Member Endsang Posted March 26, 2008 Member Share Posted March 26, 2008 I figured I need some variation in my movie collection, and I am ashamed to say that I am a John Woo virgin (I've seen Face\Off, but that doesn't count). Help me out here, where do I start? I have rather limited funds, so reccomend as few as possible, and feel free to suggest which I should see first. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted March 26, 2008 Member Share Posted March 26, 2008 Two of his best are The Killer and Hard Boiled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kingofkungfu2002 Posted March 26, 2008 Member Share Posted March 26, 2008 And add 'Bullet In The Head' and 'A Better Tomorrow' to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 For sure see Last Hurrah for Chivalry if you haven't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 27, 2008 Moderator Share Posted March 27, 2008 For a John Woo virgin I'd without doubt start off by watching The Killer, followed by Hard Boiled, preferably in one sitting! These used to be available as a double DVD set on Region 1 from Fox, or if your budget allows get the Hong Kong Legends version of The Killer & the Dragon Dynasty version of Hard Boiled. These two films pretty much defined the John Woo style (along with a whole generation of Hong Kong heroic bloodshed films) and Chow Yun Fat has never looked cooler. Once you have seen those it's definitely worth checking out his other works, most significantly A Better Tomorrow (the first of his Chow Yun Fat collaborations & the film that created the phrase 'heroic bloodshed' when Rick Baker was reviewing it). I know I'll probably get hung drawn and quartered for saying this but in my opinion A Better Tomorrow 2, in terms of action (you can't beat the finale!) at least, is superior to the original, which is as much family drama as gangster movie. If you like what you've seen and your budget permits others which are worth a look include Bullet In The Head, Once A Thief (which pairs Chow Yun Fat with Leslie Cheung again from the A Better Tomorrow films), and his somewhat lesser works like Heroes Shed No Tears (not the Fu Sheng movie!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Amazing Psycho Per Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 I would recommend to start by A better tomorrow 1 and 2, then the Killer and finally the mythic gun blazing Hard Boiled. A Better Tomorrow is gritty crime drama. It's a bit low on action but the story and the cast are solid. Of course it's nice to catch the glimpse of the action that would be latter Woo's trademark. A Better Tomorrow 2 has a considerabely less engaging and tight screenplay and feels a little rough around the edges. But the gunplay have been cranked up a notch from the first one and the final is epic. There a bullets flying everywhere and axes wielding at the heroes in an all out battle royale... The Killer is IMO his second best work. The story is inspired by Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï and all of Woo's recurent themes of friendship and loyalty are used at their strongest here. The gunplay doesn't reach the level of Hard Boiled but is still spectacular. Hard Boiled is the king of gunplay movies. If you only have to see one, well that's the one... Often, movies are overhyped and ultimately fails to live to the expactations, but believe me this one lives up to it's reputation. Even if it's been imitated to death, no movies IMO come close to the perfection Hard Boiled has reached (in the genre of course.) So if you can afford four movies, get those four. But if you have to see only two, then There is no doubt you should get the Killer and then Hard Boiled. Contrarly to what has been circulating on the net, I think the Dragon Dynasty edition of Hard Boiled is quite right for the price. Of course it has dubbtitles but I don't think it takes much of the movie. And for that image stretching thing, I think it's been blown out of proportion... If nobody never said anything, I wouldn't have noticed, and even then I think I still don't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Endsang Posted March 27, 2008 Author Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 For sure see Last Hurrah for Chivalry if you haven't. Yeah I have Last Hurrah, forgot to mention that. Keep forgetting it's a John Woo movie. Thanks for the tips everyone, looks like I'll be starting off with The Killer and Hard Boiled. Anxious to see Ti Lung in A Better Tomorrow though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 If you had to pick two, definately Killer and Hard Boiled. I Have the Dragon Dynasty release and its great in my opinion. What about Just Heroes?...i have this on PAL laserdisc and its a shame this hasnt got a dvd release anywhere. If anybody wants the laserdisc to transfer to dvd let me know (my player broke a year ago and i didnt transfer it!) High Definition AMAZING BARGAINS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 27, 2008 Moderator Share Posted March 27, 2008 Even though the scene only lasts for a few seconds, if you're a Ti Lung fan then A Better Tomorrow 2 is worth the price of admission just to see him slicing though a group of machine gun wielding bad guys with a samurai sword! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gravedigger666 Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 Pick Heroes Shed No Tears.No killers with sunglasses&long coat or family affair bullshit.Just nasty jungle shoot`em all and brutal unarmed combat in the end:D:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 27, 2008 Moderator Share Posted March 27, 2008 I have to admit even though some people dislike this movie I'm a big fan just based on Lam Ching Ying's performance as the crazy one-eyed bad guy. Nice to see him in one of the few roles which didn't involve ghost busting. But if I was to describe the film overall it is like a stripped down Hong Kong version of Rambo, with a lot more bullets! Apparently the film was shelved for some years and it was originally called The Sunset Warrior, I read somewhere that the rather ridiculous scene with the American soldier in his sex and drug den was added at a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alex Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 Seconded (or thirded or something) on Heroes Shed No Tears, it's great rough no frills jungle action Stay away from any and all incarnations of Once a thief Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted March 27, 2008 Member Share Posted March 27, 2008 Well, get ready for this news: Woo's latest film, Red Cliff, is going to be split in two parts. The first part is coming out on July 10. They also have eight official posters of characters. Go to Monkey Peaches to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member D1 Ma Posted March 28, 2008 Member Share Posted March 28, 2008 While Once Upon a Thief is not bad, the shootouts are more of a PG-13 style. I'd rather second Just Heroes. Not only the movie has an interesting story behind it, it features two great gunbattles, both with very distinctive Woo's flavour and as good as anything he shot for The Killer or HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator thekfc Posted March 29, 2008 Moderator Share Posted March 29, 2008 In addition to what have been mentioned which are all great add: Hands of Death - Sammo makes a good villain in that one Also Just Heroes have an all star cast - alot of the SB stars are in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted March 29, 2008 Member Share Posted March 29, 2008 I did my College Thesis on John Woo. I majored in Film Studies and for my senior thesis, I pretty much proved the acts of betrayal that Woo tends to use in all of his films. I analyzed six films, let's see if I remember them. 1) Hand of Death 2) A Better Tomorrow 3) A Better Tomorrow 2 4) Hard-Boiled 5) Face/Off 6) Mission: Impossible 2 I got an A on it...that was wow...5 years ago!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted March 29, 2008 Member Share Posted March 29, 2008 You can do with these.... A BETTER TOMORROW THE KILLER BULLET IN THE HEAD HARD BOILED Thats all you need! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator thekfc Posted March 29, 2008 Moderator Share Posted March 29, 2008 You can do with these.... A BETTER TOMORROW THE KILLER BULLET IN THE HEAD HARD BOILED Thats all you need! You should not just limit yourself to the above 4. Since you are looking for variation you should also later (after viewing the 4 above) check out the other movies mentioned...if your funds permits & you can get them at a bargain price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LoBo Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Just Heroes are available on French dvd. It has no English subtitles. ________ Ns-2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted March 30, 2008 Member Share Posted March 30, 2008 You should not just limit yourself to the above 4. Since you are looking for variation you should also later (after viewing the 4 above) check out the other movies mentioned...if your funds permits & you can get them at a bargain price. OP said that his funds were indeed limited, and that we should reccomend as few as possible! and everyone threw every John Woo title ever made at him...... I just boiled it down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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