such as The Wizard of Oz
and American Westerns
. He has stated the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
made a particular impression on him in his youth: the device of two comrades, each of whom fire pistols from each hand, is a recurrent spectacle later found in his own work.
Woo married Annie Woo Ngau Chun-lung in 1976 and has three children. He has lived in the United States since 1993.
. In 1971, he became an assistant director
at Shaw Studios, where he was mentored by the noted director Chang Cheh
. His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature film The Young Dragons (鐵漢柔情, Tiě hàn róu qíng). In the Kung fu action genre, it was choreographed by Jackie Chan
and featured dynamic camera-work and elaborate action scenes. The film was picked up by Golden Harvest Studio where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director with Money Crazy (發錢寒, Fā qián hàn) (1977), starring Hong Kong comedian Ricky Hui
.
By the mid-1980s, Mr. Woo experienced professional burnout
. Several of his films were commercial disappointments. In response, he took residence in Taiwan
. It was during this period of self-imposed exile that director/producer Tsui Hark
provided the funding for Woo to film a longtime pet project called A Better Tomorrow (1986).
The story of two brothers—one a law enforcement officer, the other a criminal—the film became a financial blockbuster
. A Better Tomorrow gained prominence as a defining achievement in Hong Kong action cinema
for its combination of emotional drama, slow-motion gunplay, gritty atmospherics, and trenchcoat-and-sunglasses fashion appeal. Its signature narrative device of two-handed, two-gunned fire fight within confined quarters—often referred to as "gun fu
"—would later inspire American filmmakers such as Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers.
Woo would make several more Heroic Bloodshed
films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also with leading man Chow Yun-Fat
. These violent gangster
thrillers typically focus on men bound by honor and loyalty, at odds with contemporary values of impermanence and expediency. The protagonists of these films, therefore, may be said to present a common lineage with the Chinese literary tradition of loyalty among generals depicted in classics such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Mr. Woo gained international recognition with the release of The Killer (1989). Widely praised by critics and audiences for its action sequences, acting and cinematography
, The Killer became the most successful Hong Kong film in American release since Bruce Lee
's Enter the Dragon
(1973) and garnered Mr. Woo an American cult
following. Bullet in the Head
followed a year later, which Mr. Woo has stated he still considers his most personal work. Bullet in the Head
did not meet financial expectations.
Among the director's American admirers are Martin Scorsese
and Sam Raimi
(who has compared Woo's mastery of action to Hitchcock
's mastery of suspense). Mr. Woo accepted a contract to work in America at a time when the 1997 handover of Hong Kong
was imminent.
His last Hong Kong film before emigrating to the United States was Hard Boiled
(1992), the antithesis of his earlier glorification of gangsters. Memorable among its preponderance of action scenes is an approximate 30 minute sequence of gun-play set within a hospital. The director pointedly depicts the vulnerability of patients caught in the crossfire. One particular long take
follows two characters for an elapsed time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds as they move between hospital floors. On the Criterion
DVD and laserdisc, this chapter is referenced as "2 minutes, 42 seconds." The film climax extols the virtues of its leading man, a law enforcement agent, Chow Yun-Fat
, who is seen to comfort an infant with a lullaby while engaged in fire fight with his criminal pursuers. He heroically takes leave of this carnage when he leaps to safety from a window, babe gallantly in arms.
John Woo: Interviews (ISBN 1-57806-776-6) is the first authoritative English-language chronicle of Woo’s career. The volume includes a new 36-page interview with Woo by editor Robert K. Elder
, which documents the years 1968 to 1990, from Woo’s early career in working on comedies and kung fu films (in which he gave Jackie Chan one of his first major film roles), to his gunpowder morality plays in Hong Kong.
to direct Jean-Claude Van Damme
in Hard Target
. As characteristics of other foreign national film directors confronted the Hollywood environment, Mr. Woo was unaccustomed to pervasive management concerns, such as limitations on violence and completion schedules. When initial cuts failed to yield an "R" rated film
, the studio assumed control of the project and edited footage to produce a cut "suitable for American audiences". A "rough cut" of the film, supposedly the original unrated version, is still circulated among his admirers.
A three year hiatus saw Mr. Woo next direct John Travolta
and Christian Slater
in Broken Arrow
. A frenetic chase-themed film, the director once again found himself hampered by studio management and editorial concerns. Despite a larger budget than his previous Hard Target
, the final feature lacked the trademark Woo style. Public reception saw modest financial success.
Reluctant to pursue projects which would necessarily entail front-office controls, the director cautiously rejected the script for Face/Off
several times until it was rewritten to suit him. (The futuristic setting was changed to a contemporary one.) Paramount Pictures
also offered the director significantly more freedom to exercise his speciality: emotional characterisation and elaborate action. A complex story of adversaries—each of whom surgically alters their identity—law enforcement agent John Travolta and terrorist Nicolas Cage
play a cat-and-mouse game, trapped in each other's outward appearance.
Face/Off opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and strong attendance. Grosses in the United States
exceeded $100 million. As a result, John Woo is generally regarded as the first Asian director to find a mainstream commercial base. In 2003, Mr. Woo directed a television pilot entitled The Robinsons: Lost in Space for The WB Television Network, based on the 1960s television series Lost in Space
. The pilot was not purchased, although bootleg copies have been made available by fans.
John Woo has made three additional films in Hollywood: Mission: Impossible II
, Windtalkers
and Paycheck
. Mission: Impossible II was the highest-grossing film of 2000, but received mixed reviews. Windtalkers and Paycheck fared poorly at the box office and were summarily dismissed by critics.
Recently, John Woo directed and produced a videogame called Stranglehold
for games consoles and PC. It is a sequel to his 1992 film, Hard Boiled
. He also produced the 2007 anime
movie, Appleseed: Ex Machina, the sequel to Shinji Aramaki
's 2004 film
Appleseed.
war film
Red Cliff, based on an historical battle from Records of Three Kingdoms
. Produced on a grand scale, it is his first film in China since he emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States in 1993. Part 1 of the film was released throughout Asia in July, 2008, to generally favourable reviews and strong attendance. Part 2 was released in China in January, 2009.
John Woo was presented with a Golden Lion
award for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival
in 2010.
will either be animated or live-action with CGI. He will also direct a remake of Papillon
. There are persistent rumours that Woo will direct a film version of the videogame Metroid
. He had optioned the rights at one point, but the option has long since expired.
Woo's next projects are The Divide, a western concerning the friendship between two workers, one Chinese, the other Irish, on the transcontinental rail-road, while The Devil's Soldier is a biopic on Frederick Townsend Ward
, an American brought to China in the mid 19th century by the Emperor to suppress rebellion. Rendezvous in Black will be an adaptation of the drama/thriller novel of the same name, and Psi-Ops is a science fiction thriller about a telepathic agent, a remake of Blind Spot
.
In May 2008, Woo announced in Cannes that his next movie would be 1949, an epic love story set between the end of World War II and Chinese Civil War
to the founding of the People's Republic of China
, the shooting of which would take place in China and Taiwan. Its production was due to begin by the end of 2008, theatrical release planned in December 2009. However, in early April 2009, John Woo's 1949 is cancelled due to script right issues. Also reports indicate that Woo may be working on another World War II film, this time about the American Volunteer Group
, or the Flying Tigers
. The movie is tentatively titled "Flying Tiger Heroes" and Woo is reported as saying it will feature "The most spectacular aerial battle scenes ever seen in Chinese cinema." Whether this means that John Woo will not be directing the rumoured Romeo and Juliet war film, or it has been put on the back burner. Woo has stated that Flying Tiger Heroes would be an "extremely important production" and will "emphasise US-Chinese friendship and the contributions of the Flying Tigers and the Yunnan people during the war of resistance." Woo has announced he will be using IMAX
cameras to film the Flying Tigers project. “It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras and to work in the IMAX format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create a new experience for the audience, and I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies.”
Silver Bauhinia Star
The Silver Bauhinia Star is the second rank in the Order of the Bauhinia Star in Hong Kong, awarded to persons who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period...
(born 1 May 1946) is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoff
Mexican standoff
A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse; a confrontation that neither side can foreseeably win. The term is most often used in lieu of "stalemate" when the confrontational situation is exceptionally dangerous for all parties involved.In popular culture, the Mexican...
s, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film which had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film-making industry, and later on an international scale.Directed by John Woo, it stars Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung...
, The Killer, Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
and Red Cliff. His Hollywood films include Hard Target
Hard Target
Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese director John Woo. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, Natasha Binder , from a gang of thugs in New Orleans...
, Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (1996 film)
Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received...
, Face/Off
Face/Off
Face/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
and Mission: Impossible 2. He also created the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. Woo was described by Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr is an American film critic. A critic at the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Tribune for many years, he writes a weekly column for The New York Times on DVD releases, in addition to contributing occasional pieces on individual films or filmmakers.-Early life and education:Dave Kehr did...
in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
in 2002 as "arguably the most influential director making movies today". Woo cites his three favorite films as David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
, Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's Seven Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï
Le Samouraï
Le Samouraï is a 1967 French crime film directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon.- Plot :The story follows a perfectionist free-agent hitman, Jef Costello , who religiously adheres to a strict code of duty...
.
Early life
Woo was born amidst the chaos of the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
in 1946. The Christian Woo family, faced with persecution during Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's early anti-bourgeois purges after the communist revolution in China, fled to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
when he was five. Impoverished, the Woo family lived in the slums at Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei, originally known as Kap Shek Mi, is an area in New Kowloon, the North Eastern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong.-History:A major fire on 25 December 1953, destroyed the Shek Kip Mei shantytown of immigrants from Mainland China that had fled to Hong Kong, leaving 53,000 people...
. His father was a teacher, though rendered unable to work by tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and his mother was a manual laborer on construction sites. The family was rendered homeless by the big Shek Kip Mei fire of 1953. Charitable donations from disaster relief efforts enabled the family to relocate, however, violent crime had by then become commonplace in Hong Kong housing projects.
At age three he was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following surgery on his spine, he was unable to walk correctly until eight years old, and as a result his right leg is shorter than his left leg. Woo went to Concordia Lutheran School and received a Christian education (his Christian background shows influences in his films). As a young boy, Woo had wanted to be a Christian minister. He later found a passion for movies influenced by the French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
especially Jean-Pierre Melville. Woo has said he was shy and had difficulty speaking, but found making movies a way to explore his feelings and thinking and would "use movies as a language".
The local cinema would prove a haven of retreat. Woo found respite in musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s, such as The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
and American Westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. He has stated the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
made a particular impression on him in his youth: the device of two comrades, each of whom fire pistols from each hand, is a recurrent spectacle later found in his own work.
Woo married Annie Woo Ngau Chun-lung in 1976 and has three children. He has lived in the United States since 1993.
Hong Kong career
In 1969, aged 23, Woo was hired as a script supervisor at Cathay StudiosCathay Organisation
Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leading leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia.-The early years:...
. In 1971, he became an assistant director
Assistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
at Shaw Studios, where he was mentored by the noted director Chang Cheh
Chang Cheh
Chang Cheh was Shaw Brothers Studio's best known and most prolific film director, with such films as the Five Venoms, the Brave Archer , the The One-Armed Swordsman, and other classics of wuxia and kung fu film.-Career:Referred to as "The Godfather of Hong Kong cinema", Chang Cheh directed over 100...
. His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature film The Young Dragons (鐵漢柔情, Tiě hàn róu qíng). In the Kung fu action genre, it was choreographed by Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
and featured dynamic camera-work and elaborate action scenes. The film was picked up by Golden Harvest Studio where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director with Money Crazy (發錢寒, Fā qián hàn) (1977), starring Hong Kong comedian Ricky Hui
Ricky Hui
Ricky Hui Koon-Ying was a Hong Kong movie star. He and his brothers, Michael and Sam, made several comedy blockbusters in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:...
.
By the mid-1980s, Mr. Woo experienced professional burnout
Burnout (psychology)
Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases; according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of...
. Several of his films were commercial disappointments. In response, he took residence in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. It was during this period of self-imposed exile that director/producer Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
provided the funding for Woo to film a longtime pet project called A Better Tomorrow (1986).
The story of two brothers—one a law enforcement officer, the other a criminal—the film became a financial blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
. A Better Tomorrow gained prominence as a defining achievement in Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
for its combination of emotional drama, slow-motion gunplay, gritty atmospherics, and trenchcoat-and-sunglasses fashion appeal. Its signature narrative device of two-handed, two-gunned fire fight within confined quarters—often referred to as "gun fu
Gun fu
Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is the style of sophisticated close-quarters gunplay seen in Hong Kong action cinema and in Western films influenced by it. It often resembles a martial arts battle played out with firearms instead of traditional weapons...
"—would later inspire American filmmakers such as Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers.
Woo would make several more Heroic Bloodshed
Heroic bloodshed
Heroic Bloodshed is a genre of Hong Kong action cinema revolving around stylized action sequences and dramatic themes such as brotherhood, duty, honour, redemption and violence. The term heroic bloodshed was coined by editor Rick Baker in the magazine Eastern Heroes in the late 1980s, specifically...
films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also with leading man Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
. These violent gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
thrillers typically focus on men bound by honor and loyalty, at odds with contemporary values of impermanence and expediency. The protagonists of these films, therefore, may be said to present a common lineage with the Chinese literary tradition of loyalty among generals depicted in classics such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Mr. Woo gained international recognition with the release of The Killer (1989). Widely praised by critics and audiences for its action sequences, acting and cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
, The Killer became the most successful Hong Kong film in American release since Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
's Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
(1973) and garnered Mr. Woo an American cult
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
following. Bullet in the Head
Bullet in the Head
Bullet in the Head is a 1990 Hong Kong action crime drama thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by John Woo , starring Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee and Simon Yam.-Plot:...
followed a year later, which Mr. Woo has stated he still considers his most personal work. Bullet in the Head
Bullet in the Head
Bullet in the Head is a 1990 Hong Kong action crime drama thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by John Woo , starring Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee and Simon Yam.-Plot:...
did not meet financial expectations.
Among the director's American admirers are Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
(who has compared Woo's mastery of action to Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's mastery of suspense). Mr. Woo accepted a contract to work in America at a time when the 1997 handover of Hong Kong
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
was imminent.
His last Hong Kong film before emigrating to the United States was Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
(1992), the antithesis of his earlier glorification of gangsters. Memorable among its preponderance of action scenes is an approximate 30 minute sequence of gun-play set within a hospital. The director pointedly depicts the vulnerability of patients caught in the crossfire. One particular long take
Long take
A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished...
follows two characters for an elapsed time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds as they move between hospital floors. On the Criterion
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
DVD and laserdisc, this chapter is referenced as "2 minutes, 42 seconds." The film climax extols the virtues of its leading man, a law enforcement agent, Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
, who is seen to comfort an infant with a lullaby while engaged in fire fight with his criminal pursuers. He heroically takes leave of this carnage when he leaps to safety from a window, babe gallantly in arms.
John Woo: Interviews (ISBN 1-57806-776-6) is the first authoritative English-language chronicle of Woo’s career. The volume includes a new 36-page interview with Woo by editor Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder is an American journalist, author and film columnist.- Early life and education :A Montana native, Elder interviewed Ken Kesey for his high school newspaper. The author encouraged Elder to attend his alma mater, the University of Oregon, which Elder did two years later...
, which documents the years 1968 to 1990, from Woo’s early career in working on comedies and kung fu films (in which he gave Jackie Chan one of his first major film roles), to his gunpowder morality plays in Hong Kong.
American career
An émigré in 1993, the director experienced difficulty in cultural adjustment while contracted with Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
to direct Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
in Hard Target
Hard Target
Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese director John Woo. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, Natasha Binder , from a gang of thugs in New Orleans...
. As characteristics of other foreign national film directors confronted the Hollywood environment, Mr. Woo was unaccustomed to pervasive management concerns, such as limitations on violence and completion schedules. When initial cuts failed to yield an "R" rated film
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
, the studio assumed control of the project and edited footage to produce a cut "suitable for American audiences". A "rough cut" of the film, supposedly the original unrated version, is still circulated among his admirers.
A three year hiatus saw Mr. Woo next direct John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
in Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (1996 film)
Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received...
. A frenetic chase-themed film, the director once again found himself hampered by studio management and editorial concerns. Despite a larger budget than his previous Hard Target
Hard Target
Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese director John Woo. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, Natasha Binder , from a gang of thugs in New Orleans...
, the final feature lacked the trademark Woo style. Public reception saw modest financial success.
Reluctant to pursue projects which would necessarily entail front-office controls, the director cautiously rejected the script for Face/Off
Face/Off
Face/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another....
several times until it was rewritten to suit him. (The futuristic setting was changed to a contemporary one.) Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
also offered the director significantly more freedom to exercise his speciality: emotional characterisation and elaborate action. A complex story of adversaries—each of whom surgically alters their identity—law enforcement agent John Travolta and terrorist Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
play a cat-and-mouse game, trapped in each other's outward appearance.
Face/Off opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and strong attendance. Grosses in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
exceeded $100 million. As a result, John Woo is generally regarded as the first Asian director to find a mainstream commercial base. In 2003, Mr. Woo directed a television pilot entitled The Robinsons: Lost in Space for The WB Television Network, based on the 1960s television series Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
. The pilot was not purchased, although bootleg copies have been made available by fans.
John Woo has made three additional films in Hollywood: Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
, Windtalkers
Windtalkers
Windtalkers is a 2002 action war film directed by John Woo. Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater star as two US Marine sergeants assigned to protect Navajo code talkers in Saipan during World War II.-Plot:World War II Sgt...
and Paycheck
Paycheck (film)
Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart...
. Mission: Impossible II was the highest-grossing film of 2000, but received mixed reviews. Windtalkers and Paycheck fared poorly at the box office and were summarily dismissed by critics.
Recently, John Woo directed and produced a videogame called Stranglehold
Stranglehold (video game)
Stranglehold, or John Woo Presents Stranglehold, is a third-person shooter developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio, released in late for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
for games consoles and PC. It is a sequel to his 1992 film, Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea...
. He also produced the 2007 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
movie, Appleseed: Ex Machina, the sequel to Shinji Aramaki
Shinji Aramaki
is a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer, born in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was a member of Artmic.He is noted for work on powered exoskeletons and his mecha and CG design on several anime series.-As director:...
's 2004 film
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
Appleseed.
Return to Hong Kong
In 2008, Woo returned to Asian cinema with the completion of the epicEpic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
Red Cliff, based on an historical battle from Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms , is regarded as the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history covering the years 184-280 CE. Written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei , Shu Han and...
. Produced on a grand scale, it is his first film in China since he emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States in 1993. Part 1 of the film was released throughout Asia in July, 2008, to generally favourable reviews and strong attendance. Part 2 was released in China in January, 2009.
John Woo was presented with a Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
award for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 2010.
Future film projects
His future film on Mighty MouseMighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.-History:The character was created by story man Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named Superfly. Studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a cartoon mouse instead...
will either be animated or live-action with CGI. He will also direct a remake of Papillon
Papillon (film)
Papillon is a 1973 film based on the best-selling novel by the French convict Henri Charrière.This motion picture was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen as Henri Charrière , and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega...
. There are persistent rumours that Woo will direct a film version of the videogame Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
. He had optioned the rights at one point, but the option has long since expired.
Woo's next projects are The Divide, a western concerning the friendship between two workers, one Chinese, the other Irish, on the transcontinental rail-road, while The Devil's Soldier is a biopic on Frederick Townsend Ward
Frederick Townsend Ward
Frederick Townsend Ward was an American sailor, mercenary, and soldier of fortune famous for his military victories for Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion.-Early life:...
, an American brought to China in the mid 19th century by the Emperor to suppress rebellion. Rendezvous in Black will be an adaptation of the drama/thriller novel of the same name, and Psi-Ops is a science fiction thriller about a telepathic agent, a remake of Blind Spot
Blind spot
Blind spot may refer to:In ophthalmology:*Scotoma, an obscuration of the visual field*Optic disc, also known as the anatomical blind spot, the specific region of the retina where the optic nerve and blood vessels pass through to connect to the back of the eye*Blind spot , also known as the...
.
In May 2008, Woo announced in Cannes that his next movie would be 1949, an epic love story set between the end of World War II and Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
to the founding of the People's Republic of China
History of the People's Republic of China
The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen...
, the shooting of which would take place in China and Taiwan. Its production was due to begin by the end of 2008, theatrical release planned in December 2009. However, in early April 2009, John Woo's 1949 is cancelled due to script right issues. Also reports indicate that Woo may be working on another World War II film, this time about the American Volunteer Group
American Volunteer Group
The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War...
, or the Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
. The movie is tentatively titled "Flying Tiger Heroes" and Woo is reported as saying it will feature "The most spectacular aerial battle scenes ever seen in Chinese cinema." Whether this means that John Woo will not be directing the rumoured Romeo and Juliet war film, or it has been put on the back burner. Woo has stated that Flying Tiger Heroes would be an "extremely important production" and will "emphasise US-Chinese friendship and the contributions of the Flying Tigers and the Yunnan people during the war of resistance." Woo has announced he will be using IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
cameras to film the Flying Tigers project. “It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras and to work in the IMAX format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create a new experience for the audience, and I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies.”
In popular culture
- In the video game Max PayneMax PayneMax Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
there are many homages and references to John Woo. - In the PC game F.E.A.R.F.E.A.R. (video game)F.E.A.R. is a psychological horror first-person shooter developed by Monolith Productions and published by Vivendi Universal and the first game in the F.E.A.R. . It was released on October 17, 2005, for Microsoft Windows, and ported by Day 1 Studios to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
, the developers admitted that they been inspired by John Woo action movies, in that they wanted the game's action sequences to play out as dramatic and elegant gunfights. - The Christian rock band NewsboysNewsboysNewsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
has a song "John Woo" which makes reference to the religious symbolism he often employs in his films. - During the Season 1 finale of the animated television series The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their...
, there is an entire scene devoted to smashing as many John Woo references as humanly possible into 30 seconds.
Directed
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Dead Knot | Also Writer |
| Ouran | ||
| 1974 | The Young Dragons | Also Writer |
| 1975 | The Dragon Tamers | Also Writer |
| 1976 | Princess Chang Ping | Also Writer |
| Hand of Death Hand of Death Hand Of Death Hand Of Death Hand Of Death (aka Countdown In Kung Fu, Strike of Death or Shaolin Men, is a 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by John Woo, starring Tan Tao-liang and James Tien, and featuring early acting performances from Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in supporting... |
Also Writer | |
| 1977 | Money Crazy | Also Writer |
| 1978 | Hello, Late Homecomers | Also Writer |
| Follow the Star | ||
| 1979 | Last Hurrah for Chivalry Last Hurrah for Chivalry Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a 1979 Hong Kong wuxia film directed and written by John Woo, starring Damian Lau and Wei Pai. The film is a precursor to Woo's heroic bloodshed films.-Plot:... |
Also Writer |
| 1980 | From Riches to Rags | |
| 1981 | To Hell with the Devil | Also Writer |
| Laughing Times | Also Writer | |
| 1982 | Plain Jane to the Rescue | |
| 1984 | The Time You Need a Friend | Also Writer/Producer |
| 1985 | Run, Tiger, Run | Also Producer |
| 1986 | Heroes Shed No Tears | Also Writer/Producer |
| A Better Tomorrow A Better Tomorrow A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film which had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film-making industry, and later on an international scale.Directed by John Woo, it stars Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung... |
Also Writer/Producer Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to the films which is considered the best of the year.-History:... Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a director for the best achievement in cinematic direction.-History:... Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay |
|
| 1987 | A Better Tomorrow II | Also Writer/Producer |
| 1989 | Just Heroes Just Heroes Just Heroes is a 1989 Hong Kong crime film, directed by John Woo and Wu Ma. The film stars Danny Lee, David Chiang and Stephen Chow.-Plot:... |
|
| The Killer | Also Writer Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a director for the best achievement in cinematic direction.-History:... Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay |
|
| 1990 | Bullet in the Head Bullet in the Head Bullet in the Head is a 1990 Hong Kong action crime drama thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by John Woo , starring Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee and Simon Yam.-Plot:... |
Also Writer/Producer Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a director for the best achievement in cinematic direction.-History:... |
| 1991 | Once a Thief Once a Thief (1991 film) Once a Thief is a 1991 Hong Kong crime film written and directed by John Woo. It stars Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang and Chu Kong in a lighthearted heist themed action-comedy routine.... |
Also Writer Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a director for the best achievement in cinematic direction.-History:... |
| 1992 | Hard Boiled Hard Boiled Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat as Inspector "Tequila" Yuen, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Tony, an undercover cop, and Anthony Wong as Johnny Wong, a leader of criminal triads. The film features Tequila, whose partner is killed in a tea... |
Also Writer |
| 1993 | Hard Target Hard Target Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese director John Woo. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work Cajun merchant seaman who saves a young woman, Natasha Binder , from a gang of thugs in New Orleans... |
Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Direction Saturn Award for Best Direction The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Direction:-Multiple Winners:*James Cameron - 5 awards*Steven Spielberg - 4 awards*Peter Jackson - 3 awards*Bryan Singer - 2 awards... |
| 1996 | Broken Arrow Broken Arrow (1996 film) Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received... |
|
| Once a Thief Once a Thief (1996 film) Once a Thief is a remake of a 1991 film of the same name. Both films were directed by John Woo. The movie was also made into a 1997 television series also of the same name... |
TV Also Executive Producer |
|
| 1997 | Face/Off Face/Off Face/Off is a 1997 action thriller film directed by John Woo, starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. The two both play an FBI agent and a terrorist, sworn enemies who assume the physical appearance of one another.... |
Saturn Award for Best Direction Saturn Award for Best Direction The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Direction:-Multiple Winners:*James Cameron - 5 awards*Steven Spielberg - 4 awards*Peter Jackson - 3 awards*Bryan Singer - 2 awards... |
| 1998 | Blackjack Blackjack (film) Blackjack, also known as John Woo’s Blackjack is a 1998 TV action film or more specifically a backdoor pilot directed by John Woo... |
TV Also Executive Producer |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible II Mission: Impossible II Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer... |
|
| 2001 | Windtalkers Windtalkers Windtalkers is a 2002 action war film directed by John Woo. Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater star as two US Marine sergeants assigned to protect Navajo code talkers in Saipan during World War II.-Plot:World War II Sgt... |
Also Producer |
| 2003 | Paycheck Paycheck (film) Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart... |
Also Producer |
| 2008 | Red Cliff: Part I | Also Writer/Producer Huabiao Award for Best Foreign Director Huabiao Awards China Huabiao Film Awards ,also known as Huabiao Awards, is an annual awards ceremony for Chinese cinema. Named after the decorative Chinese winged columns , The Huabiao Awards were first instituted in 1957 as the Ministry of Culture Excellence Film awards. Between 1958 and 1979, no awards were given... Nominated - Asian Film Award for Best Director 3rd Asian Film Awards The 3rd Asian Film Awards was given in a ceremony on 23 March 2009 as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.-Best Film:*Winner: Tokyo Sonata **Forever Enthralled... |
| 2009 | Red Cliff: Part II | Also Writer/Producer Huabiao Award for Best Foreign Director Huabiao Awards China Huabiao Film Awards ,also known as Huabiao Awards, is an annual awards ceremony for Chinese cinema. Named after the decorative Chinese winged columns , The Huabiao Awards were first instituted in 1957 as the Ministry of Culture Excellence Film awards. Between 1958 and 1979, no awards were given... Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to the films which is considered the best of the year.-History:... Nominated - Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an annual Hong Kong industry award presented to a director for the best achievement in cinematic direction.-History:... |
| 2010 | Reign of Assassins Reign of Assassins Reign of Assassins is a 2010 wuxia film directed by Su Chao-pin and co-directed by John Woo. The film is shot in China and set during the Ming Dynasty. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, who plays an assassin who tries to return to a normal life after being counseled by a priest... |
Also Producer |
Producer
- Peace Hotel (1995)
- Somebody Up There Likes Me (1996)
- The Replacement KillersThe Replacement KillersThe Replacement Killers is a 1998 American action film, directed by Antoine Fuqua in his directorial debut. It stars Chow Yun-fat and Mira Sorvino...
(1998) - The Big HitThe Big HitThe Big Hit is a 1998 American black comedy crime film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, and Elliot Gould....
(1998) - Red Skies (2002)
- Bulletproof MonkBulletproof MonkBulletproof Monk is a 2003 action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott and Jaime King. The film was directed by Paul Hunter. It is loosely based on the comic book by Michael Avon Oeming....
(2003) - The Glass Beads (2005)
- Blood BrothersBlood Brothers (2007 film)Blood Brothers is a 2007 Chinese film directed by Alexi Tan and starring Daniel Wu, Shu Qi, Liu Ye and Tony Yang.It was co-produced by the Taiwanese production company CMC Entertainment, the mainland Chinese Sil-Metropole Organisation, Terence Chang's Lion Rock Productions and Hong Kong film...
(2007) - Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007)
- My Fair Gentleman (2009)
- Reign of AssassinsReign of AssassinsReign of Assassins is a 2010 wuxia film directed by Su Chao-pin and co-directed by John Woo. The film is shot in China and set during the Ming Dynasty. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, who plays an assassin who tries to return to a normal life after being counseled by a priest...
(2010) - A Better TomorrowA Better Tomorrow (2010 film)A Better Tomorrow is 2010 South Korean film is remake of 1986 Hong Kong film with same name and already based of an 1994 Indian film. It was produced by John Woo who was director of the 1986 film.-Cast:...
(2010) - Seediq BaleSeediq BaleSeediq Bale is the fourth studio album by the Taiwanese black metal band ChthoniC, and the first to receive full promotion and release outside of Asia...
(2011) - Second Sight (2011)
- The Killer (2012)
Writer
- Hello, Late Homecomers (1978)
- A Better TomorrowA Better Tomorrow (2010 film)A Better Tomorrow is 2010 South Korean film is remake of 1986 Hong Kong film with same name and already based of an 1994 Indian film. It was produced by John Woo who was director of the 1986 film.-Cast:...
(2010)
Other works
- Airport '98 (NikeNike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
commercial) (1998) - Hostage (branded contentBranded contentBranded content is a relatively new form of advertising medium that blurs conventional distinctions between what constitutes advertising and what constitutes entertainment. Branded content is essentially a fusion of the two into one product intended to be distributed as entertainment content,...
short film for BMWBMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
) (2002) - 7 Brothers (graphic novel) (2006–2007)
- StrangleholdStranglehold (video game)Stranglehold, or John Woo Presents Stranglehold, is a third-person shooter developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio, released in late for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
(video game) (2007) - Power Up Hong Kong (TVBTelevision Broadcasts LimitedTelevision Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
promotion clip/station campaign) (2009)
In English
- Bliss, Michael. Between the Bullets: The Spiritual Cinema of John Woo. Filmmakers series, no. 92. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8108-4110-X.
- Brown, Andrew M. J. Directing Hong Kong: The Political Cinema of John Woo and Wong Kar-Wai. Political Communications in Greater China: the Construction and Reflection of Identity. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2001. ISBN 0-7007-1734-X.
- Crawford, Kevin R. "Mixing violence and religion in 'The Reckoning' : The Scripting of a Postmodern Action Thriller inside the John Woo-film noir Paradigm". Digital Dissertation/Theses, 2007. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/ER/detail/hkul/4082576.
- Fang, Karen Y. John Woo's A Better Tomorrow. The New Hong Kong Cinema. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2004. ISBN 962-209-652-2.
- Hall, Kenneth E. John Woo: The Films. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0619-4.
- Heard, Christopher. Ten Thousand Bullets: The Cinematic Journey of John Woo. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Co., 2000. ISBN 1-58065-021-X.
- Woo, John, and Robert K. Elder (ed.). John Woo: Interviews. Conversations with Filmmakers SeriesConversations with Filmmakers SeriesThe Conversations with Filmmakers Series is part of the University Press of Mississippi which is sponsored by Mississippi's eight state universities. The mission of the Series is to publish collected interviews with world-famous directors. The current Filmmakers Series editor is Gerald Peary, a...
. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 2005. ISBN 1-57806-775-8, ISBN 1-57806-776-6.
In other languages
- Berruezo, Pedro J. John Woo y el cine de acción de Hong Kong. Biblioteca Dr. Vértigo, 23. [Barcelona]: Ediciones Glénat, 2000. ISBN 84-8449-043-2.
- Bertolino, Marco, and Ettore Ridola. John Woo: la violenza come redenzione. Recco, Genova: Le mani, 1998. ISBN 88-8012-098-0.
- Gaschler, Thomas, and Ralph Umard. Woo Leben und Werk. München: Belleville, 2005. ISBN 3-933510-48-1.
- Nazzaro, Giona A., and Andrea Tagliacozzo. John Woo: la nuova leggenda del cinema d'azione. Contatti, 199. Roma: Castelvecchi, 2000. ISBN 88-8210-203-3.
- Spanu, Massimiliano. John Woo. Il castoro cinema, 203. Milano: Castoro, 2001. ISBN 88-8033-192-2.
- Vié-Toussaint, Caroline. John Woo. Paris: Dark star, 2001. ISBN 2-914680-01-5.
External links
- A Better Tomorrow Review at subtitledonline.com
- John Woo at HKcinema.net
- Hardboiled.de (via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - A John Woo Retrospective
- John Woo - The Independents
- John Woo Interviews
- Ten HARD BOILED Moments - The Best of John Woo
- Allegory and symbolism in John Woo's cinematic arts : themes and aesthetics
- Director John Woo to direct WWII fighter epic in China based on Flying Tiger's exploits.
- John Woo interview with Underground Republik
- Interview by Aynne Kokas Asia Pacific Arts, 19 November 2009