The first edition of John Woo: The Films (McFarland, 1999) was the earliest English-language volume to address the motion picture output of the celebrated Hong Kong director. The book dealt with Woo's film career from his professional beginnings in 1968 through his first three Hollywood releases (Hard Target, Broken Arrow and Face/Off), situating his work within Asian and Western cinematic and cultural traditions. This second edition offers a wealth of additional information, including treatment of John Woo's Hollywood productions Mission: Impossible II, Windtalkers and Paycheck. Also featured is material on Woo's epic Red Cliff, filmed in China. A new foreword is provided by Tony Williams, author of John Woo's Bullet in the Head. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Has the creative period of the New Hong Kong Cinema now come to an end? However we answer this question, there is a need to evaluate the achievements of Hong Kong cinema. This series distinguishes itself from the other books on the subject by focusing in-depth on individual Hong Kong films, which together make the New Hong Kong cinema.
A Better Tomorrow has always been hailed as a milestone in Hong Kong cinema. This book describes the different responses to the movie in Hong Kong and later in its reception worldwide, which paved the way for the promotion of John Woo and Chow Yun-fat to their current prominence in Hollywood. Fang examines the different notions of the genre of action cinema in Asian and Western film industries. She tracks the connections between ying shung pian, or "hero" movie, the term by which Woo's film became famous in Hong Kong, and the spectacle of violence emphasized in the term "heroic bloodshed," the category in which the film was known in the West. Finally, she concludes with a discussion of the status of the film and its huge success in the current globalized industry.
The film Bullet in the Head functions both as an apocalyptic melodrama and as an allegory of fears concerning the implications of the Tiananmen Square incident for Hong Kong residents. This book argues for its central importance as a major work of contemporary Hong Kong cinema.
Created by acclaimed filmmaker John Woo, (Mission Impossible 2; Face-Off; Red Cliff) and written by acclaimed comic book writer Garth Ennis (Punisher, The Boys, Preacher) with striking artwork from Jeevan J. Kang (Nowhere Man, Ramayan 3392AD, H20). The first graphic novel from superstar action film director John Woo. Six hundred years ago, a mighty treasure fleet set out to sail the oceans of the world. They reached every continent, and discovered every land long before history's great explorers stole credit for their feats. Now, in modern day Los Angeles, seven men with nothing in common but their destinies are drawn together in the service of a mysterious young woman. An ancient prophecy must be fulfilled. Something terrible is reaching out across the centuries. There's a world to be saved, and the only hope for us all is a power too terrifying to be used. "Seven Brothers is a natural combination of Woo and Ennis. In both of their best works, the major themes addressed are brotherhood and the application of stylish but excessive force. Ennis excels in bringing a defined identity and a sense of realism to a fantastic tale." - Fractal Matter "An illustrative tour-de-force that seizes your eyes and imagination by the throat and throttles you with every turn of the page..." - The Comics Review "Ennis brought his A game to this project." (Rating 8/10) - Bam! Kapow! "If you're a fan of action movies in general, I think you'll like this." - Indy Comic Review "There's a lot of potential in this book, especially with the brothers hailing from all over the world, that could make this the hard-core, uncompromising flipside to NBC's Heroes." - Variety "This series has it all and is a must read for any comic fan." - Comic Fever
Created by acclaimed filmmaker John Woo, (Mission Impossible 2; Face-Off; Red Cliff). The second volume in the Seven Brothers series. First, they were strangers. Individuals from all across the globe linked by an unlikely destiny and an unknown blood tie. Now, they're a family. And like all families, they've got their issues. So when a mysterious figure from a past Rachel Kai thought she put behind her comes gunning for all their blood, the 7 Brothers must join forces once again to save the life of one of their own! Written by Benjamin Raab and Deric A. Hughes (writers on the television show, Warehouse 13), and with pencils by Edison George (Silver Scorpion, Eternity Kill), this next chapter in the saga of an unlikely band of brothers charts a bold new course for these heroes that promises to thrill fans both old and new! "If you're a fan of action movies in general, I think you'll like this." - Indy Comic Review "There's a lot of potential in this book, especially with the brothers hailing from all over the world, that could make this the hard-core, uncompromising flipside to NBC's Heroes." - Variety "This series has it all and is a must read for any comic fan." - Comic Fever
The cinematic history of Hollywood's hottest action film director ("Face Off, Broken Arrow")--from s the subject of this fascinating his early life in the violent slums of Hong Kong to his U.S. breakthrough.
In The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora, Kin-Yan Szeto critically examines three of the most internationally famous martial arts film artists to arise out of the Chinese diaspora and travel far from their homelands to find commercial success in the world at large: Ang Lee, John Woo, and Jackie Chan. Positing the idea that these filmmakers' success is evidence of a "cosmopolitical awareness" arising from their cross-cultural ideological engagements and geopolitical displacements, Szeto demonstrates how this unique perspective allows these three filmmakers to develop and act in the transnational environment of media production, distribution, and consumption. Beginning with a historical retrospective on Chinese martial arts films as a diasporic film genre and the transnational styles and ideologies of the filmmakers themselves, Szeto uses case studies to explore in depth how the forces of colonialism, Chinese nationalism, and Western imperialism shaped the identities and work of Lee, Woo, and Chan. Addressed in the volume is the groundbreaking martial arts swordplay film that achieves global success-Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- and its revelations about Hollywood representations of Asians, as well as concepts of male and female masculinity in the swordplay film tradition. Also investigated is the invigoration of contemporary gangster, thriller, and war films by John Woo, whose combination of artistic and historical contexts has contributed to his global success. Szeto then dissects Chan's mimetic representation of masculinity in his films, and the influences of his Chinese theater and martial arts training on his work. Szeto outlines the similarities and differences between the three artists' films, especially their treatments of gender, sexuality, and power. She concludes by analyzing their films as metaphors for their working conditions in the Chinese diaspora and Hollywood, and demonstrating how through their works, Lee, Woo, and Chan communicate not only with the rest of the world but also with each other. Far from a book simply about three filmmakers, The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora investigates the transnational nature of films, the geopolitics of culture and race, and the depths of masculinity and power in movies. Szeto's interdisciplinary approach calls for nothing less than a paradigm shift in the study of Chinese diasporic filmmakers and the embodiment of cosmopolitical perspectives in the martial arts genre.
The movie that inspired filmmakers to direct is like the atomic bomb that went off before their eyes. The Film That Changed My Life captures that epiphany. It explores 30 directors' love of a film they saw at a particularly formative moment, how it influenced their own works, and how it made them think differently. Rebel Without a Cause inspired John Woo to comb his hair and talk like James Dean. For Richard Linklater, “something was simmering in me, but Raging Bull brought it to a boil.” Apocalypse Now inspired Danny Boyle to make larger-than-life films. A single line from The Wizard of Oz--“Who could ever have thought a good little girl like you could destroy all my beautiful wickedness?”--had a direct impact on John Waters. “That line inspired my life,” Waters says. “I sometimes say it to myself before I go to sleep, like a prayer.” In this volume, directors as diverse as John Woo, Peter Bogdanovich, Michel Gondry, and Kevin Smith examine classic movies that inspired them to tell stories. Here are 30 inspired and inspiring discussions of classic films that shaped the careers of today's directors and, in turn, cinema history.
