Director of the Month: March 2010

John Woo (Yu-sen)

In 1993, John Woo made his first mainstream Hollywood film, “Hard Target”. This film was far from his first but it opened the door for him and other Asian directors in Hollywood. 

John was born in 1946 in Southwest China. His family was Christian and found it increasing difficult as the Chinese Civil War progressed and they fled to Hong Kong. His father suffered from tuberculosis and was unable to work which plunged the family into poverty. Having attended a Christian school he first dreamed of entering the ministry. The family was made homeless after a nearly city wide fire in 1953 and life became even more difficult. Charitable donations enabled the family to relocate but crime was rampant in the city. Young John was attacked and bullied by other boys and he found refuge from the violence by sneaking into the local movie house. He was a shy boy and had trouble speaking. He realized that by making films he could express his feelings and use movies as a language. His greatest influences were the French New Wave films, American Musicals and Westerns.

In 1969 he was hired as an assistant director at the Shaw Brother Studio and directed his first feature film in 1973. Later, John worked as an assistant to directors Chen Chang, Martin Scorsese and Sam Peckinpah. In 1986 his film “A Better Tomorrow” established his reputation as a master stylist of ultra-violent gangster films. He has been compared to both Hitchcock and Tarantino. He is best known for his breathtaking panache and the elaborate action scenes. He likes to use birds, especially doves, to symbolize peace, uses slow motion and freeze frames and pleasant music that contrast with the violent action on the screen.

John, his wife and 3 children have settled permanently in the United States. He currently has more than a dozen projects in the works and in March his film “Red Cliffs” is being released on DVD.  

Enjoy.

• A Better Tomorrow I
• A Better Tomorrow II
• Broken Arrow
• Face Off
• Hardboiled
• The Killer
• Last Hurrah for Chivalry
• Mission: Impossible 2
• Once a Thief (VHS)
• Paycheck
• Windwalkers

  Coming 3/23/10

  Red Cliff