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John Woo
Hong Kong filmmaker / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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John Woo Yu-sen SBS (Chinese: 吳宇森; born September 22, 1946)[1] is a Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre.[2] He is a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films and the gun fu genre in Hong Kong action cinema, before working in Hollywood films. 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]
John Woo | |||||||||||||||||||
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Born | (1946-09-22) 22 September 1946 (age 77)[1] Guangzhou, China | ||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Hong Konger | ||||||||||||||||||
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Years active | 1968–present | ||||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Anne Chun-Lung Niu (m. 1976) | ||||||||||||||||||
Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 吳宇森 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 吴宇森 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Considered one of the major figures of Hong Kong cinema, Woo has directed several notable action films including A Better Tomorrow (1986), The Killer (1989), Hard Boiled (1992) and Red Cliff (2008/2009).[5][6] Hard Target (1993) was his first American film 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 also created the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. He is the founder and chairman of the production company Lion Rock Productions.[7]
Woo is a winner of the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing, as well as a Golden Horse Award, an Asia Pacific Screen Award and a Saturn Award.