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SINGAPORE : He's been called one of the most influential film directors of his time and he was the first Asian born director to helm a Hollywood blockbuster movie in the 1990s.
Internationally-acclaimed director John Woo who is best known for defining the violent gangster film genre, began his illustrious career as a filmmaker in Hong Kong where he spent over two decades at the centre of a thriving film industry, directing over 26 feature films.
With cult hits like "Hardboiled" and "A Better Tomorrow" and blockbusters like "Broken Arrow" and "Face Off", Woo is both a critical and commercial success.
He returns to the Chinese language film industry after some 16 years with "Red Cliff", an epic retelling of the most famous battle in Chinese history, Battle of Red Cliff, which was immortalised in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
The project is in some ways a dream come true for Woo who has always had a passion for "Three Kingdoms". As a child, he admired heroes in the story such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Zilong, and this was a film he had long dreamed of making.
"After 'A Better Tomorrow', I really wanted to make a movie that really shows the true spirit of the Chinese. I particularly liked the part in the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', the most famous one, Battle of Red Cliff," said Woo.
But back then, neither the technology nor the market could support a film of this scale and magnitude. The opportunity came in 2004, when Woo’s producer Terence Chang went to Beijing and started putting the financing and production plan together.
While sticking close to history, Woo’s story is a romantic revision of the novel and the script is based mostly on the historical book “Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms”, as well as other historical studies. He also extracted entertaining elements from the novel for the fans.
Boasting a stellar lineup of Asian stars like Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, and costing some US$80 million, “Red Cliff” is the largest and most expensive Asian film to date.
“Red Cliff” will be shown in two parts for Asian audiences, who Woo feels will be more familiar with the characters and storyline. International audiences on the other hand will get a single instalment of the epic, trimmed down and marketed as a “John Woo action film”. It is targeted for release at the end of the year.
Though Woo has been a great influence in the gangster movie genre in Hong Kong, he wants to be remembered for more than just that. The director revealed that he would like to work on more human stories and even a love story.
While he hopes to focus on making films Chinese films, he will continue to work in Hollywood. Films in the works include a Western as well as a remake of a French classic.
- CNA/il
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