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John Woo

Highest Rated: 100% Bullet in the Head (1990)

Lowest Rated: 23% Bulletproof Monk (2003)

Birthday: May 1, 1946

Birthplace: Guangzhou, China

Once hailed by action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as "the Martin Scorsese of Asia," John Woo was a legendary action director in the Hong Kong film industry long before immigrating to Hollywood to direct his first American film, "Hard Target" (1993). Reportedly the first Asian to direct a major Hollywood studio film, Woo made his name with action-packed, emotionally florid thrillers like "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "The Killer" (1989), "A Bullet in the Head" (1990) and "Hard-Boiled" (1992). Enthusiastically embraced by English-speaking critics, Woo was a bold visual stylist who learned his meticulous choreography of movement, graceful camera moves and over-the-top violence from the likes of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah and Jean-Pierre Melville. Though soaked in blood, his films were marked by old-fashioned morality and chastely gallant attitudes toward women, while, even among villains, valuing friendship and loyalty. Woo remained an influential figure among a new generation of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, who eagerly adopted his signature moves.

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Highest-Rated Movies

100% 87% Bullet in the Head
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100% 84% Last Hurrah for Chivalry
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95% 92% The Killer
Watchlist 93% 82% Face/Off Watchlist
93% 89% A Better Tomorrow
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92% 92% Hard-Boiled
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89% 78% Red Cliff
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80% 53% Once a Thief
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80% 82% A Better Tomorrow II
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69% 27% Manhunt
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John Woo

John Woo John Woo PAYCHECK, John Woo, 2003, (c) Paramount PAYCHECK, Ben Affleck, Director John Woo, Uma Thurman, 2003, (c) Paramount FACE/OFF, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, John Woo, 1997, throat clutching MANHUNT, FROM LEFT: DIRECTOR JOHN WOO (HAND UP), MASAHARU FUKUYAMA (CENTER), ZHANG HANYU (BLACK SHIRT), ON SET, 2017. © NETFLIX BROKEN ARROW, Christian Slater, John Travolta, director John Woo on set, 1996, TM and Copyright (c)20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. WINDTALKERS, Producer Terrence Chang, director John Woo on the set, 2002 (c) MGM. WINDTALKERS, Director John Woo, Nicolas Cage on the set, 2002 (c) MGM. FACE/OFF, Director John Woo, Joan Allen, 1997. (c) Paramount Pictures. View more photos

Filmography

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The Killer 58% 51% 2024 Director, Producer Silent Night 59% 50% 2023 Director, Producer Silent Revenge 2023 Director, Producer Manhunt 69% 27% 2017 Director, Screenwriter The Crossing 2 32% 2015 Director, Screenwriter The Crossing 2014 Director, Screenwriter Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale 69% 79% 2011 Producer The Beginning of the Great Revival 25% 28% 2011 Lin Sen Actor Reign of Assassins 67% 70% 2010 Co-Director, Producer Red Cliff II 82% 2009 Director, Screenwriter, Producer Red Cliff 89% 78% 2008 Director, Screenwriter, Producer Blood Brothers 2007 Producer Appleseed: Ex Machina 77% 2007 Producer All the Invisible Children 67% 2005 Director Paycheck 27% 45% 2003 Director, Producer Bulletproof Monk 23% 38% 2003 Producer Windtalkers 32% 50% 2002 Director, Producer Red Skies 2002 Executive Producer Mission: Impossible II 56% 42% 2000 Director, Cinematographer Once a Thief: Family Business 1998 Executive Producer, Director Blackjack 27% 1998 Director, Executive Producer Once a Thief: Brother Against Brother 1998 Executive Producer The Big Hit 41% 57% 1998 Executive Producer The Replacement Killers 37% 47% 1998 Executive Producer Face/Off 1997 Director
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