John Woo: Difference between revisions

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Probably ''the'' best known ([[Import Filter|to Western audiences]]) Hong Kong director. Drawing inspiration from movie greats like Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, Akira Kurosawa and Shaw Brothers legend Chang Cheh, Woo is powerfully associated with the [[Heroic Bloodshed]] genre and its most visually appealing tropes: [[Guns Akimbo]], the [[Mexican Standoff]], [[Bloodstained Glass Windows]], and [[Disturbed Doves]]. Especially those doves.

Probably ''the'' best known ([[Import Filter|to Western audiences]]) Hong Kong director. Drawing inspiration from movie greats like Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, Akira Kurosawa and Shaw Brothers legend Chang Cheh, Woo is powerfully associated with the [[Heroic Bloodshed]] genre and its most visually appealing tropes: [[Guns Akimbo]], the [[Mexican Standoff]], [[Bloodstained-Glass Windows]], and [[Disturbed Doves]]. Especially those doves.

Also practically the [[Trope Maker]] for [[Gun Fu]].

Not to be confused with [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/John_Yoo~~ John Yoo].

Not to be confused with [[wikipedia:John Yoo|John Yoo]].

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== Woo's Hong Kong movies (with focus on [[Heroic Bloodshed]]) are, in no particular order: ==

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* ''A Better Tomorrow II'' - Chow Yun-Fat returns as the [[Backup Twin|twin brother of Mark Gor]], who teams up with the two brothers from the first movie in order to avenge the daughter of a friend played by Dean Shek. It's not as good storyline-wise as the first movie, but the final scene, which has Chow Yun-Fat, Ti Lung and Dean Shek [[Storming the Castle|storming a mansion packed with bad guys]] to [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|avenge LeslieCheung]] and take down the main bad guy once and for all, more than makes up for it. This movie would also be the first to introduce the John Woo version of the [[Mexican Standoff]], though its true iconic use would come later.

* ''Just Heroes'' - Directed by John Woo and Wu Ma, this is one of the lesser-known John Woo movies, but no less action-packed, this movie has two brothers (played by Danny Lee and David Chiang) teaming up against a third who betrayed and killed their well-respected gang boss father.

* ''[[The Killer]]'' - One of John Woo's best-known movies next to ''Hard-Boiled'', Chow Yun-Fat plays a [[Hitman With a Heart]] who takes on one final job in order to raise the money to fix a tragic mistake that he made that left a singer (Sally Yeh) blinded, only to be double crossed by his boss (Shing Fui-On) who would rather [[Contract On the Hitman|kill Chow than give him the money]]. Chow's only ally is a [[Cowboy Cop]] played by Danny Lee who comes to form a close bond with the man he had sworn to bring to justice. This movie qualifies as one of John Woo's best, and includes not only ''the'' iconic use of the [[Mexican Standoff]] between Chow and Lee, but also ends with a [[Bloodstained Glass Windows|furious shootout in a church]] with [[Disturbed Doves|doves flying everywhere]] as Chow and Lee blow away [[The Siege|an army of bad guys]] to defend themselves and Sally from the boss and his men.

* ''[[The Killer]]'' - One of John Woo's best-known movies next to ''Hard-Boiled'', Chow Yun-Fat plays a [[Hitman With a Heart]] who takes on one final job in order to raise the money to fix a tragic mistake that he made that left a singer (Sally Yeh) blinded, only to be double crossed by his boss (Shing Fui-On) who would rather [[Contract On the Hitman|kill Chow than give him the money]]. Chow's only ally is a [[Cowboy Cop]] played by Danny Lee who comes to form a close bond with the man he had sworn to bring to justice. This movie qualifies as one of John Woo's best, and includes not only ''the'' iconic use of the [[Mexican Standoff]] between Chow and Lee, but also ends with a [[Bloodstained-Glass Windows|furious shootout in a church]] with [[Disturbed Doves|doves flying everywhere]] as Chow and Lee blow away [[The Siege|an army of bad guys]] to defend themselves and Sally from the boss and his men.

* ''Bullet in the Head'' - Woo's grimmest and most emotionally devastating flick yet, this movie combines the trademark John Woo gangland action with the horrors of [[The Vietnam War|Vietnam]], and showcases the destructive power of [[Gold Fever]] on the [[Heroic Bloodshed]] [[Blood Brothers|bond of brotherhood]] between three would-be gangsters who try to strike it rich in the Nam while the war is in full swing.

* ''Once a Thief'' - This movie focuses on three international art thieves played by Chow Yun-Fat, [[Leslie Cheung]] and Cheri Chung. Raised by the same father, they go on a last big heist that involves the theft of a mysterious "cursed" painting and the movie focuses on how its obsession affects the family. While the gunplay is as plentiful as in Woo's other movies, the focus here is on romance and fun, not the tragedy and melodrama of Woo's earlier works, which is a welcome change of pace. The film would eventually be remade into a short-lived Canadian/American syndicated series.

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[[Category:Directors]]

[[Category:John Woo]]

[[Category:Trope]]