John Woo

For other people named John Woo, see John Woo (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Johnny Woo (comics), John Yoo, or John Ng.
In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Woo (吳). In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is John Woo and the Chinese-style name is Woo Yu-sen.

John Woo
SBS
吳宇森
Woo in 2005
Born
Wu Yu-seng

(1946-09-22) 22 September 1946 (age 78)[1]
Guangzhou, China
NationalityHong Konger
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active1968–present
Spouse
Anne Chun-Lung Niu
​
(m. 1976)​
Children3
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese吳宇森
Simplified Chinese吴宇森
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWú Yǔsēn
Wade–GilesWu2 Yü3-sen1
IPA[ǔ ỳsə́n]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationǸgh Yúhsām
JyutpingNg4 Jyu5-sam1
IPA[ŋ̍˩ jy˩˧sɐm˥]
Signature

John Woo Yu-sen SBS (Chinese: 吳宇森; born 22 September 1946)[1] is a Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre.[2] The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing, as well as a Golden Horse Award, an Asia Pacific Screen Award and a Saturn Award, he is regarded as a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films and the gun fu genre in Hong Kong action cinema. He is known for his highly chaotic "bullet ballet"[3][4] action sequences, stylized imagery, Mexican standoffs, frequent use of slow motion and allusions to wuxia, film noir and Western cinema.[5]

Considered one of the major figures of Hong Kong cinema, Woo has directed several notable action films. He is known for his collaborations with actor Chow 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), and Hard Boiled (1992). He has also directed martial arts films such as The Dragon Tamers (1975), Hand of Death (1976), and Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979), and action comedies such as Follow the Star (1978), From Riches to Rags (1980), Run, Tiger, Run (1984), and Once a Thief (1991).

Hard Target (1993), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, was his first American directorial debut, and the first major Hollywood film made by a Chinese director. His other Hollywood films include Broken Arrow (1996), Face/Off (1997) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000).[5] He made his Canadian debut with the action comedy film Once 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 epic The Crossing (2014). His first Chinese-language feature since Hard Boiled (1992) was the internationally co-produced Red Cliff (2008-2009),[5][7] which broke the Chinese box office record previously held by Titanic in mainland China.[8]

Woo is the creator of the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. He is the founder and chairman of the production company Lion Rock Productions.[9]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Rawnsley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "John Woo". Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  3. ^ Kehr, Dave (14 July 2002). "John Woo: Ballets full of bullets". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  4. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (22 February 1996). "ON LOCATION WITH: John Woo;Ballets With Bullets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Chow Yun-Fat | Biography, Movies, & Facts | Britannica".
  7. ^ "WOO John - Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival)". Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Festival de Cannes fiche artiste (artist profile)
  8. ^ 《赤壁》夺日票房冠军 大破《英雄》票房纪录 [Red Cliff wins the box office champion of the day and breaks the 'hero' box office record] (in Chinese). 6 November 2008. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  9. ^ "John Woo". Variety. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.