The John Woo Appreciation Thread

[Rocketman]

Woo!

Who else loves this man's work?

Watched Face/Off tonight for probably the 30th time, and man it's an action classic.

What's your favorite Woo?

 

[henry_9305]

A Better Tomorrow is still his best work imo. One of the best Hong Kong movies ever made.

 

[Abudefduf]

I honestly haven't seen many of this movies. I love the insanity that is Hard Boiled and I also enjoyed Red Cliff 1 & 2 a great deal, even though they were pretty much all eye-candy.

I hated Bullet in the Head. Like, really hated it. Because of reasons.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Mexican standoffs and doves have never been sexier. He gave Van Damme a mullet.

 

[henry_9305]

Some of my favorite moments of his movies.

 

[Naked Shia]

A better tomorrow is hs best movie imo.

But Hard boiled has to be one of the best action movies ever.

Last hurrah for chivalry is also an amazing wu xia.

The Killer is not my favourite, but it has everything: action, drama, great characters....

Red Cliff was quite good two. I may prefer the first one, but both movies are relaly one big and epic story.

And what about bullet in the head? Lots of manly tears were shed.

John woo is definitely one of the all time greats.

 

[Chesterfield]

The master of bullet porn.

 

[Sundancer]

Too bad the studio tied his hands for MI:2 to a PG-13 rating. It's like a business hiring Picasso and saying "We want you to do a mural. Our studies found blue and green relax people so you can only use those two colors."

 

[The Shape]

I'm not ashamed to say that MI2 might be my favorite of the series, and I don't think it was hindered at all by its PG-13 rating.

 

[Rocketman]

M:I-2 is amazing if you try to disregard that it's a Mission Impossible film. As an action genre film, it's seriously fantastic.

 

[Rocketman]

Woo's style is so singular, he's just one of the best ever. Nobody films an action sequence like this guy to this day, and probably ever. He makes something violent and chaotic look poetic and dance-like... Pure art.

We need a director like this in the superhero genre. No superhero movie has really blown me away with its action sequences except for Kick-Ass, to be completely honest.

 

[C. Lee]

I love HARD BOILED, BROKEN ARROW, and HARD TARGET the most.

 

[Rocketman]

Broken Arrow is such an underrated gem.

 

[C. Lee]

How many times do I have to tell you......do not fire at the nuclear weapons.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I'm not ashamed to say that MI2 might be my favorite of the series, and I don't think it was hindered at all by its PG-13 rating.

M:I-2 is amazing if you try to disregard that it's a Mission Impossible film. As an action genre film, it's seriously fantastic.

I like it more than IM1 because of some of the great action scenes.

 

[The Shape]

Same. I don't think it's a bad MI film, either. It's just different and more stylized.

 

[Fallen Angel]

Hard Boiled
Broken Arrow
Face/Off
MI:2
Bullet in the Head

The man can do serious action.

 

[Naked Shia]

If you haven't seen Chang Cheh's movies, you should definitely check some. He was Woo's mentor. Woo was assistant director on some of his greatest movies. You can totally see how it influenced him. For instance, Boxer from Shantung is definitely an inspiration on Woo's work. The climax is so savage, so pure.... Vengeance! is also a blue print of Woo's cinematography.

what makes both those men's movies amazing, is that the action really serves a purpose. It's there to illustrates the themes. It's pure catharsis. The action compliments the emotion. (granted, Cheh's shaolin period is, for the most part, not as good as his Wu xias, but still).

 

[Jack Napier]

"Face/Off" is a classic. The theatricality of the whole thing... Nic Cage getting out of that car and his jacket billowing. One of the best action movies ever.

 

[Rocketman]

If you've ever wondered why he hasn't directed an American movie since 2003, here's a good quote from Woo himself:

"Even though I enjoyed the opportunity to work in Hollywood, I never got used to their system. I didn't like much of the studio people. Well, there are too much politics and so much going on, and a lot of them have nothing to do with the movie. It's all about power, it's all about egos."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000247/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_tm_sm#trademark

Some other interesting facts:

- He was asked to direct GoldenEye.

- His three favorite directors are Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa, and Quentin Tarantino.

- He does not own a car.

- He's actually not a fan of guns and does not own any.

- He is the first Asian director ever to make a mainstream Hollywood film (Hard Target).

 

[Rocketman]

I watched BlackJack tonight and it was awwwwwwesome. Super underrated little gem. If you can find it - get it.

[YT]quhutIZpYSA[/YT]

 

[Naked Shia]

Even though his movies always have amazing gunfights, what sticks is how human his protagonists are. The emotion... the drama... There is always lot of heart in his movies. Those are violent movies that shows you how terrible violence is, while still making it cool ^^

 

[Rocketman]

Even though his movies always have amazing gunfights, what sticks is how human his protagonists are. The emotion... the drama... There is always lot of heart in his movies. Those are violent movies that shows you how terrible violence is, while still making it cool ^^

Yep, and the arc of the main character is always compelling. The antagonist is usually a changed person by the end of the story, which is uncommon.

Christian Slater in Broken Arrow, for example, doesn't let Travolta walk all over him by the end of the film. Instead of an easy-going "nice guy", he's a total badass and stands his ground. I like that.

 

[Rocketman]

I'd like to share a very unpopular opinion. Be warned.

Windtalkers is not only an extremely underrated war film, but it's one of Nicolas Cage's best performances because he plays an actual normal person. And you care about his emotional arc. If you ever see compilations of his wackiest antics in movies, Windtalkers is one of the only ones you won't notice in there. That's because he did a damn good job in this one. He's convincing as a quiet, broken man with no future and no hope, and it's a personality he doesn't play often enough. A quiet, understated Nicolas Cage character? Imagine that.

It's a movie that's hated and criticized by many, and it bombed hard at the box office... and I simply don't get it. I just watched it on blu-ray for the first time in years and it holds up marvelously, while having a style that feels very much like an old-fashioned film - the lighting, the score, and the camera work make it feel like an intentional 70's throwback, and it's honestly compelling -- cheese and all.

I'm still on my Woo kick (as you can tell), and damn, the man just does not get enough credit. It seems he's been forgotten over here because he hasn't made an American film since 2003 (which happened to be Paycheck), and I wish so badly he'd come to the States and do one final hoorah -- and show the 2010's how REAL action is done.

If he truly is done with the US, I hope he at least gives the world one more Tequila film with Chow Yun Fat. That would be epic.