John Woo: from Hong Kong to Hollywood, The Killer and Face-Off

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John Woo: from Hong Kong to Hollywood, The Killer and Face/Off

John Woo and his “heroic bloodshed” have revolutionized and rejuvenated the action genre, combining melodrama with action to create the male melodrama, in which he explores the codes of masculinity while redefining them. Robert Hanke says that “explosive pyrotechnics seem to be privileged over plot, narrative or character” (Hanke 41) and yet notes that Jillian Sandell maintains the opinion that Woo does not “celebrate this violence, but rather uses it to represent a nostalgia for a lost code of honor and chivalry” (Hanke 1999: 45). While characterized by violence, Woo’s films define masculinity within a changing world. He does not set out to make violent films, defending A Better Tomorrow by saying “It’s not a gangster movie. It’s a film about chivalry, about honor, but set in the modern world. I want to teach the new generation: ‘What is friendship? What is brotherhood? What have we lost? What we have to get back.’” (Logan 1995: 116), a statement that can be applied to both The Killer (1989) and Face/Off (1997). In The Killer, Jeff and Stanley are nostalgic about the past, saying how things have changed. Loss is a literal theme in both movies, as Jeff tries to regain Sally’s sight and in Face/Off Archer has lost his son and seeks to regain a sense of identity and purpose, and ultimately a son. Woo makes his films to fill this lack that he sees in the modern world.

He is influenced by many different films and n...

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