John Woo | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Woo in 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Wu Yu-seng (1946-09-22)22 September 1946 (age 79)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 1968–present | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 吳宇森 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 吴宇森 | ||||||||||||||||||
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John Woo Yu-senSBS (Chinese:吳宇森; born 22 September 1946)[1] is aHong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in theaction film genre.[2] The recipient of various accolades, including aHong Kong Film Award forBest Picture,Best Director, andBest Editing, as well as aGolden Horse Award, anAsia Pacific Screen Award and aSaturn Award, he is regarded as a pioneer ofheroic bloodshed films and thegun fu genre inHong Kong action cinema. He is known for his highly chaotic "bullet ballet"[3][4] action sequences, stylized imagery,Mexican standoffs, frequent use ofslow motion and allusions towuxia,film noir andWestern cinema.[5]
Considered one of the major figures ofHong Kong cinema, Woo has directed several notableaction films. He is known for his collaborations with actorChow Yun-fat in five Hong Kong action films:A Better Tomorrow (1986), which made Chow a box-office superstar in Asia,[6]A Better Tomorrow II (1987),The Killer (1989),Once a Thief (1991), andHard Boiled (1992). He has also directedmartial arts films such asThe Dragon Tamers (1975),Hand of Death (1976), andLast Hurrah for Chivalry (1979), and action comedies such asFollow the Star (1978),From Riches to Rags (1980),Run, Tiger, Run (1984), and the aforementionedOnce a Thief.
Hard Target (1993), starringJean-Claude Van Damme, was his American directorial debut, and the first major Hollywood film directed by a Chinese – and more broadly, Asian – filmmaker. His other Hollywood films includeBroken Arrow (1996),Face/Off (1997) andMission: Impossible 2 (2000).[5] He made his Canadian debut with the action comedy filmOnce a Thief (1996), which is a remake of Woo's 1991 film of the same name. He continued to be active in Hong Kong cinema, directing films such as the two-part historical epicThe Crossing (2014). His first Chinese-language feature sinceHard Boiled (1992) was the internationally co-producedRed Cliff (2008–2009),[5][7] which broke theChinese box office record previously held byTitanic in mainland China.[8]
Woo is the creator of the comic seriesSeven Brothers, published byVirgin Comics. He is the founder and chairman of the production companyLion Rock Productions.[9]
Woo was born as Wu Yu-seng (Ng Yu-sum in Cantonese) on 22 September 1946, inGuangzhou, China, amidst the chaoticChinese Civil War. Due to school age restrictions, his mother changed his birth date to 22 September 1948, which is what remains on his passport. The Woo family, who wereProtestant Christians, faced persecution duringMao Zedong's early anti-bourgeois purges after thecommunist revolution in China, and fled toHong Kong when he was five.[1][10]: xv, 3
Impoverished, the Woo family lived in the slums atShek Kip Mei. His father was a teacher, though rendered unable to work bytuberculosis, and his mother was a manual laborer on construction sites.[11] The family was rendered homeless by theShek Kip Mei Fire of 1953.[10] 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.[12]
His Christian upbringing shows influences in his films.[13] As a young boy, Woo had wanted to be a Christian minister. He later found a passion for movies influenced by theFrench New Wave especiallyJean-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".[5]
Woo found respite inBob Dylan and in AmericanWesterns.[14] He has stated the final scene ofButch 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.[15]
In 1969, Woo was hired as a script supervisor atCathay Studios. In 1971, he became anassistant director atShaw Studios.[16] The same year, he watchedBruce Lee'sThe Big Boss, which left a strong impression on him due to how different it was from earliermartial arts films. Lee's films inspired Woo to direct his ownaction films.[16] Woo worked as assistant director for some films directed by Chang Cheh during the 1970s, and took inspiration from Cheh's work.[17] His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature filmThe Young Dragons (鐵漢柔情,Tiě hàn róu qíng).[18] In thekung fu film genre, it was choreographed byJackie Chan.[19] The film was picked up byGolden Harvest Studio, where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director withMoney Crazy (發錢寒,Fā qián hàn) (1977), starring Hong Kong comedianRicky Hui andRichard Ng.[20]
By the mid-1980s, Woo was experiencingoccupational burnout. Several of his films were commercial disappointments, and he felt a distinct lack of creative control. It was during this period of self-imposed exile that director/producerTsui Hark provided the funding for Woo to film a longtime pet project,A Better Tomorrow (1986). The story of two brothers—one a law enforcement officer, the other a criminal—was a financialblockbuster.A Better Tomorrow became a defining achievement inHong Kong action cinema.[21]
John Woo: Interviews includes a 36-page interview with Woo by editorRobert K. Elder, which documents the years 1968 to 1990. It includes Woo's early career in working on comedies, his work on kung fu films (during which time he gaveJackie Chan one of his first major film roles), and more recently, his gunpowder morality plays in Hong Kong.[22] In 1992, during aToronto International Film Festival press conference forReservoir Dogs,Quentin Tarantino revealed he wrote a screenplay for a film directed by Woo, but went unproduced.[23]
An émigré in 1993, the director experienced difficulty in cultural adjustment while contracted withUniversal Studios to directJean-Claude Van Damme inHard Target. Like other foreign national film directors confronted with the Hollywood environment, Woo was unaccustomed to pervasive management concerns over matters 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 three-year hiatus saw Woo next directJohn Travolta andChristian Slater inBroken 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 previousHard 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 forFace/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 agentJohn Travolta and terroristNicolas 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.Face/Off was also nominated for anAcademy Award in the categorySound Effects Editing (Mark Stoeckinger) at the70th Academy Awards.
Around this period, Woo would also produce and direct several film and TV projects. In 1996, Woo produced and directedOnce a Thief, a Canadianmade-for-television remake of Woo's 1991 caper film. The teleplay subsequently spawned atelevision seriesof the same name, which Woo executive produced. In 1998, Woo directedBlackjack, which featuredDolph Lundgren as aleukophobic bodyguard who hunts down an assassin. The film was intended as abackdoor pilot for a television series, but was not picked up. That same year, Woo served as executive producer and action choreographer onAntoine Fuqua's directorial debutThe Replacement Killers, which featuredChow Yun-Fat's first international starring role.
Later, Woo directedMission: Impossible 2, the second entry in theTom Cruise-ledaction film series. Despite receiving mixed reviews,Mission: Impossible 2 grossed over $549 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2000,[24] as well as of Woo's career.[25]
Woo made two additional films in Hollywood:Windtalkers (2002) andPaycheck (2003), both of which fared poorly at the box office and were summarily dismissed by critics. Also in 2003, Woo directed a television pilot entitledThe Robinsons: Lost in Space for The WB Television Network, based on the 1960s television seriesLost in Space. The pilot was not purchased.
Woo also directed and produced the 2007 video gameStranglehold, which is a sequel to his 1992 film,Hard Boiled. The game features Woo as a multiplayer playable character. That same year he produced theanime movie,Appleseed: Ex Machina, the sequel toShinji Aramaki's2004 filmAppleseed.[26]
In 2008, Woo returned to Asian cinema with the completion of the two-partepicwar filmRed Cliff, based on a historical battle fromRecords of the 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.
Woo was presented with aGolden Lion award for lifetime achievement at theVenice Film Festival in 2010.[27] At this time, Woo also served as co-director and producer of the 2010wuxia filmReign of Assassins, starringMichelle Yeoh.
He followedRed Cliff with another two-part film,The Crossing, in 2014 and 2015. Featuring an all-star cast, the four-hour epic tells the parallel stories of several characters who all ultimately find themselves passengers on the doomedTaiping steamer, which sank in 1949 en route from mainland China to Taiwan and has been described as "China'sTitanic".
Following the box-office disappointment ofThe Crossing, Woo and producerTerence Chang disbanded Lion Rock Productions.[28]
Woo followed upThe Crossing withManhunt, a remake of the 1976 Japanese crime thrillerof the same name. Production started onManhunt in June 2016 inOsaka[29] and later reported to be finished filming by the end of November.[29][30] The film, co-led by Chinese actorZhang Hanyu and Japanese actorMasaharu Fukuyama, features a large Japanese cast includingYasuaki Kurata,Jun Kunimura,Hiroyuki Ikeuchi,Nanami Sakuraba,Naoto Takenaka andTao Okamoto.[29] In addition, Chinese actressQi Wei, Korean actressHa Ji-won and Woo's daughter Angeles were cast in key roles in the film.[29] The film was released in China on 24 November 2017.[31][32][29]
Following another hiatus, Woo returned to Hollywood to direct the action thrillerSilent Night, where a normal father heads into the underworld to avenge his young son's death. Produced byBasil Iwanyk, the film starredJoel Kinnaman and was told entirely without dialogue.[33] It was Woo's first American feature film sincePaycheck (2003).[34]
Woo commented in 2015 that he would remakeThe Killer for American audiences. Initially, actressLupita Nyong'o had been cast for the lead role,[35] however by March 2023,Nathalie Emmanuel was cast instead,[36] withOmar Sy joining the film as the cop character.[37] The film was directed by Woo, produced byUniversal Studios and released exclusively onPeacock.[38]
In September 2024, Woo's official Instagram account and the social media accounts of the duoSparks all posted a photo of Woo with membersRon andRussell Mael,[39] strongly hinting at collaborating on a "new project" which would not be an action film.[40] The hashtag #xcrucior points to a musical Sparks have been developing withFocus Features as their follow-up toAnnette and sought a director for. Woo has previously tried to get musical projects in production,[41] and shares a love of French cinema andJaques Demy'sThe Umbrellas of Cherbourg with the Mael brothers.[42] He later confirmed it to be a "half-musical".[43]
In May 2008, Woo announced in Cannes that his next movie would be1949, an epic love story set between the end of World War II andChinese Civil War tothe 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, with a theatrical release planned in December 2009. However, in early April 2009, the film was cancelled due to script right issues. Reports indicated that Woo might be working on another World War II film, this time about theAmerican Volunteer Group, or theFlying Tigers. The movie was 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." It was not clear whether Woo would not be directing the earlier war film, or whether it was 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."[44] Woo has announced he will be usingIMAX cameras to film theFlying 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".[45]
Woo has been married to Annie Woo Ngau Chun-lung since 1976. They have two daughters, Kimberley Woo, Angeles Woo, and a son Frank Woo.[10] He is aChristian and toldBBC in an interview that he believes in God and has utmost admiration forJesus, whom he calls a "great philosopher".[5]
His three favorite films areDavid Lean'sLawrence of Arabia,Akira Kurosawa'sSeven Samurai andJean-Pierre Melville'sLe Samouraï.[5] A complete list of his 48 inspirational films was published in May 2018.[42] As of July 2024, Woo is the only filmmaker who has listedThe Bridge on the River Kwai byDavid Lean andZorba the Greek byMichael Cacoyannis as favorites on LaCinetek, a French website that collects and publishes lists from film directors.[46]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Sijie | Yes | Yes | No | Short film, co-directed withSek Kei |
| Ouran | Yes | No | No | Short film | |
| 1974 | The Young Dragons | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1975 | The Dragon Tamers | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1976 | Princess Chang Ping | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Hand of Death | Yes | Yes | No | Also actor (as Scholar Cheng) | |
| 1977 | Money Crazy[20] | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1978 | Hello, Late Homecomers | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Follow the Star | Yes | No | No | Also actor (as Mr. Chen) | |
| 1979 | Last Hurrah for Chivalry | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1980 | From Riches to Rags | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Laughing Times | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1982 | To Hell with the Devil | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Plain Jane to the Rescue | Yes | No | No | Cameo (as a director playing God) | |
| 1984 | The Time You Need a Friend | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Heroes Shed No Tears | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 1984 | Run, Tiger, Run | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1986 | A Better Tomorrow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also actor (as Inspector Wu) |
| 1987 | A Better Tomorrow II | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1989 | The Killer | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Just Heroes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 1990 | Bullet in the Head | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also actor (as Police Inspector) |
| 1991 | Once a Thief | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1992 | Hard Boiled | Yes | Yes | No | Also actor (as Bartender) |
| 1993 | Hard Target | Yes | No | No | |
| 1996 | Broken Arrow | Yes | No | No | |
| 1997 | Face/Off | Yes | No | No | |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible 2 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2002 | Windtalkers | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2003 | Paycheck | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2005 | All the Invisible Children | Yes | No | No | Segment "Song Song and Little Cat" |
| 2008 | Red Cliff: Part I | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | Red Cliff: Part II | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2010 | Reign of Assassins | Yes | No | Yes | Co-directed with Su Chao-pin |
| 2014 | The Crossing: Part I | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | The Crossing: Part II | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2017 | Manhunt | Yes | No | No | |
| 2023 | Silent Night | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | The Killer | Yes | No | Yes |
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Once a Thief | Yes | Yes | TV movie |
| 1997–1998 | Once a Thief | No | Yes | |
| 1998 | Blackjack | Yes | Yes | TV movie |
Producer only
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon | Tsui Hark | |
| 1995 | Peace Hotel | Wai Ka-fai | |
| 1996 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Patrick Leung | |
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers | Antoine Fuqua | Also action choreographer |
| The Big Hit | Kirk Wong | ||
| 2003 | Bulletproof Monk | Paul Hunter | |
| 2005 | The Glass Beads | Angeles Woo | Short film |
| 2007 | Blood Brothers | Alexi Tan | |
| Appleseed Ex Machina | Shinji Aramaki | ||
| 2009 | My Fair Gentleman | Li Ju-Yuan | |
| 2010 | A Better Tomorrow | Song Hae-sung | Also writer |
| 2011 | Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale | Wei Te-sheng |
| Year | Title | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | A Better Tomorrow | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay |
| 1989 | The Killer | Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay |
| 1990 | Bullet in the Head | Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director |
| 1991 | Once a Thief | Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director |
| 1993 | Hard Target | Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Director |
| 1997 | Face/Off | Saturn Award for Best Director |
| 2008 | Red Cliff: Part I | Nominated–Asian Film Award for Best Director |
| 2009 | Red Cliff: Part II | Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Nominated–Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director |
| 2010 | - | Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement–67thVenice International Film Festival[48] |
| 2022 | - | Career Achievement Award–26thFantasia International Film Festival[49] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).Festival de Cannes fiche artiste (artist profile)
