Legendary Hong Kong Director John Woo Reflects on His Iconic Action Films

In the mid-1980s, Hong Kong director John Woo revolutionized the action genre, elevating it to an art form with his distinctive visual style and poetic sensibilities. Now, over 30 years later, Woo's seminal Hong Kong trilogy - "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "The Killer" (1989), and "Hard Boiled" (1992) - is being restored and re-released, allowing new audiences to discover his groundbreaking work.

Woo, who is now 79 years old, recently welcomed an interviewer to his Los Angeles headquarters to reflect on his career. The director, who was once considered a "box office poison" in Hong Kong, credits his friend and fellow filmmaker Tsui Hark for giving him the creative freedom to develop his unique approach to action cinema. Woo's films were not just about explosive gunfights, but rather "like a painting or a poem, sometimes even like a musical", as he puts it.

The director's innovative techniques, such as his signature use of dual-wielding handguns, were heavily influenced by his love of dance and European art films, particularly the work of French director Jean-Pierre Melville. Woo's collaborations with actor Chow Yun-fat, who he cast against type in "A Better Tomorrow", also played a crucial role in establishing his distinctive style and launching both of their careers to new heights.

While Woo found great success in Hong Kong, his transition to Hollywood in the 1990s presented new challenges, as he had to navigate a more restrictive studio system. However, he was able to maintain his creative vision, most notably with the 1997 hit "Face/Off". As Woo's iconic films from the 1980s and 90s are now being rediscovered by a new generation of fans, his legacy as one of the most influential action directors of all time is firmly cemented.