2009 |
2007
1-20 of 29 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
Interview: John Woo
6 December 2009 6:02 PM, PST
| Cinematical
| See recent Cinematical news
»
When I was in college in the 90s in Austin, Texas, I used to frequent a video store called "I Luv VIdeo." The locals all called it "I Heart Video," though, because of their distinctive sign. They had an amazing array of video tapes from all over the world, including a huge section of Asian cult hits. This is where I was introduced to John Woo and his movies like Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Bullet in the Head. The man is an amazing director, but since moving to Hollywood his work has been erratic. For every Mission: Impossible 2, there's a Windtalkers. For every Face/Off, there's a Paycheck.
Red Cliff is his first film since Paycheck, and it's a triumphant change for Woo as he moves into epic storytelling with a film so large it had to be split into two parts. Unfortunately, American audiences only received a cut-down version of both films,
…
- Kevin Kelly
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo's Return to Asia: They Have Confidence in Me, Unlike Hollywood
25 November 2009 4:38 PM, PST
| JustPressPlay.net
| See recent JustPressPlay news
»
"I'd never get used to the meetings. I hate talk. I don't know how to talk."
John Woo was describing the difference between working in Asia and in Hollywood when he made a point to laugh at his own inability to adapt. It's not an alien trait in creative types, who are typically more adept at invention than negotiation. Though he seemed reluctant to criticize the American film industry, Woo had nothing good to say about it, either. One only had to look at the dip in quality in the director's filmography to suspect that he never fully adjusted.
Now having taken a productive six-year respite, he returns to America with a film called Red Cliff, brought back from his Chinese sojourn. It shouldn't surprise any of his fans that it shows a long-awaited return to form.
Seventeen years ago, John Woo was king of his genre. After a string
…
- Arya Ponto
Permalink | Report a problem
Review: Red Cliff
25 November 2009 10:23 AM, PST
| Twitch
| See recent Twitch news
»
[Our thanks to Peter Galvin for offering his review to the Twitch readership.]
Everyone loves an underdog story. From The Bad News Bears to perhaps a more suitable comparison, Braveheart, people love seeing the little guy pull through against all odds. At its heart, John Woo's Red Cliff is an underdog story set in the war theatre of ancient China, and it delivers all the fist-pumping you would hope for a film of the genre. For Woo--a director known for delivering action experiences like Hard Boiled and The Killer--Red Cliff is a delightful change of pace, and it is made perfectly clear Woo is very much at home trading guns for swords.
Loosely based on the 600 year-old text Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff is set in 208 Ad China. Cunning prime minister Cao Cao has convinced malleable Emperor Han that the best approach to uniting China is to ferret out those in the south who would oppose his rule,
…
Permalink | Report a problem
Movie Review: Red Cliff
25 November 2009 4:48 AM, PST
| MovieRetriever
| See recent MovieRetriever news
»
Nov 25, 2009
With Red Cliff, John Woo returns with his first film in six years and his first non-English film since the landmark Hard Boiled (1992). Can the man who was once so clearly at the top of the action game with masterpieces like The Killer and A Bullet in the Head find his cultural importance yet again? The film has garnered a sizable amount of buzz on its way overseas, in no small part due to the unusual decision to take a two-part, four-hour experience and cram into one theatrical experience ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com
…
Permalink | Report a problem
'Red Cliff' is John Woo's Best Action Epic in Over a Decade
24 November 2009 9:05 PM, PST
| CinemaSpy
| See recent CinemaSpy news
»
Film geeks still slaver over the early output of John Woo such as Hard Boiled and The Killer for their devotion to style and fantastic action sequences. However, the mid-90s and early aughts brought disappointment in the director for his less-than-stellar fare including Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Hard Target, the shockingly bad Mission: Impossible II, and the forgettable Philip K. Dick adaptation Paycheck. But with exhilarating, epic action reminiscent of both Braveheart and Hero, the ancient Chinese war film Red Cliff restores Woo to the hall of the hallowed. It has the director's trademark style in spades, but it never skimps on story or character development.
Red Cliff is the most expensive movie in Asian cinema history, and it's easy to see where the money went. Countless actors in period costumes, numerous special effects shots, and impeccable sound all contribute to a masterfully created film that matches Hollywood's high standards with its impressive visuals.
…
Permalink | Report a problem
The view: John Woo's departure from Hollywood is a loss to us all
20 November 2009 9:30 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
| See recent The Guardian - Film News news
»
Once hailed as the man to shake up Hollywood, the maestro of dizzying, exquisitely choreographed action movies has returned to the far east
Let's say from the start that the life of a major league film-maker, with a thriving career in several corners of the globe, is not one to be sniffed at. That said, it's hard not to feel some small twinge of fellow feeling for John Woo, Hong Kong's onetime bullet-spraying master of the action genre. You may not have heard his name for some time but he was, in the early years of this soon to be ex-decade, still being spoken of as the dominant force of the film industry's future. "The most influential director making movies today," The New York Times called him back in 2002, adding, "Woo embodies the globalising forces that have shaped motion pictures in the last two decades."
Which makes it all the
…
- Danny Leigh
Permalink | Report a problem
Exclusive: John Woo Has 'Always Said No' To Superhero Movies
18 November 2009 7:30 AM, PST
| MTV Movies Blog
| See recent MTV Movies Blog news
»
From Splash Page: Director John Woo has proven his eye for action with films like "Face/Off" and "The Killer," so when he dropped by Splash Page HQ to discuss his upcoming film "Red Cliff," we had to ask why he hasn't stepped behind the camera for an action-packed superhero movie yet. After clearing up his attachment to "Caliber," the Radical Comics series we spoke to creator Sam Sarkar about earlier this year, Woo offered up some thoughts on why superheroes aren't really his thing.
"It didn't work out because it's not good timing for me to take on the movie," said Woo, confirming he's no longer attached to an adaptation of the Arthurian saga set in the Wild West.
Continue reading Exclusive: John Woo Not Directing 'Caliber,' Has No Interest In Superhero Movies
…
- Rick Marshall
Permalink | Report a problem
'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,' 'Broken Embraces,' 'Red Cliff' In This Week's unLimited
17 November 2009 1:00 PM, PST
| MTV Movies Blog
| See recent MTV Movies Blog news
»
Despite the record-breaking advance ticket sales for "New Moon," I think there may be one or two of you interested in seeing something other than the "Twilight" sequel this weekend. And if neither the sports drama "The Blind Side" nor the animated "Planet 51" is your cup of tea, either, there's also the indie hit "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire," which expands wider this Friday. Or, if you live in a major city, there are a number of new films opening in limited release that also look appealing. As always with unLimited's picks, if you wan to see one of the following titles and it isn't scheduled for your neck of the woods, contact your local theater and request it be booked there.
"Red Cliff"
What it is: Epic war film set in Ancient China, directed by legendary action auteur John Woo ("Face/Off") and starring Tony Leung ("Lust,
…
- Christopher Campbell
Permalink | Report a problem
Exclusive: John Woo Not Directing 'Caliber,' Has No Interest In Superhero Movies
17 November 2009 11:31 AM, PST
| MTV Splash Page
| See recent MTV Splash Page news
»
Director John Woo has proven his eye for action with films like "Face/Off" and "The Killer," so when he dropped by Splash Page HQ to discuss his upcoming film "Red Cliff," we had to ask why he hasn't stepped behind the camera for an action-packed superhero movie yet. After clearing up his attachment to "Caliber," the Radical Comics series we spoke to creator Sam Sarkar about earlier this year, Woo offered up some thoughts on why superheroes aren't really his thing.
"It didn't work out because it's not good timing for me to take on the movie," said Woo, confirming he's no longer attached to an adaptation of the Arthurian saga set in the Wild West.
Asked whether he's ever been offered a superhero movie, the director said he's "had some offers from a studio to make some kind of superhero-type movie, but I passed."
"I always said no
…
- Rick Marshall
Permalink | Report a problem
Exclusive Video: John Woo Visits Red Cliff
17 November 2009 6:54 AM, PST
| MovieWeb
| See recent MovieWeb news
»
From the acclaimed director of Mission: Impossible 2, Face/Off, Hard Boiled and The Killer, comes a dazzling, visionary epic based on the legendary Battle of Red Cliff, in which a force of fifty thousand defeated an army of nearly one million. Red Cliff, opening on November 18th, marks the director's return to Chinese language films and also re-teams him with his Hard Boiled star, Tony Leung. We recently had a chance to speak with the legendary Chinese director about his new film, the passion that brought it to the screen, the true-story of the battle of Red Cliff and his distinguished career. To watch our exclusive interview click on the video clip below.
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minister Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms
…
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo Unbound: The Red Cliff Interviews
12 November 2009 5:03 PM, PST
| The Hollywood Interview
| See recent The Hollywood Interview news
»
(John Woo, above.)
By Terry Keefe
Director John Woo tells a story in the interview below about one major difference between his experience working on Hollywood blockbusters, and making Red Cliff (Chi Bi), his blockbuster-sized film which he shot in China with strong support from the Chinese government: he never had to sit through endless development meetings. He simply said he wanted to make the film, came up with a budget, received financing, and shot it. As someone who actually was a [very junior level] studio development executive at one time, I loved hearing this. The process by which films are created today at the studios, as it has been for a few decades now, is ridiculously time-consuming and both financially and creatively wasteful. Practically every script “fast“-tracked for production goes through a gauntlet of seemingly endless story notes in which not only the director, but also the studio, the producer, the stars,
…
- The Hollywood Interview.com
Permalink | Report a problem
Chow Yun-Fat Lets Bullets Fly
21 October 2009 5:01 PM, PDT
| Atomic Popcorn
| See recent Atomic Popcorn news
»
At 54 years old, the Hong Kong action star of John Woo’s The Killer and Hard-Boiled is still ready to kick some tail. Chow Yun-Fat is following his starring role in Mei Hu’s Confucius with a turn in Jiang Wen’s $18 million picture Let the Bullets Fly.
Slated for a Fall 2010 release, Let the Bullets Fly will co-star Jiang and Yun-Fat, and is described as a “comic Western legend” that “contains elements of a thriller, with suspense and black humor.” I’m all for it, especially with a poster like that one.
According to Variety, the script for the film was just finalized two days ago, after undergoing nine rewrites that altered the ending of the film 10 times. That’s a lot of work to finesse a script that no one has any details on just yet.
However, keep your eye on AtomicPopcorn.net for updates as Jiang Wen
…
- John Cooper
Permalink | Report a problem
Chow Yun-Fat's Bullets
21 October 2009 4:05 PM, PDT
| JoBlo.com
| See recent JoBlo news
»
Confucius say: man can only find peace after emptying all six chambers.
Chow Yun-Fat is following up his turn as that ancient philosopher with some gunplay in the Hong Kong comedy Western Let The Bullets Fly. With the star of The Killer and Hard Boiled on board, that title alone is enough to merit some excitement.
And the title is basically all we have -- not much is known about the story itself, except that the script had to go through numerous rewrites before it met with Chow's
…
- Dave Davis
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo Exclusive Interview: Talks Red Cliff and His Next Movie Flying Tigers
15 October 2009 2:34 PM, PDT
| Collider.com
| See recent Collider.com news
»
A few hours ago I got to interview director John Woo. While his last few projects didn’t wow me, he’s made more than a few films worth watching and two of them I absolutely love (”The Killer”, “Hard Boiled”). Thankfully, his new movie “Red Cliff” is a return to form and it’s finally getting released in America on November 20th.
Anyway, during the interview, Woo talked about the shortened running time for the American release, how the success of “Red Cliff” has given him creative freedom to make whatever project he wants, and he talks about his next movie, “Flying Tigers”, and reveals what it’s about and how it’s going to be very expensive. More after the jump:
Since there is no way for me to quickly sum up what “Red Cliff” is about and the differences between the American release and the one that was already released in Asia,
…
- Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub
Permalink | Report a problem
Interview: Director John Woo on His ‘Red Cliff’ Premiere at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival
13 October 2009 3:55 AM, PDT
| HollywoodChicago.com
| See recent HollywoodChicago.com news
»
Chicago – John Woo, whose mastery of the action movie was once compared by director Sam Raimi to the suspense mastery of Alfred Hitchcock, premiered his new film, “Red Cliff” at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 9th.
Known primarily for his Hong Kong guns-and-gangster epics like “The Killer” (1989), “Hard Boiled” (1992) and “Bullet in the Head” (1990), Woo came to America in 1993 for his memorable turns in “Broken Arrow” (1996), “Face/Off” (1997) and “Mission Impossible II” (2002). He returns to his native China for the historical drama Red Cliff.
Portrait of an Icon: John Woo at the Chicago International Film Festival, October 9, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Red Cliff is the story of the “Three Kingdoms” of China in 208 Ad, and the war between them that changed history for its country and people. It has a broad and epic scope, beautifully composed, with a sweep and acting passion worthy of David Lean.
…
- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo reveals plans for next english language projects
9 October 2009 1:51 PM, PDT
| 24framespersecond.net
| See recent 24FramesPerSecond news
»
John Woo has become one of those directors whose name gets attached to so many projects that you can't help but adopt a believe-it-when-i-see-it approach to any new announcements involving him and his work.A quick look at the man's IMDb page shows 14 different projects listed as "In Development". Yep, you read that right. Fffffffffffffffourteen. Including what I assume are remakes of A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. Woo announcing or talking about a new project is still news, though, and it's still worth caring about because with Red Cliff, Woo has proven that his abilities as a great filmmaker didn't completely vanish while he was in Hollywood. So here we are.
…
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo reveals plans for next english language projects
9 October 2009 1:51 PM, PDT
| 24framespersecond.net
| See recent 24FramesPerSecond news
»
John Woo has become one of those directors whose name gets attached to so many projects that you can't help but adopt a believe-it-when-i-see-it approach to any new announcements involving him and his work.A quick look at the man's IMDb page shows 14 different projects listed as "In Development". Yep, you read that right. Fffffffffffffffourteen. Including what I assume are remakes of A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. Woo announcing or talking about a new project is still news, though, and it's still worth caring about because with Red Cliff, Woo has proven that his abilities as a great filmmaker didn't completely vanish while he was in Hollywood. So here we are.
…
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo Update: A Remake of ‘Le Samourai?’
8 October 2009 2:04 PM, PDT
| ScreenRant.com
| See recent Screen Rant news
»
Since 2003’s much-panned Paycheck, American audiences haven’t heard much from the often-imitated action auteur, John Woo. But he hasn’t been resting on his laurels. In fact, he’s been adding feathers to his cap. His latest film, Red Cliff, is an over four-hour-long historical epic that broke the record for the highest-grossing film in China (a title once held by Titanic).
However, Red Cliff, like Woo’s next project, Jianyu Jianghu (The Swordsman’s World), is in Chinese. And we all know that subtitles - especially on an action film that won’t play with the art-house types - dooms a film to limited release in America. So when Will the director return to American screens with an English language film?
IMDb lists a slew of projects in development, but the two Woo is most excited about haven’t been announced till now. One is a remake of
…
- Brian Gresko
Permalink | Report a problem
John Woo Wants to Remake 'Le Samourai'?
8 October 2009 10:47 AM, PDT
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
Movieline has posted a few snippets from their interview with Red Cliff director John Woo, whose new film is the first feature length film he has released since 2003's abysmal Paycheck. It's his return to Chinese language films, but as he tells Movieline's Kyle Buchanan, "It doesn't mean I have given up on Hollywood."
Nope, instead he has a pair of films he would like to make, the first being an English-language remake of John-Pierre Melville's outstanding 1967 feature Le Samourai, a film Buchanan says Woo already touched upon so much with his Chow Yun-Fat starrer The Killer, that he has nearly remade the film already. I haven't seen that film, but the idea of someone trying to get Le Samourai remade now seems impossible. Woo says, "I want to make it into a modern film," but the quiet nature of Melville's film simply isn't a feature that can be brought
…
- Brad Brevet
Permalink | Report a problem
Shing Fui-On Rip
28 August 2009 2:51 PM, PDT
| Twitch
| See recent Twitch news
»
Hong Kong actor Shing Fui-On has succumb to nasopharyngeal carcinoma yesterday after being diagnosed with the disease in 2004. He was 54.
For anyone who watched many Hong Kong films from the 80’s to early 90’s, chances are you seen Shing’s face before. With a tall and rugged appearances, its not so hard to forget and its no wonder why he has become well-known for often playing villainous roles as a Triad boss, a personal favorite of mine with him is in the heroic bloodshed film The Killer. His only leading role throughout his 31 years in the showbiz was the horror comedy The Blue Jean Monster.
He’ll be missed.
…
- Al Young
Permalink | Report a problem
2009 |
2007
1-20 of 29 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
See all NewsDesk partners
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the
above news articles. News articles are published for the entertainment of our
users only. The news items do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we
guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the
site responsible for the article in question to report any concerns you may
have.
