John Woo – The Legend of Hong Kong Action Flicks

Wednesday 10 June 2.00pm Statement Bar

Clare Stewart (SFF Festival Director) in conversation with John Woo, director of Red Cliff which has its Australian Premiere at the festival. Based on events during the Three Kingdom period, the biggest budget Chinese film ever made stars Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (The House of Flying Daggers). John Woo's stand-out Hong Kong films include A Better Tomorrow I & II (1986, 1987), The Killer (1989) and Hardboiled (1992) all of which feature his frequent collaborator, actor Chow Yun-fat. Amongst his studio hits are Face/Off (1997) and Mission Impossible II (2000) filmed at Sydney's Fox Studios.

Date: 10th of June, 2009
Where: Statement Bar, State Theatre, Sydney, Australia

MT: Wow! This is my first front seater glimpse (accompanied by Andy Minh Trieu, Timothy Ly, Roxie Vuong & Rudge Holis) the 63 year-old lengendary Hong Kong veteran action flick director as he was in conversation with Sydney Film Festival Director - charming Clare Stewart.

Renowned for his used of stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use slow motion. Woo, himself, has directed several HK action films such as A Better Tomorrow, Hard Boiled, and The Killer.He even tapped in the Hollywood industry with Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Face/Off, and Mission: Impossible 2.

I was awe inspired by his life journey, having come from a background with difficulties in learning and growing up in poverty striken slums, Woo overcame the odds and found innovative ways in getting to where he is today.

Here’s a couple of flicks to back track to….
Hard Boiled
Fans of superstar Chow Yun-Fat and legendary HK director John Woo like to compare the team to Mifune/Kurosawa, and "Hard Boiled" is their best work
.Bullet in the Head
For a tougher, bloodier angle, go with Woo's acclaimed 1990 drama about friendship, love, and betrayal set in Vietnam.
The Killer
John Woo's early masterpiece. The gloriously choreographed violence and overdrawn characters make this a keeper. The shoot-up in the church is a timeless classic.

Forgot to mention that Woo was in town for the Australian Premiere of China’s most high budget movie – a whopping 80 million! – Red Cliff. This is a period war spectacular laden with gloriously choreographed violence.

This is a Chinese epic film based on the Battle of Red Cliffs and events during the end of the Han Dynasty and immediately prior to the period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China.